THR Bionic Jaycey checking in!

[Hoppy Nanny]

Good luck in your new home @Jaycey....hope you love it there!
You have done this 2nd THR so well......an example to us all....hope you are having a teeny weeny rest too!! Chrisdie x


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[Celle]

Hi @Jaycey

I'm glad your hip is healing well.

Enjoy your new home!

 

[beachgal]

@Jaycey, I hope this is an extra-special holiday season for you. You've been such a source of encouragement and information to me this year. I'm so thankful for you.


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[Poppet]

OZ to @Jaycey - how are you doing hon?

 

[dickinson]

hi @Jaycey . just checking in and here you are after surgery. glad it's going so well and congrats on your move. hi @Poppet. remembering how much you both helped me. I'm doing great, thank God.

 

[Poppet]

Thanks @dickinson - I also posted on your thread xx

 

[Jaycey]

@dickinson thanks for stopping by my thread. @Poppet Sorry I have been absent lately. I did try to go back to the office this week and can confirm - a PHASED RETURN is a must!

Yesterday I attempted to work a full day in the office and failed. By 3PM I was feeling faint and had to leave. Today I worked a 1/2 day and then went to my follow up consultant appointment. My surgeon confirmed I am way ahead of the game in terms of recovery. But when I reported my failed attempt in the office he asked why I thought a phased return to the office was not required when I had been so good about a phased return to working from home. Fair point! Unfortunately my employer is not cooperating so I may need to get very creative mixing annual leave (vacation) days with working from home days.

The very good news is apparently my LLD was corrected with this THR. They took followup x-rays today and showed me what is now a very slight LLD. This explains why I still have a limp (my orthotics have a build in lift). I am hoping I can find my old orthotics without the lift and start using them. More adjustments for my back but major progress for the future. Although I am no longer living in the area local to my consultant he has agreed to let me continue to follow up with him. Continuity of care is really important to me. And, I have been referred to PT to help me adjust to this lack of LLD and get the strength back in my right side. All in all - a very good followup!

 

[Poppet]

Excellent follow up @Jaycey - hang in there with the job, what a pain they are ! Yes, be creative with your leave etc.. Sounds like this surgery and recovery is classic text book - good for you hon - so pleased for you! xx

 

[Celle]

I'm glad you are doing so well, @Jaycey .

Remember that your health is the most important thing, not your employer's expectations. Use your leave if you have to, but don't compromise your recovery.

 

[zauberflöte]

@Jaycey you are doing so very well! I remember me at six weeks and the difference is monumental! You go girl!! Glad you've got some leave to get creative with
How are you enjoying your new digs? And food luck finding those old orthotics-- I have recently learned that if you didn't unpack it right away, you may never find <insert useful item here>. I needed a whisk tonight. I have No Idea where it may be..... :lol:


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[Hoppy Nanny]

Glad all going well @Jaycey...hope you sort that phased return sorted......hoping the new home is all that you wanted too...what a 6 weeks you've had! Xxx


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[Peaches]

Hi, @Jaycey ... I can't believe it has been six weeks plus since your surgery. You've been through so much more than the recovery of the surgery itself, too: your lovely cat; the move; having to work from home. All of which is emotionally draining and physically draining too. Possibly more on your plate this time than after your first THR? I wonder if the return to the physical office was a little rough because you had been through the moving process, packing and unpacking boxes, lugging boxes, reaching up, reaching down, etc. All those "movements" add up and might be more of a drain than we realize? Not sure, but just guessing since that was kind of how my THR recovery went: every little movement added up. I'm glad and relieved to hear you will be able to use vacation and work-at-home days so you can phase back in to the job. In the years leading up to my THR I squirreled away my vacation days so I could use them for my recovery. I hope your employers quiet down and let you phase back in the way you need to for YOU.

So great to hear that your LLD was corrected! That is no small thing! And overall that your OS said your recovery was way ahead of schedule. And did you do lots of PT during those six weeks to achieve this? Or was it mainly walking you did?

