Bilateral THR “Oh you brave soul!”<

[Mojo333]

Understandable.
We Should be thoughtful and mindful. And no falling! In case I forgot to mention it before!
One leg had kind of a disconnect...it was a little "distracted?"
Please do take care...but it will slowly get better and better.
Hope you have a peaceful evening.

 

[mannyalfa]

Pull in my hip flexor feels much better. My last PT day in Miami, today was intense quads massage, Therapist noticed improvement in my gait. Still waiting for my corporate HR to clear me to go back to work.

Hard to believe that this Friday will be 4 weeks!
Stiffness is almost gone and my left leg is noticeably stronger. I feel that I now blend in with the rest of mankind-LOL!

My next goals are more long-term: transition from ‘ambulatory’ to ‘athletic’. This will be done at a more stately pace, with safety in mind. I’d like to be on ice skates & rollerblades by next summer-which I think is a reasonable and prudent timeline. Those activities require a lot of leg strength and stability which will mean gym workouts even after PT is over with, as well as a good stretching regimen: at 53, there is no reason I cannot be as or more flexible than I was before: my OS told me that there were some congenital issues with my hips that may have limited my mobility even when I was young (as a karate student I found round-house kicks difficult despite hours of stretching).

 

[lovesstars]

2-week post-op follow up with OS, walked 50ft unassisted (!). still getting my ‘sea-legs’... Endurance is better. Incisions healing very nicely, no more itching. Cleared to drive and back to work on Monday a week from today.

Wow! That’s amazing!

 

[Mojo333]

Glad to hear you are doing well my "Both at Once?!" Pal.

Hope you are still giving those new hips some down time...isn't it grand to start gaining summer endurance and strength.
It will get there!!
Hope tomorrow is a good day!

 

[mannyalfa]

Today marks one month after surgery!

Stitches have dissolved, using aloe & scar-away on the incisions. Still numbness and painless hardness at ‘ground-zero’ of surgery.

Awaiting insurance approval for another five sessions of PT (they only approve them in blocks of 5) but that’s coming along nicely. I’ll have my 6-week follow-up next week, and awaiting drug-test results to go back to work.

Enjoying simple things: walked a shopping mall for the first time in years! Want to walk the beach, but South Florida has been having algae & seaweed issues lately.

Working on flexibility & range of motion as well as strengthening my left leg, still a little difficult to bring my knee up, but that’s from years of dragging it around rather than surgery.

Reintroducing myself to people who never saw me walk unaided “Hi, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced....”

I wanted to be ‘my old self’ again, but I got a new ‘me’ who I like even better: the past month has changed me in ways I would never have imagined: I got more than new hips and the ability to walk again: I’ve gained perspective, happiness, optimism and humility!!

 

[Layla]

Happy One Month Anniversary!
You're doing great. Keep it up.
This surgery does have a way of making us appreciate the little things in life all over again.
Activity like walking in a mall, which became so difficult as our hips deteriorated.
Good Luck with your follow up office visit. Let us know how it goes.
Cheers!
@mannyalfa

 

[mannyalfa]

Walking for distance now. I can walk a few blocks. My new goal is to be able to walk the Sawgrass Mills Mall, which is a mile long within two weeks. I hope to get clearance from my OS to swim: the scar on my right leg is hardly noticeable, but the one on my left is an ‘indentation’ which I imagine is residual swelling in my upper thigh-there is still a little numbness and itching around ‘ground-zero’ of my incision.

I only get authorization for 5 PT sessions at a time from my Insurance carrier, additional approval takes a few days, so I do simple stretching and walking on my own as well as stationary bike, staying mindful that my bones are still grafting to my implants.

I am slowly beginning an exercise and diet regimen: I now have no excuse not to!

 

[Mojo333]

Happy happy for you.
Isn't it splendid.
Great for you and so wonderful for what lies ahead.
another double happy hippy

 

[Mojo333]

Wondering how my bilateral pal is faring.
Hope you didn't hit the ODIC (Overdid It Club) as I found was easy to do once I was able to get more mobile.
Hope all is well with you and that you are still getting that much needed rest while getting back to life.
Hope you have a great weekend!

 

[mannyalfa]

Wondering how my bilateral pal is faring.
Hope you didn't hit the ODIC (Overdid It Club) as I found was easy to do once I was able to get more mobile.
Hope all is well with you and that you are still getting that much needed rest while getting back to life.
Hope you have a great weekend!

42 days after surgery.

I’ve come far, but still have a ways to go. Walking short distances is one thing: leading an active lifestyle is another, and I’m not there yet-that’ll take a while.

I did something today I hadn’t done in YEARS: I tied my own shoes! Amazing the satisfaction of such a simple task!

Residual swelling around the incision in my left hip has gone down: I was worried because It kinda looked like a bite had been taken out of my left hip, but it’s looking more like my right one, which is healing very nicely.

