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THR And so, I Continue

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@gullimac, you are not on a hiatus from work for fun or to do chores around the house, but to recover from major surgery. Good for you for reminding yourself that you are only 2 weeks out. At 2 weeks I couldn't have even attempted a dishwasher repair, or lying on a stool on my belly. I could successfully get into the kitchen and maybe grab something from the fridge to eat. Couldn't even do dishes, as I couldn't stand that long. I think you are doing great. I am trying to wish your blues away!
 
@gullimac
Your progress sounds more like what I have heard from those who had the anterior approach so it seems doubly impressive and inspriational to me!

Glad to hear that you were able to catch yourself before doing any damage. Most of the time I think I'm probably overly careful, but then all of a sudden, especially when I'm tired, I find myself about to do something that could cause trouble and a moment of panic ensues.

It sure sounds to me as if you are contributing to your family in many ways even if not all the usual ones. And soon enough, you'll be doing more without pain than before you started this journey.

Still I'm familiar with the blues. Listening to music sometimes helps me. For anything related to the THR, I'm finding myself turning to this forum for a pick-me-up. And then there's always a good night's sleep that can do wonders for my mood. Hope those old blues vanish soon.
 
@gullimac -Thanks for your post. First, because I too will be having the posterior approach, and your recovery journey makes me hopeful. Second, because I can relate to the needing to contribute, to not wanting to be a drain for my small family. I anticipate I will struggle with that, and I'm glad I'm not alone. I'm suggesting to you as well as my future self to remember that this is just a season. And today's business of healing is tomorrow's empowerment to return to "taking care of business" like we are used to and are comfortable with. Please don't overdo it. You don't have anything to prove and you are so soon from having had a major operation. Enjoy that accomplishment for a bit longer before seeking new ones. You've earned it!
 
@Krista thank you for reminding me that it is called recovery for a reason. I have got to be patient and cut myself a break when I get in those moods.

And you are right @Katiedid2 I am contributing in some ways I don't normal get to. I have been working with both girls with homework a lot more often. During my school year I very rarely get to do that. To be honest getting to do that has made me think long and hard again about whether or not I want to continue in my chosen profession much longer. It has given me a lot of anxiety and stress. But, it also has made it hard for me to be involved in my girl's lives like I would want. I have been thinking about this for a couple years, but put it on the back burner when I realized I had 2 hips that needed replacing. Not sure what other line of work I would do and the prospect of starting over is scary.

@Sommers16 i too had a feeling this would be my biggest struggle with recovery. I have always been good at taking care of others and lousy at doing that for myself. But, I am trying. Thanks for the encouragement. It is so easy to forget how far things have come. It is easy to forget there is still a lot of healing yet to do.

Dentist visit today to try and continue to iron out the bite on my new dentures. It has been 3 weeks since I was last able to go by for an adjustment.
 
@gullimac you are coming up to what I call the one month slump! Recovery moves very quickly in the first weeks - lots of dramatic changes. About 4 weeks in the boredom hits along with the frustration of not being able to do everything. The mind says yes but the body isn't ready yet.

Still lots of healing going on. What seems impossible one day will be easy when you try again. You are doing great!
 
@gullimac I can relate to this bordom period when things are not moving along as quickly as we would like. Some days I can accept it, some days I can't. If I can find one or two things to accomplish through the day that I couldn't the day before, I applaud myself!:)

Just wanted to add a few more shows to add to the list that everyone has provided: BOSCH - found on Amazon. It's a detective series but we found it different than the others out there. TURN, AMC but first two seasons can be found on Netflix - story on the American Revolution and the network of spies that worked between the two sides.

@Miss Muffet Thanks for passing on Wolf Hall and Home Fires! I'll look these up and add them to the list!
 
@keepmovin LOVE Bosch! Had read the books prior to the show and loved them. He was not how I pictured Bosch but does a tremendous job with the character. I actually rewatched the first season with my dad we he came for the surgery to get him hooked.

Thanks for the recommendation on Turn!
 
So yesterday was busy. I had a dentist appointment to adjust my dentures. Since the wife works from home on Wednesdays she could drive me. She stayed in the car to review some grant proposals for a conference call in the afternoon. Folks there were happy to see me and find out how my hip was doing. While at the dentist both the home PT and home Nurse Care people called trying to come see me between 12:30 and 1:30. Had to call both on way home to arrange.

PT was ok. She gave me some good things to work on to get rid of the limp. I need to work on activating my glutes more. She also gave me a lot of leg raise style exercises. Probably too many in my mind. I will take what I can use and put the other aside for the most part. I am not going to push to hard on those. She admitted she does a lot more clinic based PT than in-home. She said the PT Assistant would come out on Friday. I was certainly tired after she left, but encouraged.

