3 1/2 weeks later

Things are almost back to normal.  No pain killers, no crutches or walking aids.  I can drive, take the children to birthday parties, run errands - all back to a regular weekend.  I wouldn't do a big supermarket shop or go for a hike, but its great to be living life as normal already.

first swim and leg length

So, first swim today.  I was nervous, with images racing through my mind of myself not being able to climb in / out of the pool on the ladder and flying backward into the pool, arms flailing.  But it was ok; getting in a little easier than getting out.  After getting changed I walked past the mirror on the way to the pool and was distracted by my scar below the swimsuit line and the ugly bumpy swelling around it.  Not a great visual but it’ll change over time and is something I’ve decided not to dwell on.  The benefits outweigh the negatives.  Swimming felt great; I started with a strange version of breast stroke whilst I got my confidence up.  Then I used a pull buoy to support my legs whilst I free styled up and down.  How nice to move without using constant conscious thought and effort on how to do it correctly.  I wasn’t the fastest in the pool (am I ever?) but I certainly had the biggest smile when my 25 mins were up.   

 I am getting increasingly concerned that my legs are not the same length, with my operated leg being longer.  Dr Davidovitch said after the surgery he was pleased because that they were the same and so I hadn’t really given it much thought until the last couple of days….  He is an amazing surgeon and I am sure it is not easy to chop off part of someone’s femur and replace it with metal, plastic and ceramic and end up with two legs the same length.  However I am finding that as I stand straight with two feet together pointing forwards I need to bend my right leg in order not to tilt my hips. It is easier to stand with my left heel off the ground.  This seems to be pretty common with options such as redoing the operated leg, wearing supports in the opposite shoe (how does that work with stilettos?) and, waiting until the other leg is operated on and making that one longer to match.  It may also be due to muscles and will correct itself.   Hmmm,   I’ll see what my outpatient physiotherapist and podiatrist have to say on Monday.

20 days after surgery

Staples are out – the only visible marks from the operation now are a red incision about the length of my middle finger on the front of my thigh, and circle of small bruises on my stomach from the nightly injections.  Not bad.

The staple removal was pleasingly painless and the doctor’s visit all in was very short.  Once he could see I could walk without dramatic limping, my legs still looked the same length, and that I was getting back to normal life, I was dismissed until my 3 month check-up.   

The physio is beginning to ramp up a gear with some painful maneuvers to practice but, as with everything I’ve experienced in this process so far, they seem painful and even difficult for a couple of days then are pretty easy and merely uncomfortable. I am looking forward to getting back into the swimming pool – officially now allowed - but I’m nervous of climbing down into the pool so I’ll wait another week.

My walks around the block three times a day are a salvation as being trapped in the house is emotionally tough.  This is also coinciding beautifully with the start of an early spring.  I no longer take either crutch with me.  The final walk of the day I can’t walk without limping but its all going well and I’ll start walking further soon. 

X-ray of my right hip

2 weeks post surgery

It feels hard to believe that this time two weeks ago I was in the operating room – ready to start the journey of pain, frustration, re-learning, and accomplishments.

Today I celebrated my two-week-old hip with a walk in the sun, approximately 20mins, using only one crutch.  I even managed to get my own shoes and socks on (no laces though).   My PT has been directing me to slow down and stop ‘bolting from one place to another’, but to think about how I am moving. Stand up straight, hips aligned, heel down first, go slow.    It’s amazing to be out, walking properly!

I am walking around the house using no crutches which feels great, and am mastering stairs with only one foot per stair.   I am still having trouble sleeping (but what parent doesn’t anyway) and I lie awake waiting for the next four hourly pain medication.  My PT thinks that the reason some of my exercise are still so difficult – basically anything involving lifting my leg vertically – is to do with my abdominals still being so weak after having the baby last summer.  I trained my leg and arms muscles well for the post-surgery recovery with all the biking and swimming but certainly slacked off on abdominals …maybe this will motivate me….  On the plus side I have to replace all my trainers and soft soled shoes as they are molded to fit my previous hip alignment.  Continuing to wear them will be detrimental to recovering and learning to walk correctly with my new hip and could cause trouble with my left hip and my knees.  A great excuse for shopping once I can get shoes on and off easily in the shop. 

Chris and I have finally clued into the fact that the reason my blood thinner injections are so painful some nights and fine on others is more to do with how recently I took pain meds than with how /where he inserts the needle. 

 I am looking forward to heading into the city tomorrow to see Dr Davidovitch and, though I’m not looking forward to the staples coming out, I’m keen to hear how he rates my progress.  Hopefully he’ll be pleased and allow me to start driving.  Life will really feel as though its getting back to normal then. 

11 days after surgery

I’m  loving the spring weather we’re getting – particularly because I can get outside and enjoy it. I feel amazed by the fact that I can already walk very comfortably on the crutches.  I even managed a walk around the block with Oliver yesterday (a two year old seemed like a compatible pace – of course once he decided to make a bolt for it there was no way I could catch him so maybe it wasn’t the best decision ever).

