THR Diary of my journey to happy times

[Elf1]

@Klassy keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, hoping you get your answers soon and it's good news.

 

[Klassy]

This morning I had my regular Zoom talk with my physio. A nice young man. He is always encouraging about the baby steps of progress I have to report, and doesn’t push me too hard. I told him I still had swelling in the operated thigh and he reassured me that this was ok and will pass in time, after asking questions that ruled out any possibility of infection. As I am now 6 weeks out, he confirmed that restrictions were now eased, so I will venture cautiously to try side sleeping and work gently towards getting my right foot into the sock-donning and toenail-cutting position.

I told him about the prednisolone and he was reassuring that any osteoporosis would take a while to show up, so there should be time for the replacement to bed down first.

Eye-wise, the left eye is no better and the right eye is rapidly catching up in severity. With a double dose of big floaters it really is distracting - I keep thinking something is coming at me from the sides. Thankfully I have my husband to drive me, and we made it through the gales to my scan appointment. It was ultrasound of the arteries either side of my forehead. The procedure itself was perfectly comfortable. The charming young woman who did the scan told me the results. All clear on both sides.

I am not sure that this is good news. From what I have read, it is quite possible to have negative results on all sorts of tests but still have GCA. So the prednisolone would continue, and I would also move on to other sorts of tests which might be less comfortable. Or if it not GCA, and presumably it is not anything in the eyeballs themselves or the ophthalmologist would have observed it, could it be something worse around the optic nerve….

I have my follow up appointments at ophthalmology department scheduled for next two Mondays.

I will do my best to put it out of my mind and enjoy the weekend and the progress of my new hip.

 

[Layla]

I’m sure this is quite unsettling, and hopefully it’s something that is transient or easily treatable. I hope you’re able to have a peaceful weekend. Will be thinking of you on Monday, wishing / praying for some encouraging news.
@Klassy

 

[Elf1]

@Klassy will continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers that it's nothing serious. I know it's hard but do try to enjoy your weekend and hopefully Monday will give you good news and even better news the next Monday.

 

[Layla]

Hi Klassy,
Thinking of you today with hopes your ophthalmology appointment went well.
I hope you have a peaceful week.
@Klassy

 

[Klassy]

Thanks so much for your kind thoughts, it means a lot. Still more testing ahead but the results today were on the hopeful side. So, fingers crossed and back to not thinking about the eye thing for now.

Some good times this weekend despite dire weather. When H and I retired and moved to this part of England, it was just as the lockdowns started, so it might have been hard to make friends. But bellringing came to our rescue and we have met some lovely people. Including a charming pair of handbell ringers, age 86 & 90! , who invite us to their home on Sunday evenings to ring and have supper with a few others. We hadn’t been since I began isolating a week before Xmas. It was such a treat to join them once again, for my first evening of socialising with the new hip. I was very pleased with how I coped with getting around. Even better, no one seemed to know of any mythical other hippies doing the can-can after 3 days. Au contraire, they were impressed to see me getting about without pain only 7 weeks after major surgery, and wanted to know about the prosthesis. “How do they get it in there?” one asked. Not wishing to put anyone off their supper, I said I was very glad to have slept through the whole process!

 

[Layla]

Thankfully you heard some hopeful news today, Klassy. Prayers there is more to come.

I‘m glad you were able to enjoy dinner and the company of others who share a common interest in something you love. It’s a good feeling for others to comment that you’re doing well, or appear normal after dealing with the pain, unsteadiness and halting gait often associated with a deteriorating hip. You’re making good progress. Keep it up.
@Klassy

 

[Hip4life]

There’s not a greater group of ding-a-lings than bell ringers! I’ve rung hand bells since I was young. Sometimes, I’d drag myself to church after a long day wondering what in the heck was I thinking. After playing bells and laughing with the group, I left so much lighter. Anyway, I’m glad you had that wonderful connection.

I hope and pray that your eye situation is figured out soon. It can certainly take over your thoughts at times. I had bilateral detached retinas that hit out of the blue shortly after my daughter was born (many moons ago.) It certainly upset the apple cart. So I feel for you and am sending healing blessings for your eyes as well as your hip.

