THR Celebrating one at a time, encore!
- Thread starter Alitm
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Alitm
post-grad
Thank you for all your kind wishes. I was home for ten days and then flew back to Bermuda for three days for my brother's celebration of life service. I've been home again for six days and basically trying to catch my breath. My hips held up amazingly to being pushed to the limit! I realized what I could do, which was more than I thought. What I learned from this experience in regards to hips....
Strongly suggest talking to your OS about taking baby aspirin for travel....my OS recommended going back on baby aspirin for the travel (3 flights). Started a couple of days before travel, stayed on it through second trip.
Walking in airports is good if you are not in a rush to get to a flight. Wear easy to get off shoes, that also provide some support. Be prepared for "assuming the pat down/wanding position" at every security check-point. Some security agents are nicer than others
!
I spent four days in the hospital with my brother until he passed away, from early morning until late in the evening, on my feet most of the time. I was staying close by so went home to sleep. The hips survived. I had some puffy ankles going on, but was amazed at how the hips performed. The soft tissue was sore, but got over it. I started physio in January, and managed to do my stretching while I was away. It really helped.
On the way over from western Canada to Bermuda, I broke up the two longer flights with overnighting in Toronto. That really helped. On the way back to the west coast, I flew straight through, with a good walk between gates. I had a lot more swelling once I got home, both times. I would suggest breaking up any back to back longer flights where possible, given my experience. I used my elevation pillow the first two nights at home to help the swelling go down, after both trips.
In between trips I managed to see my physio, who gave me more strengthening exercises to do, as I lost so much muscle in my legs prior to surgery, and also with not doing much but walking after surgery. He said to do just five of each and increase slowly. He knows I have the horses to take care of so said to have a rest day in between doing the exercises. I am finding I am getting stronger and stronger and I'm feeling like I'll be able to ride again by May. He wants me to wait until I'm six months out on both hips.
I'm signed up to start somatic yoga at the end of this month. The gal that teaches it is also the registered massage therapist and somatic practitioner I have seen many times over the last few years, so feel very safe, and know that she won't push me too far on anything, so stay tuned. Physio is OK with this.
I am going to check in on everyone's threads, slowly but surely, but in the meantime.....I hope all hippy buddies
are healing well and getting on with life. To all those just coming through surgery, this is the best forum to be on and I wish you speedy healing!! 
To all the wonderful folks who guide us here, your words of wisdom are in my head and particularly as I travelled back and forth 
. Thank you 
.
Strongly suggest talking to your OS about taking baby aspirin for travel....my OS recommended going back on baby aspirin for the travel (3 flights). Started a couple of days before travel, stayed on it through second trip.
Walking in airports is good if you are not in a rush to get to a flight. Wear easy to get off shoes, that also provide some support. Be prepared for "assuming the pat down/wanding position" at every security check-point. Some security agents are nicer than others
!I spent four days in the hospital with my brother until he passed away, from early morning until late in the evening, on my feet most of the time. I was staying close by so went home to sleep. The hips survived. I had some puffy ankles going on, but was amazed at how the hips performed. The soft tissue was sore, but got over it. I started physio in January, and managed to do my stretching while I was away. It really helped.
On the way over from western Canada to Bermuda, I broke up the two longer flights with overnighting in Toronto. That really helped. On the way back to the west coast, I flew straight through, with a good walk between gates. I had a lot more swelling once I got home, both times. I would suggest breaking up any back to back longer flights where possible, given my experience. I used my elevation pillow the first two nights at home to help the swelling go down, after both trips.
In between trips I managed to see my physio, who gave me more strengthening exercises to do, as I lost so much muscle in my legs prior to surgery, and also with not doing much but walking after surgery. He said to do just five of each and increase slowly. He knows I have the horses to take care of so said to have a rest day in between doing the exercises. I am finding I am getting stronger and stronger and I'm feeling like I'll be able to ride again by May. He wants me to wait until I'm six months out on both hips.
I'm signed up to start somatic yoga at the end of this month. The gal that teaches it is also the registered massage therapist and somatic practitioner I have seen many times over the last few years, so feel very safe, and know that she won't push me too far on anything, so stay tuned. Physio is OK with this.
I am going to check in on everyone's threads, slowly but surely, but in the meantime.....I hope all hippy buddies
are healing well and getting on with life. To all those just coming through surgery, this is the best forum to be on and I wish you speedy healing!! To all the wonderful folks who guide us here, your words of wisdom are in my head and particularly as I travelled back and forth . Thank you .
Going4fun
Former BoneSmart staff member
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@Alitm, great to hear that those new hips you purchased came in handy. Was there a sale on ... did you get a two-for-one deal? 