Things are progressing well, though I’m not pushing myself as hard anymore: Now that I can walk, I’m taking it slower and more methodically. For obvious reasons I wanted to go from crippled to mobile ASAP, transitioning from mobile to athletic will require a slower transition. I went from recumbent to stationary bike, and hope to ‘hit the road’ on an actual bike by thanksgiving (I was fortunate to find a park with a velodrome not too far from home, so I can safely transition) The emphasis now is on overall conditioning: years of limited mobility made any kind of aerobic activity impossible. Right now the best thing for me is walking-I’ve been able to walk for three weeks now, and it still amazes me... I no longer have to ‘sit and pivot’ to get in and out of the car, but I do have to lift my left leg a little with my hand.

I have a small hole in my left incision, right at the ‘fold’ of my hip. I get a small amount of clear discharge from it, I try to keep neosporin on it and check it frequently, to ensure that the discharge doesn’t turn yellow or green and isn’t foul-smelling. In fact, I got more hibicleanse and use it on my incisions when I shower, then dab it with a cotton ball soaked in peroxide. I have my 6-week post-op appointment Monday, so my OS can have a look at it.

Recovery IS a long journey, but I have found tha once you regain the ability to walk, the fine-tuning and taking one’s physical abilities to the next level can proceed at a more stately pace.

I can confidently say that in 2019, the ‘training wheels’ come off!!

While my initial efforts during early rehab and PT may have seemed alarmingly aggressive to some, looking back, I would not have changed a thing. I set goals and achieved them: that felt good!

It’s not just the journey or the milestones, but about the people: there are those who knew me before my hips went bad, those who never saw me walk unaided until a few weeks ago: both who’ve seen me recently are amazed at the change. In the future there are those I will meet who will never know about it unless I tell them-THAT will be the true measure of my successful recovery.

 

[Mojo333]

I did something today I hadn’t done in YEARS: I tied my own shoes! Amazing the satisfaction of such a simple task!

Isn't it wonderful...I get that completely!


This is how it is for me now.
No one I meet suspects I've had my hips replaced and are shocked to learn when it does come up!
Makes me grateful Every Day.

Re activity...Do what works for you and regular life is usually enough..do give those new hips nothing to do when possible.
Still early recovery days!
You are on your way...keep on keeping on

 

[mannyalfa]

Before & After.... it felt like it looked.

 

[hellysully]

@mannyalfa : too bad about that torn hip flexor. That must have hurt. It’s encouraging that you no sleep better. I almost stepped on a scorpion in my house last night, a shoeless,wandering insomniac without my glasses. I was praying the rosary at the time. My daughter tells me that would have protected me. I hope I can sleep better soon.

 

[mannyalfa]

@mannyalfa : too bad about that torn hip flexor. That must have hurt. It’s encouraging that you no sleep better. I almost stepped on a scorpion in my house last night, a shoeless,wandering insomniac without my glasses. I was praying the rosary at the time. My daughter tells me that would have protected me. I hope I can sleep better soon.

Wasn’t torn, just pulled, but it healed within a week.

Hope you can get some sleep: Melatonin helps me when I can’t sleep.

 

[Layla]

Hi there
Hope all is going well.
Happy Two Month Anniversary!
Leave us an update when you have time. We'd like to hear how you're doing.
A great rest of the week to you!
@mannyalfa

 

[mannyalfa]

Two months since surgery! Rode a bike, walked on the beach, attended an outdoor festival, and now that the pesky hole in my left incision finally closed, went swimming! My last physical therapy session was this past Monday.

Incisions look good, they are dark, but in time will fade and barely be noticeable. Still a little numbness in some spots of my upper thighs, but hopefully in time that will go away, and even if they don't, that's okay. It could be worse: in fact, it was!

You know, I was having bladder-control issues. It wasn't bad enough that I had to use "Depends", but I was getting there..... I simply thought it was just part of getting older, but it has improved dramatically since surgery.

. . . and for those of you wondering, but too shy to ask, YES, your love-life gets better too!!

I got my mobility back, I got my life back: I wanted to be like I was before, but I'm not. And maybe that's a good thing. I got two artificial hips, the best that money can buy, and the best people to put them in me. But I got something more, something less tangible, but nonetheless profound. I haven't quite defined what it is yet, but maybe I'll figure it out during the long walks and bike-rides to come.........

 

[Mojo333]

That's how I felt/feel too.
Re-inspired, I'd say.

I thought my numbness may be permanent too and also felt that would be allowable collateral damage if so...but it eventually got back to normal also.
So glad you are doing well!

 

[Mojo333]

Hope all is still going well my bilateral compadre

Onward....better and better!

 

[SurreyGirl]

What a great uplifting story… and nice to know there is light at the end of the recovery tunnel.. Thanks so much for posting the update

 

[mannyalfa]

What a great uplifting story… and nice to know there is light at the end of the recovery tunnel.. Thanks so much for posting the update

Thank you, SurreyGirl, next week it will be threee months, it’s hard to believe! I still get a little numbness around the incision now and then, but that’s pretty much it. Incisions healed nicely, and it will all be hardly noticeable within a year. Most importantly, I got my life back mobile and pain-free.