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Revision THR Complex surgery with revisions, infection, sepsis, and more…

@Jamie
Dearest Jamie. I run thru the gamut of emotions when I get here but I always rise to the top, full of cheer and happy to be with my peeps. We get each other!

When my friend said I could use his steam cleaner inside my place before I leave, all I could think of was I hope I can slam my foot on the brake pedal hard enough so the Jakes could stop 80,000lbs of 'What did he just say?' in time before turning him into a big puddle of cream of mushroom soup. That's when it dawned on me: I hide my pain so well people think I'm good to go. At home I scream sometimes, cry, whimper and dig up every expletive I can think. of
Yesterday I rolled the wheelchair down the ramp, intent on weaning myself off it. Unfortunately I hadn't yet strategically placed chairs around so I can take a breather. I am now dealing with my first UTI and I can't get to the bathroom using the walker as fast as when I'm rollin'!

But I am getting better.

I'm a survivor. When I need help I'll ask ya.
Until then hold my beer, I'm switchin' to
Plan B.
:egypdance:
 
Hi danelady! So wonderful to hear from you. I believe many here wonder how you're doing each time they see your avatar, or come across an old post of yours, so thanks for stopping by! Such a nice surprise.

I am sorry the pain continues for you as you adjust to life after the multiple surgeries you've endured. One question, you mentioned you have your first UTI. Since you have a prosthetic joint, I hope you've been in touch with your physician and are under treatment if the culture was positive. There is a risk of infection associated with untreated UTI, which you obviously don't want.

Please reach out to your physician if you haven't already and know that we're here for you always!
Love and hugs! :friends:
@danelady
 
So nice to see you on board! If you aren’t able to make it into your doctor’s office, they may call in a prescription for you. I have had mine do this for a UTI. Use the wheelchair while you are dealing with this- hurrying is not a great option. It sounds like you made a well thought out decision about staying put. Fingers crossed you get great new neighbors!
 
So these "friends" no longer speak to you cause you wouldn't move???
They sound like controlling friends.
I'm sure they wanted to be helpful but asking a person who can barely get around to pull up stakes & move is a huge undertaking for sure.
So glad to see you posting.
Stay well & feisty as always.
 
Hi, my friend!!! I see you’re on the forum. How are you???
 
Hi everyone!
Thank you all for the sound advice and kind words.

@myglasshalffull
Ya know, when they first started doing things for me it stressed me out a bit because I know how these things wind up....I've experienced it many times.

Oops, clothes are done washing gotta fold them wet and take them home. They'll be dry in 5 minutes then I'll be back.
Xxoo
 
Hi @danelady ,
I was very happy to read a post from you again. I've heard it all before. People not respecting someone's disabilities. And what about mental health issues. They would get respected even less. I've been advised to get a diagnosis - might have ADHD - since I'm a classical case of an absentminded professor. But in what way would that help now? I've survived so far. Even managed to keep a full-time job for over 20 years.

They say you use a diagnosis as an excuse. Don't they? Sorry this is off-topic, but it's so good being able to have online friends with a very good sense of humour and who laugh it off despite their (hip or knee) issues.
And you have also done really well despite all the suffering. It gives me courage and strength.

I look forward to your next post. And I hope you enjoyed last week and Independence Day a little bit. What's the weather like where you are now? This summer hasn't been all that hot in Germany but rather wet.
Best wishes from Constanze
 
I'm baaaack.

I was exhausted after laundry and ticked that I dropped a gallon of milk. Then I lay down to rest a minute and didn't wake up till I heard Valkyrie jump and run to the door barking her head off. She must have heard the gunshot from across the street when the guy blew his brains out. There have been issues over there for a few weeks. It took me a long time to learn this but looking for that special person who will finally make you happy is a lost cause and a huge burden to put on someone else's shoulder. Only you can make you happy.

@Constanze
Oh Constanze, I learned about ADHD as I got older and was finally diagnosed with it when I was about 55. I could never connect the dots in my life. Of course back then you didn't talk about your 'feelings'. My mother grew up under Hitler and you weren't allowed to have mental problems, she always told me : Shh, don't ever tell anyone about that.

Trucking healed me, it helped me to focus and finally stop the free fall I had been in for 50 years. I became happy. But now I don't have anything to focus on and I'm on a very slippery slope...but my toes are holding on, lol.

Holy cow, this heat! I got my first haircut last week and went to Walmart. I move real slow so I get hotter than usual and by the time I got home I was nauseous with a bad headache. I can't believe the temps in the northwest either!
So nice talking to you. I'm in the process of gathering important papers, like my passport and vehicle papers what with storms, fires and flooding all around. I'm also planning who gets what in here, donating almost everything...except art supplies, camping gear, and my camera. I was much happier with only my necessities. I also have to find a new dog sitter in case I should ever need another surgery. As bad as things get I will never commit suicide.

Hmm, strange smell in the house. Smells like when a vehicle is leaking coolant. Guess it's time to go on patrol, lol.
xoxoxo
 
When I was expecting my son, we lived in a very hot and humid climate. I would walk from car to store and rest. Shop for groceries and rest. Walk to car and drive home. Put groceries away and then rest. The heat in the summer just does something to you. I am also trying to declutter stuff so things are simpler when I go back to work. If I have not or do not use something- why is it taking up space in my kitchen cabinets and linen closet. I have towels that I use to dry my doggies when it’s raining. I am going to take my extra ones to the animal shelter. You play a very special role here motivating your fellow hippies! I think back on your Halloween shenanigans and wonder what you might do next! Try to stay cool! Good luck with your organizing!
 
