OP
OP
Squirrellymom
member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2015
- Messages
- 194
- Age
- 81
- Location
- Middle Tennessee
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United States
Oh @Zelda That makes perfect sense. I believe that is where the "hillbilly" legend of the hill people actually got it's start. When the Ulster-Scots (yes, my ancestry!) came to America, many settled in the Appalachian mountain valley and moved into North Carolina and Tennessee. I do remember reading in my family lore that they tried, unsuccessfully, to bring the 'right short-legged haggis' over with them, but because the mountains where they settled in Tennessee had the steep angle going in the opposite direction it required them to have the short legs on the left side and thus they could not mate and they did not survive. My great-grandfather always told how they went snipe hunting after they could no longer hunt for Haggis in the mountains of Tennessee but said they did not taste anything like the delicacy that was the Scottish Haggis. Also, thank you for posting the picture of this rarest of creatures. I've heard about them most of my life but had never actually seen one. Truly overcome with emotion. 
Thank you! -- julie (who has both feet now firmly and evenly planted on the ground so as not to become extinct)
Thank you! -- julie (who has both feet now firmly and evenly planted on the ground so as not to become extinct)
)
) and get the little dogs out for walks. Gotta build those sloppy old muscles that have been on extended vacation. Get back to work you quadriceps femoris, iliopsoas, sartorius, old stretched out hamstrings and gluteus maximus that is surviving on 20 clenches 2x a day. I looked up those first three.
Amazing how the little graph shows all the peaks of restlessness and each awake time that, duh, corresponds to getting up to pee - sometimes 3x a night. I am able to sleep on my #1 hip side now and I am using the wedge to stay slightly elevated.
anymore than usual.
--julie (getting ready to plant tomatoes in pots on my patio so I can eat mater & mayonnaise samwiches in July)
so I hope they will work well as I now begin walking on hard pavement in the neighborhood. I went in looking for "walking" shoes and the Reebok outlet used to carry Rockport shoes but they have ceased stocking those. Then I started looking at the Reebok walkers and the clerk showed me how much lighter in weight the running shoes were and I was sold. I did tell her that I would not be running, never did and never will, and I shared with great pride about my TWO hip replacements this year. She was terribly young, in her 20s, and probably didn't care one iota about my joints, but I've become like a friend of mine back in the early 80s who had breast enhancement and had implants. She was so proud that she wanted to show "them" off to everyone, even the guys in our office (an engineering office where every man wore a pocket protector) and she would lift her blouse without thinking. Well, I may be showing off my scars to anyone interested in how this operation is done. 
I've got to start walking and building muscle. I'd rather know my jeans are too tight from buns of steel than buns of flubber. At my age, it is hard to coax those slouching glutes into youthful positions without some plastic surgical assistance (gee, thanks Dolly) but power to move is a pretty good reason to try. Yep, on getting all done before the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere settles over the Southern states. I've got to shed these elastic waist warm-up pants. I'm so glad to keep up with your progress now at 4 months out Sheryl. I WILL catch up with you in a few weeks as the left forgets what happened. --julie (who just spent part of the morning herding the dog pack indoors away from a Gray Rat Snake lingering nearby some hollies with bird's nests in them - all this with one good leg and one bad leg 
)
I went to the Nike store at our local outlet shopping center and found two pairs of clearance running shoes that fit well. I had walked a previous weekend in a pair of Merrell's and realized they weren't a good choice. I figured one of two pair should work well. And I'm with 'you on the springy-ness. Both of them feel like walking on air. I've worn them to work sometimes too.
I haven't seen that 'chicken snake' since Wed. The dogs keep looking for it. When they go outside, they go directly to last place seen and poke around. Maybe it ate all the bird eggs and/or baby birds and slithered somewhere else to look for a snack. I hope so. I did buy Snake-B-Gone powder to sprinkle around those hollies. Sheryl, we had a BIG black snake last year that lurked in my vegetable garden area. I have raised beds but it was there off and on all summer. I don't remember now what we decided it was but it was not poisonous and seemed to be more afraid of us than we of it so I made sure to make lots of noise when I went to the garden and I just watched for it in order to give us both plenty of space. I would be banging on those steps before I started down if I were you. Maybe take your cane with you, not for your hip but as a precaution against snakes - think Rod of Asclepius - 
really seems appropriate . I was concerned about this newest snake because when I first saw the dogs alerting to it, it was COILED. I posted a photo on FB and asked my Tennessee friends to identify it. Unanimous that it was a Gray Rat Snake aka chicken snake. They climb trees! Who knew? Back to hip recovery now. 
Yes, absolutely, I was tired after getting home as I was gone from 10 am to 3pm and I was really happy to SIT, ice and watch a Ken Burns presentation on prohibition and drink wine last night. 
I am a personal advocate for PT as exercising has helped me, personally, to find strength to walk and the stretches are amazing after they are done. I've been fortunate to have PT through my doctor and to have found caring, knowledgeable therapists who have worked with THR and TKR patients. At no time has one of the therapists I've worked with insisted that I do any movement that hurt. I'm always told to "try" and if it hurts, back off or stop. I can walk in that therapy clinic with my body all stiff and aching and walk out feeling refreshed and springy. Amazing what exercise and blood flow can do for the psyche. 
--julie (80's here for this weekend and those tomato plants WILL get put in the pots - Lycopene for Bone Health, teehee)
) and after a few bends, I'm done. I still swell a little. Last night - actually early this morning - I woke up feeling a tightness and itchiness around the left hip and I got an ice pack and iced. I was on my feet and sitting in a chair on the deck a lot yesterday and temps were in the 80s. I didn't turn on the A/C last night and I think I got hot and some swelling started. At PT, in order to reach the four to six week goals they have set, I have to walk without a limp, step foot over foot on steps and stand from a seated position without using my arms. Well, I can do that for time at PT. Focus and do it. When I'm back at home, I still use my arms to stand from a chair (why not? It's is so much more stable), I still hold the hand rail when going up or down steps and I occasionally limp around, especially when I've been sitting for a while. I go for short walks in the neighborhood with the dogs and I always, ALWAYS, take a cane or hiking stick. I'm not totally dependent on it but I'm not ready to attempt much of a walk without something to stabilize me if needed and I can start limping pretty quickly. It is a always a good idea to always talk with the doctor and office staff because they see so many recoveries and everyone is different. I am depending on the PT group to guide me. I will get to the point where I won't think about either hip or my recovery and I'll get up and down and walk "normally" and not have any swelling. It's the old two steps forward, one step back recovery period. I hope you get some answers when you visit the doctor 