I can now shower, get in and out of bed relatively easily, and have started to hobble slowly using no crutches around the bathroom or kitchen.  I have a weird swaying motion and its very slow but hey, I can make a cup of tea and carry it to the table to drink it sitting down instead of standing by the kettle. 

I am still living on four hourly pain medication of acetaminophen and oxycodone which makes me happy and mobile, sleepy, mellow, then grumpy, irritable and increasingly fidgety as I cycle through to the next dose.  I try to time phone calls, activities with the children and going to bed at the right times in the cycle.  (I imagine my family is working out when to be near and when to avoid me too).  Having said this, most of the time there is remarkably little pain when I think that just 11 days ago Dr Davidovitch was sawing off the top of my thigh bone.

First outing - only the supermarket but great to be away from the house. 9 days post op

6 days after surgery

I feel as though my leg is full of metal!!  I don't know whether it is the metal inside I feel or just the 15 staples on the outside, but it certainly feels weird: heavy, unresponsive, like there really is a metal pole in there somewhere stopping me from bending and moving properly.  However, as my 2 year old Oliver says, the incision does look “cooooool…like a train track”.

I’ve had the visiting nurse in for her visit; she is allotted 3 visits but says she doesn’t think she needs to come again unless I feel there’s a problem. That has to be a good sign.  She checked through my medications and confirmed that the needles that I have to inject my blood thinner with each night are not larger than those the hospital used.  Thankfully Chris does this and he is oblivious to my wincing, loudly.  

The Physiotherapist was also in.  She checked out the house, the stairs, front door steps.  She also left me a series of exercises to do three times a day, all of which are unchallenging and painless except for lifting my foot vertically upwards when I am sitting. This seemingly simple maneuver is still proving absolutely impossible. I feel totally paralyzed attempting that.  

I have been using the crutches 80% of the time today, abandoning my walker.  I even made it to visit two neighbours for a cuppa during the day. It felt so good to be outside, it was worth it even if I do feel a little extra sore this evening. 

I kept on top of the four-hour medications and have felt positive all day.

First Full Day At Home

I got very disillusioned last night about how many of my everyday basic activities I am currently unable to do.  Its the first time since booking the surgery back in the Autumn that I've felt that low about it all.

It took a long time when I went to bed to arrange the pillows in a way that I could get into the bed and that would hopefully be comfortable for the whole night.  After that I slept so well, only waking up once for more pain meds. 

Today went really well.  I pottered around the house with my walker and using one crutch on the stairs.  As its impossible to get up or down stairs without someone to carry my walker for me, I had to organise my time to make sure that whenever the babysitter went out with the children I was in the part of the house that I wanted to be.  It is impossible to carry anything and use a walker so I contemplated using a backpack to cart things around but ended up attatching a giftbag which I can get things in and out of easily to the walker, as well as my waterbottle with a ribbon.  Now my cell phone, magazine etc are not always in the wrong place once I've lowered myself into a chair.  And my walker looks a little less hospital-like.

The pain is minimal so long as I keep up with the oxycodine. 
 I think I deserve a glass of wine though tonight to go with it.

Day three after surgery

Day 3

A painful night which left me sitting in a chair for large chunks of it. The day was a small improvement in yesterday though, and psychologically, just knowing I was going home really motivated me. I got to see my incision site: about 7cm long, stapled every 3 mm with small metal staples.  I didnt have time to count them before the resident quickly strapped on the new dressing.  I had PT exercises and practice on stairs and walking, and needed  help with dressing to leave.  It will be a while before I can do that alone.  It took a while for the the usual hospital paperwork to be completed before I could be wheeled out of the hospital to Chris waiting in the car.  The drive was uncomfortable, though Chris did his best, and it was lovely to get home!  The children were satisfyingly pleased to see me, with Ella having made life-size anatomical drawings of how the inside of my body now looks.

It is wonderful to be home and I know I will heal much faster here and feel better mentally, even if the house is already presenting challenges that we hadnt forseen (such as there is a handrail only on the left side of the stairs which makes going up easy but down difficult).  I still feel as though I have no idea of the timeline for the recovery so Chris and I spent a long time discussing what additional assistive devices it would be worth getting hold of before deciding on none (we have the walker and the crutches  - which I am not ready to use yet). 

I had a glorious deep sleep this afternoon on my own bed and now am looking forward to a night of no bloodpressure / temperature / blood draws and 5 am enforced washes. 

It was wonderful to have Chris prepare, serve and clean up our family Sunday dinner but I know how frustrated I'll soon feel about him having to do all the work looking after me and the children all weekend after working all week himself. 