You're well organized @danelady. :flwrysmile:
Like your trucking, it's my endurance sport - long-distance running, cycling, swimming - that's helping me. That's why I'm so grateful my hip healed and I can use my legs. I shouldn't take my legs for granted and I should use them because they are something to be grateful about.
And my full-time job helped as well. Now I'm retired and at home and do some work as a self-employed translator. I'm finding this multitasking quite hard. I was never the born housewife but there are a lot more house-hold chores to do when you're at home.
And - yes - fellow hippies are very very supportive:).
All the best to you - Constanze
 
@Hippie Chick

Oh shucks Hippie Chick, this is where I get an affirmation that this pain, this depression, this patient vs PT battlefield is real! Nobody outside of our forum understands what we are going thru. My Dr was like a shade tree mechanic...keep changing parts till it works... I'm still waiting. My physical therapists were determined to get me up and walking...even when I explained to them I have a broken femur and in more pain than any the dislocations I had (or giving birth, lol) And people who don't have any physical problems don't understand why you aren't digging in and trying harder, especially people who knew how much you love climbing those desert hills but don't want to join in now.
Oh I already thought about Halloween! I don't know if you remember the brace they made for me but that's gonna be my costume. Btw, my out of pocket cost for that was $375. I wore it home, took it off and never put it on again. Lol.

Living in the semi for 16 years was a learning experience. There's something to be said for having everything you need no farther than an arm's length. Oh my, just remembered the Instant Pot I bought, maybe used it twice. I want to live like the FB friends I made years ago. They were a married couple each traveling in their own RV as they prospected for gold! North in the summer and south in the winter, I even joined the same club they were in. She used to post how she cooked dinner using a metal thingy to reflect the sun's heat on whatever she was cooking. I could live like that very easily...except for this hip. Much love to you.
 
@danelady …. It’s always so good to find that your spirits are still high, even with all your challenges. There is a wise old saying that people come into your life when you most need them. They are there for what you need and then float out of your life. That sounds like what’s happening with your former neighbors. Friends do come and go and it means nothing more than the fact that life changes constantly. I have no doubt that you’ll adjust and more than likely find yourself better off with new people to slip away for a Margarita with.

It’s so promising that your hip has stayed in place this time. So….what are the problems it’s still giving you? Moving more slowly like you mentioned is to be expected. It’s going to take a fairly long time for all the soft tissue to recovery from all you’ve been through prior to this last surgery.

I know with my hip, it’s taken me 2 years to get things resolved in my hip and lower spine to where I’m walking in a more normal manner. And that’s with a LOT of therapy on both the joints and muscles. So, I know things can take a while.
 
@Jamie
Wow Jamie....2 years?
I was told to walk, walk, walk but the more I walk the more painful it gets. The hip pain feels like getting hit by a bolt of lightening on top of my thigh, maybe even the muscle. It happens every time I stand up or sit down and only lasts a nano-second but I can't completely hold in a painful scream. Of course, we are in monsoon season now storm clouds are an everyday thing, then there's Beryl. So that could be the cause of the pain as well, I could always feel rain coming days in advance because my joints were screaming at me, lol.

My appointment is on August 14, I'll just take 'er easy till then.
 
Are you able to get some additional physical therapy? With all you've been through, it's highly likely that your muscles may be in spasm (little knots in the muscle) and that some good pressure point therapy would help you. It really worked wonders for me, but it did take a couple of months for the treatments to "take" and things not revert back to their knotted, painful ways.

Here are a couple of links to some therapy clinics in Tucson that practice pressure point therapy. If you go to one of them, be sure your therapist has the letters DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) following their name. These are the folks best able to diagnose and treat soft tissue problems.

physicaltherapytucson.com

Our Team - Applied Physical Medicine - Tucson AZ

Our Team - Applied Physical Medicine - conveniently located for Tucson call (520) 655-6801
physicaltherapytucson.com physicaltherapytucson.com

Neuromuscular Therapy Phoenix, Mesa, Tucson

Neuromuscular therapy and massage is used for injuries to soft tissue and chronic pain treatments, stimulating certain areas of muscles known as myofascial trigger points
www.contactphysicaltherapy.com www.contactphysicaltherapy.com
 
In my case not only were some of the muscles (thigh primarily) knotted up, there was enough weakness in my quads and glutes that the muscles were allowing the implant to be just slightly off kilter. It's the muscles that hold it in place, so the hip joint can look great in an x-ray, but still be just a little off when you try to walk. My therapist did the pressure point treatments for the knots, but also some traction and manual manipulation of my leg that would gently coax the muscles into proper positioning. I had strengthening exercises to do too to help things eventually stay where they should be. It worked, but this process took a little over three months of going for twice a week treatments before it got fixed completely. There was continuous progress and I'd feel pretty good when I left the therapist, but things would revert back to where they were in a few days for quite a long time.
 
I don't think a lot of surgeons really realize all this and so, when they tell you "just walk," it's sometimes not enough to get the job done. I know a lot of insurance is limited on the amount of therapy they will pay for (and then there's the copays), but it might help you to at least give this a try and do what you can afford. Most therapists get the money thing and will help you with things you can do yourself at home. My therapist taught me how to locate the knots and do my own pressure therapy.
 
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