Am I being too ambitious?

[JaneyGS]

Hi All,

I am scheduled to have my LTHR on 21st September. I have just booked tickets to go to one of the events at the Chester Literature Festival that will be 3½ weeks after my operation. Am I likely to be up to a little outing like this at that stage? The venue is about 5 minutes drive from home and hubby will be able to drop me right outside so that I won't need to walk from the car park. I guess there will be stairs to get in and then it will mean sitting down for an hour or so. What do you all think?

Thanks

Jane

 

[lily77]

Just from all that I have heard I would say that you would probably be pushing it... I am really thinking about putting mine out until December now so that if I in fact need more than 3 weeks or so before I can go back to work I am not having to take a bunch of unpaid time off. Either way good luck to you!!

 

[debkakes]

I am going to say that you will be fine for an outing like that, if in that 3½ weeks you are progressing to your satisfaction. It sounds close to home, and sitting for an hour should not stress you. Here's what I did when I went out to the movies after 2 weeks: I took my walker into the theater with me, put it on its side and put a pillow on it to elevate my leg. I sat pretty comfortably for 2.5 hours. Ask your physical therapist either in hospital or at home (if you have home PT) to teach you how to do stairs. It is not hard at all if you take them one at a time and have railings to grip: "bad" down first going downstairs; "good" up first going up. Good luck!! And I think you'll be fine, and ready for a little outing after 3-1/2 weeks.

 

[Steve_Marlow]

Jane, I'm sure you will be fine. You will be shown how to manage stairs before you leave hospital and little bonus points such as this event will help you along your road to recovery.

If you suspect the seats will be low you might want a couple of cushions to lift yourself up, for comfort and to increase the angle to your legs so you aren't close to compromising your hip restrictions.

Good luck
Steve

 

[sharonslp]

My experience says you will be fine, but I do recommend you take a cushion with you in case the seating is low and/or uncomfortable. Time your pain meds to take some when you leave the house. I was still napping frequently at 3½ weeks, so give yourself down time on both sides of the excursion.

Sometimes surgery throws in complications that are not anticipated. As long as you don't experience any of those, you will welcome the diversion by that point. Have fun.

Sharon

 

[Josephine]

I think you'd be pushing it. In this article Activity progression for THR, I have suggested the following progress

Weeks 4 and 5PT can now get serious but never ever overdo it
Increase walks around, out in the garden or street, to 20 mins, longer if you feel up to it.
Get started on more PT but very, very gently - do not over do it

I know I'm known for being a cautious Cathy at times - okay, most of the time! But I know that if this event requires you to spend more than 30 minutes in a theatre, you will be in tears by the end of the evening and probably take days to recover. Sorry but that's my opinion. If you feel you want to risk it, that's entirely up to you but my gut instinct is to say don't do it.

And did you forget the Energy Drain for THRs.

 

[Poppet]

Hi Jane, I would totally agree with Jo!

Even at 7 weeks post when I went back to work I found it difficult to sit in one position for more than 20 minutes, got very fidgety.. and thinking back to approx 3 weeks post, I was too tired to go anywhere..

But, we are all different and from the pre surgery perspective none of us have any idea how the surgery, and our recovery is going to progress.. Best to not get your hopes up too much

 

[Kelsey]

Hi Jane,
I think the answer is probably "you won't know till you're there." It seems that so many people vary in their recoveries. I have read some posts in which folks are really moving at 3.5 weeks, and some in which folks are barely out of their homes. I suppose this variation is evident in the answers above... I have learned that there is no "normal" in this process! Best wishes to you.

 

[forbesy]

Personaly Jane

I wouldn't take the chance of a set back after waiting so long to get that hip done, why take the chance the chairs are probably low and uncomfortable.
I remember attending the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh for an xmas show before going for my right op in Feb last year. 3 1/2 hours I could hardly walk when i came back out and in so much pain.

Billy