Day 2 After Surgery

Day 2 After Surgery
Despite all the wake-ups I managed a relatively decent sleep. (though the nightnurse dressed all in white with bleached white hair that shook me awake at 4am, waving a needle and saying in a strong Transylvanian accent "I vant to draw your blood" is still a disturbing image - and I'm  sure I didn't imagine it!)
Due to the improved sleep, and fewer drugs swirling around my system, my nausea was practically gone today. 
I was able to eat a little of each if my meals, which in turn made me feel increasingly stronger through the day. 
It's amazing how, when you feel physically stronger your mental attitude changes too. Yesterday I wondered if I'd made a mistake choosing to operate; if I'd be able to get better; if I could go back to doing what I could do before.  Chris asked me today if some of the previous pain in my hip had now gone. It took me by surprise as I hadn't given a thought to that since the surgery. Yesterday was a tough day, and though today is better, I can still only think of each small step that is in front of me - not the final goal. 

PT involved walking with the walker round the knee and hip unit several times during the day. I also went up and down the practice flight of stairs twice.  My steps are getting more fluid and less painful. The first few steps each time are very hard- as though my right leg doesn't remember what to do without me physically moving it forward with my hands. I  can also get myself on and off the bed though it is slow and painful. There are exercises to do in the bed and on the highchair, these are ok. 
The doctor removed the drain tube from the incision: painless but some impressive blood. It seems to have stopped now though. 
My surgeons assistant discussed that my goal should be to aim towards going home tomorrow. Strangely, after talking to Dr Davidovitch downstairs, he reappeared  an hour later saying that they both felt i should go home today. I'm suspicious about why the sudden decision change.  Maybe when you pick an aggressive surgeon he will continue to be aggressive about all aspects of hip replacement.... Maybe it doesnt look so good if one of his patients doesnt recover as quickly as he advertises? Anyway I'm not ready to go today so tomorrow it is. 

With my higher energy levels I was able to enjoy my visitors more today, also a few hours peace and quiet whilst I had the room to myself with no roommate. 

Arriving at NYU

A new hip! Brought to you by Stryker TM

Husband Chris here... Trudy was experiencing technical difficulties in the hospital and requested I provide an update. I’m pleased to report the surgery went well according to the doctor. First night was painful with little sleep complicated by nausea from the pain medication.  I was however blown away by Trudy, very slowly and with the help of a walker, making her way unassisted to and from the bathroom less than 24 hrs post op.  Baby steps for the time being but still encouraging.  Trudy was implanted with a titanium hip from Stryker Corporation. Hard to believe one of the Terminator like objects on Stryker’s website is now a permanent part of my wife’s beautiful body. That said, they look very resilient. Useful life is quoted as 15-20 years but as expained, there are no statistics to support this claim because you have to wait 15 years for the data and it's more likely they may last much longer.  Hopefully we'll never see the hip or it will be many decades before we meet again.  Hoping to have Trudy back home on Sunday. 

Day 1 after surgery

5am the nurses insist on bathing me, 6am they insist is breakfast time, although I am too nauseas to eat. After multiple medical staff visit for different tests and questions it is finally 8am and PT time.  I was really nervous about trying to move my legs off the bed and then learning to walk . Getting off the bed was hideous but walking with a frame wasn't too bad. It wasn't as intuitive as I had expected it would be.. "move frame, lean on frame, move bad leg, move good leg". Repeat. I am pleased with how I did and keen to take it a little further next time.
Visitors were lovely to see but the energy required made me sick. I was able to nap on and off (at one point so deeply that the nurse went into a panic trying to wake me) until x-rays and another attempt at walking.  This time nausea and dizziness stopped me from getting far at all. 
5 more lovely visitors left me feeling blessed but exhausted and sick.
Dr Davidovitch checked in on me. He says my blood count is ok, I shouldn't need a transfusion, and still appears to think going home tomorrow is an option. I can't see  that I'll be ready but here's to a good night sleep and not too much pain. 

Surgery

Recgonized the chair to needed wait in, pre-op by dr davidovitch's Star Wars Jedi Night. Surgery delayed by several hours but finally got walk into the operating room at about 3:00. 'Enjoyed' listening to the sounds of the surgical team counting out their knives; fortunately I had already taken out my contact lenses so could actually see them. After the IV was put in my hand I was out immediately.  I have vague memories of waking up  in the recovery room, talking with chris, and Dr Davidovitch coming in to say that it all went well. There are even vaguer memories of being much later to my shared room. 
The first night was very long, with very little sleep. I was happy and comfortable thanks to the morphine I put in with a push of my thumb every 6minutes. 

Today's the day

SO thirsty - nothing to eat or drink since midnight and my surgery isn't until 1:30 this afternoon.  Chris and I tried to think of what we could do with all the free time we have until we need to be at the hospital ( a whole 3 1/2 hours).  But we can't go for breakfast, its raining so no walk, most shops aren't open yet...oh well.