Seriously, the surgeries were meant to help us with life ... and its up and terrible downs ... sorry to hear about your brother's death ... But you could go to his life celebration ceremony focused on that ... and not on your aching hips ... So wonderful! ...
Sounds like you're on target to get back out there "posting." I took a bunch of riding lessons once from a Dressage teacher ... took me seemingly forever to learn to "post." ... then it just clicked ... Will never forget that ... I want to get back to some trail riding at some point.
Seriously, the surgeries were meant to help us with life ... and its up and terrible downs ... sorry to hear about your brother's death ... But you could go to his life celebration ceremony focused on that ... and not on your aching hips ... So wonderful! ...Sounds like you're on target to get back out there "posting." I took a bunch of riding lessons once from a Dressage teacher ... took me seemingly forever to learn to "post." ... then it just clicked ... Will never forget that ... I want to get back to some trail riding at some point.
SurreyGirl
supremo
Sorry to hear about your brothers death - that must be very hard. I wish you healing and back to riding very soon.
KathyB
junior member
Hi @Alitm , so sorry to hear about your brother's passing. Glad you were able to be with him. Sounds like very good travel advise for flying. Glad you are back and hope your hubby is also doing well. Wonderful news that your hips did so well on your travels. Looking forward to hearing more about you getting to your goal of being able to ride again. But first, time to take a breath and focus on yourself. Best wishes to you.
Mojo333
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
Sincerest sympathy for the loss of your brother. I can only imagine how hard it is to lose two siblings.
Glad you got through all the travel and doings fairly unscathed. Thanks for sharing your experience and tips.
I still use one of your somatic tips for relieving stress on my SI after a day with lots of lifting. It works well.
Glad you're home. Do take care.
Barbaraj
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Welcome back to the forum, @Alitm. We've missed you. So sorry to read of your brother's death, that must have been such a hard, sad time for you and your family. I hope everyone pulled together to provide love and support to one another. Glad to hear that you survived all that travel, that was a long, long trip both ways. Sounds like you did all the right things when it came to being sensible and treating those new hips well. As the weather gets nicer, and you're feeling better, I'm betting this coming spring and summer will be wonderful as you get back to enjoying what you love--those horses! Oh, and hubby too! Hope he's feeling much improved after his surgery. You are both probably looking forward to a much happier 2019.
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An54
senior
OP
OP
Alitm
post-grad
Thank you everyone for your very kind words. They really have meant a lot to me 
.
I feel badly as I went underground again, but I needed to just disappear for a bit and focus on the horses and getting back to life. My life went on hold for too long with the hips, hubby's surgery...and then with my brother's illness and passing, that threw everything on the back burner again. However, with the spring weather my spirits have lifted and I'm wanting to get back to the forum and see how everyone is progressing.
I continue to do the cha cha with my hips, two steps forward, and one step back. I don't over do it quite as much as I did, but I still sometimes have to cut back a bit. As I am returning to barn chores, exercising horse in hand and under saddle (mid-May), taking horses out to pasture etc. I had to rebuild my strength. I started in with the stretching and non-weight bearing strengthening once I was six weeks post op. I saw my phsyio once a week in January as I slowly built up. If it hurt in any way, I didn't do it. It was interesting to see what muscles came on line and which ones were really really weak!
The other thing I've realized is how much my first hip (surgery) had to deal with once I had my second surgery nine weeks later. It is interesting to observe the progression of as my second hip heals and the muscles etc. get strong, my first surgery hip is happier! There is a lot of merit for waiting to have the second hip done later, if one has the patience! I did NOT, and have no regrets, but it is an observation I wanted to share.
I started Somatic yoga this week. It is so gentle and I felt great when I left. I take the class with my RMT and somatic practitioner that I've mentioned before. She is great about telling me what I can and can't do as a posterior bilateral hippy. What a journey!
I sincerely hope to get over to everyone's posts and see how you are doing. I hope that Spring is visiting everyone or is coming soon. . Thank you all for your kind thoughts and support!
.I feel badly as I went underground again, but I needed to just disappear for a bit and focus on the horses and getting back to life. My life went on hold for too long with the hips, hubby's surgery...and then with my brother's illness and passing, that threw everything on the back burner again. However, with the spring weather my spirits have lifted and I'm wanting to get back to the forum and see how everyone is progressing.
I continue to do the cha cha with my hips, two steps forward, and one step back. I don't over do it quite as much as I did, but I still sometimes have to cut back a bit. As I am returning to barn chores, exercising horse in hand and under saddle (mid-May), taking horses out to pasture etc. I had to rebuild my strength. I started in with the stretching and non-weight bearing strengthening once I was six weeks post op. I saw my phsyio once a week in January as I slowly built up. If it hurt in any way, I didn't do it. It was interesting to see what muscles came on line and which ones were really really weak!
