3 week video

I'm feeling pretty good... still have pain in the hip. From time to time there are sharp, stabbing pains in the skin, muscles and even what feels like deep in the bone. I think these have something to do with the healing process; I just keep imagining that what I'm feeling are nerves and things sort of stitching themselves back together. And, I'm sore at the end of the day, especially if I've walked or been more active than usual. Doing normal stuff like errands seems to tire me out pretty quickly.



I have been discharged by the home health nurse and have "graduated" from physical therapy! The home health nurse says my incision looks great and my scar should be minimal. (To me it looks horrible, but I don't have a lot of experience with surgical scars--thank goodness.) My PT Tom says there is nothing left to teach me, that I just need to keep doing my exercises until the restrictions have been lifted and I can start doing outpatient therapy. Also he okayed me to walk with a cane, check out the video!

Two weeks down!

Okay really two weeks and one day... I should have posted yesterday. I did film this video of me walking with one crutch yesterday:



I'm amazed at how quickly I seem to be recovering. I'm still sore but getting stronger every day. The nurse came and removed the staples from my incision so I'm now able to take regular showers! Hooray... I've been walking around the neighborhood and increasing the distance by just a little each day.

I've also been enjoying visits from friends. On Wednesday, Danielle came and took me out to Dominick's in downtown Lawrenceville. Other than the unexpected meat sauce on the gnocchi, it was a great first outing! Yesterday Kelley brought this delicious apple pie over, and Cap'n Phil came by to say hi too.

6 days down

Six days out. My hip is sore, but it's manageable. It's hard for me to move my left leg, although getting easier and easier. At first I had to have someone lift it and move it to get in and out of bed. Now I can get in bed myself, although I still need a little help getting out of bed (I have a leg-lifter and I'm getting pretty good at using it).

I have some precautions I have to follow for about 6 weeks: my thigh can't be less than a right angle to my torso, my leg can't cross the midline of my body, and I can't twist the hip or leg. Basically this means I have to sit in chairs with arms so I can use them to push up, and I can't cross my legs. I have to sleep with this huge wedge between my legs to make sure I don't cross them or twist in my sleep. It looks rather torturous but I really don't mind it, I'd rather have it than worry about moving the wrong way.

Lillian was commenting about Roald Dahl's hip bone. In my case, my scar is the only souvenir because they didn't take as much bone out as with a total hip replacement. They shaved off the top of the femoral head and capped it with an implant. They also put a metal cup in the acetabulum, or pelvic hip. This resurfacing technique preserves more bone for later in life, in case I need a revision. It also allows for more range of motion and once it's all healed, is less likely to become dislocated than a typical total hip replacement. That means I can do yoga again one day, yay!

To the right is a picture of the kind of implant I have. Click on the picture for more information about resurfacing courtesy of Wright, the company that made my new hip.

Today I walked outside a little bit for practice. Stay tuned tomorrow, I'm planning to post a video of me walking with my flame crutches and shiny new bionic hip!