 

[Klassy]

A fellow bellringer @Hip4life ! I’m guessing that you ring tunes? That is more common in US than UK, though there are some brilliant tune ringers here, and the rest of us do try to pick our way through a Christmas carol, if someone more expert writes out the bell numbers on a big sheet and points to each number with a stick. But I imagine the joy of it would be similar to the type of handbell ringing I do. The ringing we did on Sunday evening was a magical sort of Zenlike experience, just concentrating with others to produce a rhythmic wash of notes. Takes the mind off everything else!

We ring patterns (called “methods”) which are the same as we ring on tower bells for church services, weddings, funerals, fun. It is different on handbells from tower - harder because there is a bell in each hand, so it requires a totally different way of thinking. But easier because you don’t have to climb a tower then stand and control a massive lump of swinging metal by pulling a rope two seconds before you want it to ring. Plus two bells per person means you only need half as many people. Just me and my husband could ring the simplest 4 bell methods with me sitting in bed.

We took it up during lockdown because the UK lockdown laws allowed outdoor meetings of up to 6 people. Summer of 2020 was handbell learning summer for us. Only a few of us new starters stuck with it, but those who do did were really keen. As summer gave way to autumn and winter and lockdowns came again, we were huddling under makeshift shelters from rain, hail, snow, still ringing!

 

[Klassy]

More happy hip progress to report. The sun shone, and we found a good parking spot a short drive away where I could walk on level paved road and admire a view. I used both crutches so I could step out confidently with good style, and my phone even deigned to count my steps, just over 1000. (It refuses to count anything it considers too slow.)

And I can now travel about ten yards indoors without aids or touching anything for balance. I say “travel” because it isn’t yet walking as we know it, but it is better than the tiny penguin shuffle that was my best a couple of days ago. A sort of controlled lurching. So pleasing that these abilities just come when the hip is ready.

 

[Elf1]

Good update @Klassy ! You are handling recovery with grace and patience.

So lovely that you got to meet up with others and bell ring. I imagine it must be zenlike. I remember when we were stationed in Frankfurt they had some bell ringers on an outdoor balcony in the square at Christmas time. It was quite beautiful.

 

[Klassy]

7 week anniversary for Hip 2 (Rightie) and lots to celebrate.

Today Rightie walked to the local shops and back, nonstop, for the first time - not to buy anything, just testing I could do the distance. And I could! I went solo ( ie without the hovering husband) with two crutches. Distance 0.6 miles in 30 minutes, so 1.2 mph.

For interest, I checked this thread and find that Leftie first achieved a solo, 2-crutch nonstop walk round the block at our previous home of 0.7 miles in 35 minutes, so also 1.2 mph. So a lot of similarities. The difference is that Leftie first did it on the 6 week anniversary. This may be because the previous home had a flat paved route, whereas the current route starts and ends with a section of steep rough track, and I have had fewer opportunities to walk here. Or it may be that, as I said a little while ago, that Rightie had a more traumatic start in life and seems to be about a week behind.

But wait, there’s more success to report! Today, I put on my right sock without the sock aid. I was just able, with the slowest and gentlest of stretching, to put right foot on left knee.

And Leftie didn’t achieve this till Day 58, ie 9 days later.

Rightie wins!!!!!!!!!!

Yes I know it’s not a race. But it is jolly encouraging.

PS editing to add yet another first - Rightie forgot the crutch! I was in the bathroom, getting up from the loo ( sorry if too much information), looked around for crutch. Not in sight?! I realised I had let it outside the door and hadn’t even noticed when I walked the few steps across the bathroom without aids.

 

[Layla]

What a great update, Klassy! Great progress and enjoyable to read. I hope you’re having a good day and I wish you a peaceful weekend with maybe another walk?
Interesting how similar your recoveries have been.
@Klassy

 

[Klassy]

Thanks @Layla . Today we had a bit of an outing. We drove to see if the local flood defences were holding back the rainfilled river ( they were, I’m pleased to say) and had a short walk beside the temporary lake that had appeared on the meadows. Very scenic. Half a mile, with just one crutch this time so another improvement.

