14 minutes past midnight on Day 28. Woke up and can’t get back to sleep.
I have the 4 week blues. I am so fed up. I have the Hip 2 blues. When I had the Hip 1 blues, I would obsessively read other hippies’ threads to get an idea of what to expect. Now I am obsessively referring back to my own thread.
Well, since I am doing it anyway, let me while away some of the sleepless hours making comparisons.
I’ve already noted that much of the recovery is so similar, it’s spooky. A couple of differences that may be to do with the different surgical team.
I could lie on my back with knees drawn up at least a week earlier this time, and didn’t have that bruise-behind-knee feeling.
My scar progressed differently because of being stapled not glued/stitched. Staple removal obviously a big minus. But an advantage of staples was that the incision was fully visible when dressing changed on Day 3, 8, and 13, and I had no dressing after staple removal on Day 14. I preferred this to the situation with Hip 1, where I didn’t get to see the wound until Day 21, and kept imagining it infected and disgusting under the thick dressing. It wasn’t, of course, but I always imagine the worst. The scar immediately after staple removal looked rather revolting, with a ridge of flesh, as if there was a permanent overlap. The nurse who took the staples out warned me it would look this way and assured me that it would disappear in time. I’m not particularly bothered with the appearance because my thighs are not an area of outstanding natural beauty anyway, but I take an interest in its progress. It has improved over the 2 weeks since staple removal, but still looks worse than Scar 1 did at the same stage.
In terms of what I can, or can’t, do, small external things make a huge difference. For example, I was surprised to see that with Hip 1 I didn’t manage to dress myself until Day 21, whereas this time I dressed myself on Day 3. The difference was entirely due to buying a pair of joggers with flares instead of cuffs at the ankles. And as soon as I ditched the stockings this time, I could manage socks with the help of my trusty sock aid, which I didn’t buy for ages the first time.
With Hip 2 I could shower myself at an earlier stage because in our current house the shower enclosure is big enough for a chair. I probably could stand to shower by now, as I first managed on Day 28 of Hip 1, but I think I may as well take it easy and I won’t try until I feel more confident standing without aids.
With Hip 2 I am depressingly behind where I was with Hip 1 in my level of dependency. My husband is doing an awful lot of waiting on me. This is, I think, not related to my physical state so much as the state of our house. We are in the process of renovations and it has run way behind schedule. When it became clear that we weren’t going to have it done in time, I did consider postponing my op, but the hip was too painful.
We managed to complete the downstairs room I am using as a bedroom and its adjoining shower room. The living room still resembles a building site, so there is nowhere safe for me to walk for any distance indoors. The kitchen was only completed this week. It has been coming along in stages during my recovery. In the meantime, my husband has kept us going with a microwave in one room, a mini oven in another room, food and crockery etc in plastic boxes dotted who knows where depending on where the tradesmen were working on any day. Lots of ready meals as you can imagine! But just no way I could get my own meals. If I could even figure out where the relevant box was, it would probably be somewhere I couldn’t reach.
For the first two weeks, drinking water came from an outside tap. So every night I had to remember to check that my husband had filled my water bottles so I would be able to take pills in the night. And we had a fridge but no freezer, which was a nightmare for getting my cold packs. We bought a supply of those packets that get cold from a chemical reaction, but they don’t stay cold for long. Luckily we had a spell of frosty weather so I kept coolpacks in a bucket outside my window!
Even once the kitchen was finished, it has been hard to wrest control of the relocation of stuff into all the lovely new cupboards and drawers. And we have all fancy new appliances which I have no idea how to use yet. The induction hob is going to require a PhD. And then I have to locate the pans…. First world problems, I know.
The other thing that is depressing me in comparing Hips 1 and 2 are the prospects for outings. It was at about the 4 week stage that Hip 1 began to enjoy little excursions for a walk and a coffee and a change of scenery. Where we lived before was in a town, so I could walk on pavement to a choice of cafes. And we were a short drive from the coast, with lots of level walking on the promenades and fresh sea air to enjoy. And a big supermarket to walk in if it was raining. Here, well, I am racking my brain to think of an attractive destination where I can do some easy walking. It’s a lovely area of countryside, but hilly, with muddy uneven paths. Far from the coast. I inspect possible cafes online, but they never appear to have seats with arms. We went out a lot to cafes last time, did I cope sitting on a bistro style chair? Perhaps the ability to sit down without using my arms is about to return to me. And then there is covid to consider. Quite a few people in my circle of acquaintance have been coming down with it lately, and one was quite ill, despite being jabbed and boosted.
I do have a lovely big garden to walk in, but of course, everywhere I look there are bits of gardening I am itching to get on with. Never mind, it won’t be long now. In the meantime, there are snowdrops and crocuses and winter clematis blooming, the robins come to be fed, and the sound of birdsong is amazing.
This is an awfully long post. But oh, I feel so much better for venting!!
United Kingdom
We do care and hopefully today feels brighter.
From what you wrote here it seems like many of the differences you are experiencing are due to changes in your circumstances (like major home renovations going on) and other external circumstances (like COVID - bah humbug!)
Hi….and a belated Happy One Month Anniversary to you, Klassy!
