Wife out of surgery...now the recovery begins

[Mike_Oettle]

Here’s wishing Lara a quick recovery and vastly improved mobility.
Regards,
Mike

[longhuntr74]

Dale...he did the traditional lateral posterior...she has a huge scar there already from her previous surgeries...so he basically reopened her in the same place, but he had to go back a bit farther as well at the top. We knew this in advance, as she had a multitude of issues...her leg was 1" shorter, she had virtually no socket to speak of, etc.

For everybody's knowledge...she has been up and walking twice today already. Physical therapist says that they will go for one more walk later today. All in all, things are going better than expected.

Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers. I've been sharing them with Lara as well.

[Jock Scot]

A bit late on this one, sorry, but that is great news. As the saying goes up here:-"This is the time to hurry slowly."

[MacMillans son]

Great news indeed Longhuntr!

I am amazed at the recovery time for hip replacements these days. I have had two clients who have had them this year. One sounding very similar to your wife's, no ball left on the end of the femur, and what was once a socket was non-existent. The top of her femur was resting against a curved spot on her pelvis!! From that, to weight bearing two days post surgery. It's pretty amazing what today's medicine, and the human body can accomplish in pretty short order.

Give her our best, I'm sure she'll be better than new in no time!

[Dale Seago]

Dale...he did the traditional lateral posterior...she has a huge scar there already from her previous surgeries...so he basically reopened her in the same place, but he had to go back a bit farther as well at the top. We knew this in advance, as she had a multitude of issues...her leg was 1" shorter, she had virtually no socket to speak of, etc.

Aye, I figured that was the most likely thing given her previous history. My own was the anterior entry. Something I noticed from that was that even though I expected to feel afterward like I'd been nailed by either a good Muay Thai kickboxer or a bad mule (and I was right), some of the upper-thigh muscles, especially the iliotibial band, felt VERY tight, stretched, and sore. Well, duh: I'd been walking around for at least a year with no cartilage and with the femur head sunk in a bit, so yes -- once both legs were functionally and actually the same length, those muscles were indeed very "stretched". I'm working through it well, though, it just takes some time. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if Lara experiences that as well.

For everybody's knowledge...she has been up and walking twice today already. Physical therapist says that they will go for one more walk later today. All in all, things are going better than expected.

That is wonderful news -- big thumbs-up!!

Just be sure she keeps her nurse-call button within reach! My second and final night in the hospital I awoke around 3 AM with a desperate need to pee. (The catheter was out at that point and things were finally working normally again.) I found that the call button on my bed wasn't connected/working; the unit on a cord had been hung on a wall way out of reach, and so had the room telephone. There was no handheld urinal or bedpan. If I could reach the walker in the room I could probably make it to the bathroom a few feet away. . .but someone had hooked up the compression stockings on my legs so that the cable for each leg went around a different side of the bed, effectively "tying me in".

After a lot of fruitless yelling, I grabbed my iPhone and called the hospital main number. I explained the situation and what room I was in. Literally seconds later I heard the phone at the nurses' station ring, followed by footsteps RUNNING to my door. Blissful relief was soon at hand.

[Bigkahuna]

I hope Lara has an uneventful and speedy recovery. Everyone I know who has had hip replacement surgery has commented on the improvement of their quality of life. Hope this holds true in this case as well.

[KFCarter]

All the best to your wife and yourself, and a prayer for a speedy, successful recovery!

[Sharkman]

My prayers and good wishes to your wife in her recovery.

I had a really bad spill on a motorcycle a few years ago and did some real damage to my left hip and I am always sympathetic to people when I hear that they are recovering from something very serious.

Good Luck to her!

[longhuntr74]

To all who posted...thank you. Your words of encouragement (and occassional humor) were much appreciated by both Lara and I.

Update: She did so well in the hospital that the doctor released her a day early! I got her home yesterday (Thursday) at about 6pm, went and got her meds at the pharmacy, fed her dinner, got her showered (those that have been in the hospital know how great a shower feels after), and put to bed for a full night's sleep about 8pm. She slept well all night...and even managed to get herself to the bathroom at 3am (I can't believe I didn't wake up). All is well!!

[Mike_Oettle]

longhuntr74 wrote: “She did so well in the hospital that the doctor released her a day early!”

This is wonderful news. Great that she is home, and can move about. But let her have all the rest she needs. Recuperation can be tough.
My best to you both.
Regards,
Mike