The other thing I've realized is how much my first hip (surgery) had to deal with once I had my second surgery nine weeks later. It is interesting to observe the progression of as my second hip heals and the muscles etc. get strong, my first surgery hip is happier! There is a lot of merit for waiting to have the second hip done later, if one has the patience! I did NOT, and have no regrets, but it is an observation I wanted to share.
I started Somatic yoga this week. It is so gentle and I felt great when I left. I take the class with my RMT and somatic practitioner that I've mentioned before. She is great about telling me what I can and can't do as a posterior bilateral hippy. What a journey!
I sincerely hope to get over to everyone's posts and see how you are doing. I hope that Spring is visiting everyone or is coming soon.
. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and support!
Mojo333
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
Good to see your post and great to hear you are getting back to your horses and life! The flowers and trees are all blooming here...maples, dogwoods, azaleas...even the tangled wisteria that looks so grumpy in the winter have crowded with lilac blooms that cascade down like bunches of grapes. When the morning dew hits them and a slight wind blows, it is the headiest of spring's perfumes!Hope this summer will be sweet for you!
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OP
OP
Alitm
post-grad
@Mojo333 and @Layla Thank you both for your very kind sentiments over the last little while
I hope that spring is also coming soon to you @Layla! Pardon my geographical ignorance, but have you been super close to the horrific flooding? I've been thinking of you on that.
Your spring weather sounds fabulous @Mojo333! We had daffodils and tulips coming up at the end of January...the snow drops were up and blooming....but then had snowmagedon in Feb! Everything is coming back now and the gardens are stunning. We do need rain though, and it is forecasted...as the rivers are low. The robins and the swallows are back, as are the Canada geese couples that are regulars in the spring. They are so foolish, they nest right under the eagles nest some years!! I think about you and how you said it took you a full year to get where you wanted. I'm doing really well, and hoping with my physio that my second hip will continue to even out the responsibilities of the hips, and first hip can drop some responsibilities. When I go to pick up feed, I'm loading bags from the loading dock into the vehicle. The feed store folks laugh at me and keep telling me they can do it...but I say, "so can I now, and I want to do it, just because I can!!". It's all good!!
Wishing you both a pleasant weekend!
I hope that spring is also coming soon to you @Layla! Pardon my geographical ignorance, but have you been super close to the horrific flooding? I've been thinking of you on that.
Your spring weather sounds fabulous @Mojo333! We had daffodils and tulips coming up at the end of January...the snow drops were up and blooming....but then had snowmagedon in Feb! Everything is coming back now and the gardens are stunning. We do need rain though, and it is forecasted...as the rivers are low. The robins and the swallows are back, as are the Canada geese couples that are regulars in the spring. They are so foolish, they nest right under the eagles nest some years!! I think about you and how you said it took you a full year to get where you wanted. I'm doing really well, and hoping with my physio that my second hip will continue to even out the responsibilities of the hips, and first hip can drop some responsibilities. When I go to pick up feed, I'm loading bags from the loading dock into the vehicle. The feed store folks laugh at me and keep telling me they can do it...but I say, "so can I now, and I want to do it, just because I can!!". It's all good!!
Wishing you both a pleasant weekend!
OP
OP
Alitm
post-grad
Hi @Jaycey! Thank you for your kind messages while I was away from the forum.
Yes the goal is to get back to riding, so slowly but surely I'm making my way there, with the help of my physio. My biggest issue is getting the second hip stronger so the first hip can be let off the hook a bit more. It is coming though. I'm not going to start riding until it feels like the right thing to do and I feel fit and strong enough to do so. I am sitting in my saddle on the saddle stand now, so that makes me smile in a big way!! I can't believe that it no longer hurts...I almost have to pinch myself. The new range of motion in both hips is amazing, particularly where how bad it was before!
Hoping you are getting spring where you are. Have a great weekend
Yes the goal is to get back to riding, so slowly but surely I'm making my way there, with the help of my physio. My biggest issue is getting the second hip stronger so the first hip can be let off the hook a bit more. It is coming though. I'm not going to start riding until it feels like the right thing to do and I feel fit and strong enough to do so. I am sitting in my saddle on the saddle stand now, so that makes me smile in a big way!! I can't believe that it no longer hurts...I almost have to pinch myself. The new range of motion in both hips is amazing, particularly where how bad it was before!
Hoping you are getting spring where you are. Have a great weekend
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Welcome back! Haven't heard from you in awhile.
Thanks for your thoughts on the flooding. We do have flooding nearby but we're safe, high and dry.