Really happy that the lion's share is rapidly fading into the past, Jaycey. Both hips done! And done well!
Take good care, and let us know how you are doing, when you have time. Your reports have been inspiring and helpful to so many.

 

[Jaycey]

I have recently learned that if you didn't unpack it right away, you may never find <insert useful item here>.

I learned long ago to make a mental note of where I put things like orthotics. Found them first try!

every little movement added up

I agree. As we always advise here it's very different working from home and not having the stress and energy drain of getting up, getting ready for work and commuting into the office. Then there is the socialising and finally the real work. It all adds up! Going back to the office environment needs to be phased as well. I am planning on working from home next week and then doing 2 half days with the balance work from home the week after that.

And did you do lots of PT during those six weeks to achieve this? Or was it mainly walking you did?

I haven't done any PT and only done minimal walking to be honest. I do keep moving as my back issues start to kick in if I don't move around constantly. I really can't point to any one thing I did differently this time except that I did not wait until the hip collapsed. My surgeon did say it was already grade 4 (nearly gone - total bone on bone). But I did push to get it done quickly and I really think that was a benefit. I also had the mindset that the surgery would be successful and I focused all my energy into getting back to normal quickly.

I am so jazzed about the LLD being fixed. Not having to wear a lift in my right shoe is a real godsend. I still have a bit of adjustment to go through as my back is reacting to the new way of walking. All in good time.

 

[sharonslp]

This all sounds like a good excuse to go shoe shopping soon. So glad your LLD is so improved.

Sharon

 

[Jaycey]

This all sounds like a good excuse to go shoe shopping soon.

 

[zauberflöte]

@Jaycey "make a mental note" you say? :lol: do you have any idea how many mental notes I have lost track of over the seven months we have lived in this house??!! You will do much better than I have, I know it!


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[Peaches]

Your recovery is amazing, @Jaycey ... maybe you did more "walking" per se than you think, if you were moving around all the time. You had a lot of challenges with this surgery, and you've done incredibly well. A real inspiration!

 

[Jaycey]

@Peaches Thanks! This week has been a bit challenging as I am no longer using a lift in my shoe. My back is objecting to a new way of walking but the good news is every day things get a bit easier. Bending down and shoes and socks - got that one too. Sleeping on either side - no problem. Lifting anything of weight on the op side is still not something I can do. Probably best as that is the side where I had my spinal surgery.

 

[Jaycey]

If you read earlier posts in my recovery thread you will find I had quite a struggle with my employer regarding my "allowed" time for recovery and my pay during that period. After some heated negotiation my company agreed to pay me full pay for the first 6 weeks of my recovery. If I was unable to return to work before this period they would only pay statutory sick pay. I returned to working from home full time at 4 weeks and by 6 weeks was also going into the office. Yesterday my payslip showed a significant reduction in my pay due to statutory sick pay.

To say the least I am furious! I carefully managed my recovery to get back to work so as not to impact my own finances. As a company who is supposed to care and support staff I really resent them not keeping their part of the agreement. Even worse, as a company involved in healthcare they are actively promoting ignoring my surgeon's recommendations and returning to work way before any recovering hippie is ready.

Sorry about the rant. But this really is not right!

 

[djklaugh]

Oh drat, @Jaycey That really sucks!!!! Rant away - this situation certainly is rant-worthy! To ignore a surgeon's recommendations for post major surgery return to work strikes me as majorly unethical and possibly (I'm no lawyer) illegal!

"After some heated negotiation my company agreed to pay me full pay for the first 6 weeks of my recovery. If I was unable to return to work before this period they would only pay statutory sick pay."

Did you get that agreement in writing? I sure hope you did - cuz it seems like payroll did not get the memo about this. I'd say go back to the person with whom you made that agreement and tell him/her to call payroll and sort it out so you get ALL of the pay you are entitled to!!!

Happy 11/27 from across the pond - here known as Thanksgiving Day