Thanks everyone! Yes, I'm very pleased with the results of my hip replacement. Again, it hasn't been a walk in the park, but I never expected it to be. All in all, it's been easier than I thought it would be--after the first couple of days right after surgery. They were the most difficult. My hysterectomy recovery went the same way. I think my body has a really hard time with the immediate post op days, but then takes off like a jet plane afterwards and heals pretty quickly from there on out.
Bea, you are so right about the rate of healing--at first you can notice a difference every day and then later it slows down. The first week or so still amazes me when I think about the huge progress I felt every single day. It was really quite fascinating (sp). Our bodies are just healing machines if they are set up to be able to do so!
I gave my horse caregivers the whole weekend off and am taking care of the horses myself, kind of like a test to see how I fare. My ex (and still close friend) Mike unloaded the bags of bedding shavings I had bought the day before--I'm not ready to do that yet. They weigh about 40 pounds. I figured out a way to do the hay so I'm not lifting much weight in the process.
I use the golfers reach big time for everything. I'm approaching 6 weeks out from surgery and if I could see my surgeon, I bet he would release me from hip restrictions ... although I still plan to work the new moves in gradually after he gives the "all clear". Not taking any chances.
I did a little too much, though, Saturday morning. My horse caregivers did a wonderful job overall, but they weren't as picky with the stall cleaning as I am and I stripped the stalls, adjusted some of the rubber stall mats that had shifted and stuff like that--a little too much for a body that's hasn't done this stuff in a while. It didn't bother my new hip that much (I swear that thing is indestructible!) but my back, shoulders, and other hip have been complaining a lot since then. Just muscle soreness and stiffness, and I know it will recover with a few days of rest, but I had to take a couple more oxycodone yesterday. I had been usually taking only one or two in the morning because of my overall body stiffness when I get out of bed. I must have a lot of arthritis in my body at multiple sites because my new hip feels better than many other parts of my body.
Now that I have the stalls updated and brought up to snuff, the day to day horse care is really pretty easy--much easier than before the hip replacement because I hurt so much with every step. There isn't any ice or snow (!!) where I am in upstate NY and I don't have much mud to walk through either because I had a lot of gravel work done around my barnyard area a few years ago (and worth every penny of the $6,000 it cost), so it should be pretty clear sailing today.
I'm going to touch base with the horse caregivers on Monday morning, but as long as the weather cooperates and we don't get dumped with a big snow storm or ice accumulation, I think I can manage the horses from here on out. Mike will still do the big things for me, and I'm sure the caregivers will remain "on call" for day to day stuff if turns out I can't do it all the time.
I really lucked out with the people who cared for my horses. They have been so wonderful! They really cared about my horses. And, they cared about me too. They were always thinking ahead and picked up grain for me when I was getting low, brought me some homemade beef stew, bought me a few things at the grocery store. Nice! They also took my dogs out with them when they did the horse chores so the dogs got more outside play-with-a-person time, which was very helpful especially in the beginning of the recovery when I couldn't do that much with them outside. They are busy, very active dogs that love to do things with people, not so much each other. I call them my "Calgon! Take me away!" dogs. (remember that old TV commercial).
See the surgeon for my 6 week follow up (which will end up being more like 7 and a half weeks) on March 19. My plan is to return to work the 22nd (Thursday) so I will have to work only 2 days before having a weekend to rest. A couple more weeks off work, which will be wonderful! My job is sedentary and I can work at my own pace, so I think I'll be fine. Really, I feel SO much better than before surgery--even right now at five and a half weeks from my surgery--that I think I will be able to handle a typical work day much better than before.
What I can't believe is how I did it before surgery! I met with a co-worker for lunch Friday and first thing out of her mouth was "OMG! You look so much better than before your surgery!" Well, that's what happens when they took away that awful unrelenting arthritis pain. Isn't it a great thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be forever grateful that I was able to have this wonderful surgery. Heck, I'm even going back for round two for the other hip later in the summer--not looking forward to it, exactly ... but overall, I guess I *am* looking forward to it. With two new hips on board--world watch out!!! Crazy woman will be turned loose ... and she can move now!!!! ha ha
The sun is coming out and it looks like a beautiful day here today. It was like this yesterday too. Upstate NY is usually pretty cloudy and dreary this time of year, so a sunny weekend is just SO wonderful! YIIIIIIPPPPPEEEEE!!!
Dorothy