This right anterior arthroplasty (hip replacement) certainly has been an experience. It all started with a simple trip and fall while camping with my granddaughter last June. I tore my hip flexors and just needed to wait for them to heal. During the healing process, we made an excellent decision. We decided to ride our motorcycle from Portugal to Scotland. We were hoping everything would continue to get better. During a quick side trip to Wales, it became apparent that it wasn’t going to do that. Waking up in the morning in the mountains of Snowdonia and not being able to get out of bed was like a punch in the gut. It was the point I decided I needed to go home and get things fixed.
T-7 days until surgery. (For more information read the previous three posts.) At the request of the doctor and the surgical team, my medications have been paused. I think I have everything lined up as to what I’m supposed to do. I now know how unprepared I was. I was told I needed to purchase a walker post-op and that’s all I had. After the return from the motorcycle delivery in Florida I just waited for the end of the week.
T-1 day. We were two and a half hours from the surgery center. We were told to spend the night at a nearby hotel for 2 nights. They didn’t want me going home after the surgery as the drive was too far.
I had requested a 7:00 am, or thereabouts, surgery time. I guess too many days in surgical suites working had clued me into what can happen with a later surgery time. No thanks. The day before they asked if they could put a quick case in front of me by pushing me to about a 7:30 a.m. start. No problem there. In the morning anesthesia popped in and let me know they would be doing a spinal. With my previous crushed spine, I let them know my skepticism. They said they were good and it would work well. On the first attempt my side went numb below the waist. Problem was, it was only the left side, the non-operative side. They took out the needle and tried again. Success! Below the waist was numb. They would also be doing light sedation so I could be awake and talk to them.
I chatted with them on and off trying not to disturb them. Answering questions as they asked. The sensations were very strange. I had seen this surgery many times before and knew what to expect. I could feel tugging and pushing and pulling on my body but there was no sensation of pain or otherwise. I could hear them drilling with a rasp the place for the cusp. I could feel them tugging on my leg as they inserted the titanium rod. I could feel them pounding the rod into place. All this again was without pain just a sensation of my body vibrating and movement.
Upon finishing up the surgery and closing the incision I was moved to post surgical recovery where Melanie came in to see me. All was good so far. When I was moved back to my room I was visited by the physician assistant. The doctor never came to see me. Strange I thought, as our surgeons always went to visit the patient and family post-op. A couple of hours after surgery a physical therapist came to visit me. I don’t think he really had a clue as to what was needed. He showed me how to get out of bed. But I had to remind him that my incision was on the right hip, and he was showing me wrong. Then he took me for a walk and showed me how to take steps. I reminded him I’ve been injured for 6 months and doing this all along. That was all he did. No plan for any post-op physical therapy. And this is where I felt the surgical group really let their patients down. I was given a sheet of paper with simple exercises to perform. Also, the instructions to walk as much as you can. That was it. There was no physical therapy or really any further instructions to help me. I had a couple friends going through this at the same time in different practices. They both had intensive physical therapy through 6 weeks and progressed quicker than I did. I downloaded a couple programs off the internet but ended up hurting myself instead. They also had pre-surgical instructions on what to get to help them in their daily activities. An example is a raised toilet seat. I didn’t know that I would need one. Getting off and on a normal toilet was very painful. It was also stressful. I almost shit myself more than once. Although I feel these guys did a great surgical job it would be difficult for me to recommend them because of what I would see as a lack of post-op care.
There were a couple times at specifically 3 weeks and 5 weeks where I thought I might have done something damaging because the pain was extreme. The last time there was a lot of pain in the exterior of my thigh muscle and at the hip. They wanted to see me and do x-rays and said everything was perfect. Then they said they didn’t want to see me again for several months. I was free to do whatever I wanted. When we came to Florida, I was 7 weeks. I’ve been faithfully walking, riding a bicycle and going to the gym. I’ve been off pain medication for quite some time now. Only the occasional Advil or Tylenol.
I am now at almost 12 weeks post-op. Just the past few days I have been able to walk without a crutch. The strength is returning and I’m getting close to being able to get back on the motorcycle, I think. I made the promise to wait for three months to the Doctor and Melanie. Hopefully next week I’ll be riding again.
Here’s to warm days and keeping the rubber side down,
2WANDRRs
2WANDRRs 
Recent Comments