The home health nurse was going to come right after, but that was not quite the case. When she did get there she let me know that my OS wanted to wait until next week to remove the bandage and staples. We went over my meds, she removed the bottom portion of the bandage where the drain was since and cleaned it since it was dirty. She also echoed the prune juice as a solution to my personal plumbing issues. I will say that the prune juice worked quite well.

Got to help with homework again last night. Today I am waiting for the GE repair guy to call. My attempt at dishwasher repair was unsuccessful.
 
Had 2nd round of PT today. Still a few things I probably won't continue, but PT Assistant worked with me on my walk a bit at the end. We worked on evening up my weight distribution. That was helpful. She said I already looked better than she expected from the PTs notes--I must have worked on the excersises she gave me. Not so much. I have gone almost entirely with the cane today. Had a decent walk this morning too.

Hip #2 has been a little balky the last couple of days. Hoping it is just a short term thing.
 
Enjoyed catching up on your thread. You are doing amazing! I am wrapping up the last two weeks of school and heading for hip two in two weeks. My first year to miss graduation in forever! I pushed myself back to class at six weeks from first hip, glad I will have summer for hip two!


RTHR 1/15/2016. Posterior approach. Due to AVN. LTHR in my future.
 
Glad to see you are doing well and not over doing it with the PT. my physio will be my home PT and I talked to him the other day and he said he won't be doing much, just checking my gait and a few exercises but nothing big.

Glad to see the blues didn't last. I understand what you mean with not feeling like your contributing and I do already get that now pre-op and just keep looking forward to being recovered and carrying my weight at home.


Candice, 29 yo. Rheumatoid Arthritis. Australia. Sequential unilateral THR June 1st 2016 and July 13th 2016 :)
 
Hi there, slowly and surely does it. 4 weeks mark and i can now walk without any aids except outside where i feel very vulnerable, use one stick and walk slower than everyone else. Using a cane inside and making sure you stand upright and concentrate on heel toe is helpful and also if you can walk towards a mirror or reflection in window you can give yourself a telling off and stand up straight. I have come on leaps and bounds in the last week and you are not far behind me. Even cut my toenails this mornings, strange angle admittedly but got there. Each day there will be little something to be proud of. Good luck. :):flwrysmile:
 
I wouldn't say the blues are completely gone yet. It goes back and forth. One minute I feel pretty good about progress, then a while later I get depressed with my limp or inability to go do something with the kids, then I stop and put things in perspective and start the process over again. But it is better than it was at the beginning of the week.

I think some of my depression is not being happy with my job and not particularly looking forward to going back. I also think some of it is because I am still struggling with my dentures. I can't really eat what I want and I don't enjoy what I eat most times. I used to use food as a comfort. The bright side is I have continued to loose weight which does make me feel better about myself.

The other problem I am having is sleeping. Not having a hard time going to sleep. Just can't stay asleep. Having a hard time getting back on my CPAP consistently. It tends to really dry out my mouth. I used to get some of that on occasion, but that has been much worse since the dental work. I may a actually try and get back in the bed tonight instead of the recliner.

Took a walk with my youngest this morning while oldest and wife were trying to sleep in. Felt like I did a better job putting weight on the new hip today. Then we passed the basketball back and forth for a little while. That was fun. Oldest is in a play at school today and she is very excited. I am going to head to that. It will be nice to get out of the house again.
 
You're doing great! Cut yourself a little bit of slack....it hasn't even been a month yet! Don't try to be SuperMAN...you are, however, being SuperDAD. Enjoy the play today....just think, two weeks ago you might not have considered attempting to be there in person. Count the little things.....and give yourself heaps of credit.
 
Just got caught up on your thread @gullimac (my alerts haven't been working very well) and I think you're doing great. Those post-op blues and boredom are for the birds! Getting out to your daughters play should help in lightening your spirits. Hang in there twinsy and remember...one day and one step at a time AND this too shall pass. :-)
 
The play was fun. My girl was Slurping Beauty, a take off on Sleeping Beauty, in the Food Channel inspired farce. Wife brought my stool so I didn't have to sit on the low,plastic, armless school chairs. Then we hit Brusters for some ice cream. Now I am dead tired. Gonna try and nap while I watch the Cubs game. :yawn:
 
I understand the depression related to not enjoying work. I am in the same position and hope my agency can find me something else suitable whilst I'm in recovery as I dread the thought of going back to my job. I only took it because my other job was an hour away and the pain was getting too much travelling and working full time.

So glad you got out to your daughters play- how old are your girls?


Candice, 29 yo. Rheumatoid Arthritis. Australia. Sequential unilateral THR June 1st 2016 and July 13th 2016 :)
 
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