My heart goes out to those affected.
You've been through SO much. Taking a breather and focusing on caring for yourself was / is necessary.
It's great to read your spirits are lifting. Slowly it will all fall into place.
A renewed life awaits you @Alitm Two new hips, no more physical pain. The possibilities are endless. I'm sorry it's overshadowed by your loss. I pray each day feels a bit brighter than the last.
Happy Spring to you
Thanks for your thoughts on the flooding. We do have flooding nearby but we're safe, high and dry.
My heart goes out to those affected.
You've been through SO much. Taking a breather and focusing on caring for yourself was / is necessary.
It's great to read your spirits are lifting. Slowly it will all fall into place.
A renewed life awaits you @Alitm Two new hips, no more physical pain. The possibilities are endless. I'm sorry it's overshadowed by your loss. I pray each day feels a bit brighter than the last.
Happy Spring to you
Barbaraj
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Good morning, @Alitm. Not sure of your weather today, but the threatened overcast has yet to take over and we've got sunshine pouring over the rooftops and lawns. I regret to say as I'm posting this that I'm STILL in my PJs, while I am sure you've been up for ages and working away. Sounds like you're doing wonderfully, and I am sure getting back to somatic yoga has been good for you, body AND soul. And cool to read that you're slowly but surely being able to resume riding again. I know it's so important for you, representing "real" life and being able to get back to that is so critical. I'm going to sign off on the forum as I think, at six months, I've kind of reached the end of things in terms of being able to talk about my hips (which is, after all, the point of this forum!) but wanted to say how much I've appreciated your support and informative postings. It was always a pleasure to check the forum and see a posting from you, on your own post or mine. I wish you all the best as your recovery continues--I'll probably hop back on again when hip #2 makes it obvious that "it's time", but I suspect by then you'll probably have headed off into the sunshine yourself, with two wonderful new hips and your good and comfortable life ahead. Cheers!
OP
OP
Alitm
post-grad
@Barbaraj It has been so great chatting with you, exchanging notes and I wish you a fabulous summer ahead. Good luck with your second hip, and you'll know when the time is right, or not!
Thank you for all your positive support. It has been so helpful and meant a lot to me and many others I'm sure
I'll be around until I'm riding again, as I want to be able to see the journey through for other riders, and folks who have their hip surgeries close together, who may find the shared info helpful.
I will always think of you when the weather changes and wonder if you are "getting it" south of me!
Thank you for all your positive support. It has been so helpful and meant a lot to me and many others I'm sure
I'll be around until I'm riding again, as I want to be able to see the journey through for other riders, and folks who have their hip surgeries close together, who may find the shared info helpful.
I will always think of you when the weather changes and wonder if you are "getting it" south of me!
An54
senior
Hello @Alitm , I don't know if you read the Globe & Mail, but yesterday's paper --Saturday April 13th-- had an interesting article in the first section about brain fog. (I think it was you I was discussing brain fog with, but because of the brain fog, my memory may be messed up ;)
Anyway, the title of the article is : Study highlights online tool that could help track progress of patients released from ICU, (a study by the University of Western Ontario's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and the Brain and Mind Institute ) To quote a few salient lines:
Many patients experience mental fog or difficulty concentrating after they are treated in hospital intensive care units, even when their illnesses or injuries are not brain-related. And according to the authors of a new study, these cognitive problems are more common that previously thought....
... "Every single patient had deficits. I mean, this is jaw-dropping really" s ays co-author Adrian Owen, a professor of cognitive neuroscience and imaging at Western.
Although doctors and researchers have long known that some patients report having trouble focusing or thinking clearly after recovering from a critical illness or injury, "these things have been incredibly hard to pin down"....
It's a small study, just a few patients, but that doesn't detract from the relevance imho.
Hope you are doing well and continuing to progress, and up on horseback soon, cheers, A
Anyway, the title of the article is : Study highlights online tool that could help track progress of patients released from ICU, (a study by the University of Western Ontario's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and the Brain and Mind Institute ) To quote a few salient lines:
Many patients experience mental fog or difficulty concentrating after they are treated in hospital intensive care units, even when their illnesses or injuries are not brain-related. And according to the authors of a new study, these cognitive problems are more common that previously thought....
... "Every single patient had deficits. I mean, this is jaw-dropping really" s ays co-author Adrian Owen, a professor of cognitive neuroscience and imaging at Western.
Although doctors and researchers have long known that some patients report having trouble focusing or thinking clearly after recovering from a critical illness or injury, "these things have been incredibly hard to pin down"....
It's a small study, just a few patients, but that doesn't detract from the relevance imho.
Hope you are doing well and continuing to progress, and up on horseback soon, cheers, A
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