Another first: I went up and down our stairs, still toddler style, but alternating which leg did the leading. Rightie is keen to regain her status as good leg.

 

[Elf1]

Good updates, nice to experience those improvements! You're doing well getting out and about a bit, a bit of fresh air is great.

I went out for a walk the other morning but at a stand still now as we went from 80s to 20s with ice, pretty much overnight. Gotta love Texas!

 

[Klassy]

Wow, Texas weather sounds pretty extreme. I hope better walking conditions return for you soon @Elf1 . Fresh air and a change of scene are a great tonic, not to mention, as I think you said on your thread, “Motion is the Lotion”, I have to pick my moments for getting fresh air between blustery winds, rain showers and even sleet yesterday morning, but when the sun shines there is real warmth in it. And I love how the days are lengthening.

 

[Klassy]

[The world news is sad and scary but I can’t do anything about it so won’t mention further here except to offer sympathy to anyone directly affected]

Days 51 to 53 have been great. I’ve been making the most of some lovely sunshine.

On Friday I did a little light gardening, just cutting back some of the spent flowerheads I left on the perennials over winter in line with latest theories of gardening for wildlife (I hope the bugs were grateful because it looked a mess).

Saturday was glorious as we finally found a great walking spot within 30 minutes drive. The grounds of a National Trust stately home, with level paths, lovely scenery, gardens with spring scents, perfect! I used 2 crutches for confidence and walked for an hour, 1.1 miles nonstop except for a few pauses to admire the view. This will become a regular destination so I can track progress. There are lots of extra walks adjoining once I want them.

A little bit more gardening on Sunday. The garden looks so much better for just that bit of effort.

No hip or thigh pain at all, during or after. I have had some cramps in my calf though. I need to sort out some better shoes.

Sunday evening handbells and supper visit again with the same friends. They were impressed by the noticeable improvement in my mobility in just one week.

My short travels inside the house without aids are getting closer to resembling proper walking, and I can carry something light in each hand for a short distance, making life much more convenient.

I had a look back on this thread to see how I was doing at the exact same time after my first THR. Physically much the same, but the difference in mental state is huge.

Day 53: I’m down in the dumps …Why can’t I walk unaided? Other people are doing it at 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks... why can’t I at 7.5 weeks? Is it because other people put up with pain but I don’t? I can walk unaided but I hate the feeling I get in my hip. It’s not a pain so much, it’s a horrible wrong feeling….

And it’s not just the walking. It’s everything. I’m so slow and clumsy and everything seems to require awkward bending and there’s a constant draining feeling of insecurity…

And then looking forward. You can be positive and say that improvement continues for over a year. But looked at another way, a whole year and one is still in recovery. I don’t remember anyone telling me that beforehand.

I’m watching gardening programs and I can’t even enjoy that because it doesn’t feel like I’ll ever be able to put my weight on a spade and dig, or step across flower beds or turn a compost heap.

And it has been raining all day.

LOL. Forecast is for rain all this week, so brace for another misery-moan session soon!

But seriously, it is so much easier having the benefit of prior experience. I have learnt so much about what not to worry about. And yes, full recovery from the first THR did take me over a year. Might even be longer this time. No problem, the garden is still there!

 

[Layla]

Wonderful update, Klassy! The place you found to walk sounds lovely. Beautiful scenery always makes for a pleasant walk. Interesting how your bell ringing dinner pals noticed an improvement since last week. I’ll bet that revelation was music to your ears.

I can only dream of gardening at this point with many inches of snow on the ground and temps only hovering around freezing, but I can imagine the delight in the process as I read of your gardening escapades. I wish you the best if you have another appt today, which if I recall you may.
I hope there’s more good news and it’s the start of a beautiful week for you!
@Klassy

 

[Klassy]

You are so good at remembering these things @Layla . Yes I had another follow up appointment today re the eye thing. The situation continues to look promising, thankfully, but I have another test coming up so will post an update after that.

On the subject of gardening: I wonder if you have ever come across the book “The 3000 Mile Garden”? If not, I can highly recommend it, there are second hand copies for sale. It is a collection of letters back and forth between two keen gardeners, one in London and one in NYC / Maine. There was also a TV show of it, also wonderful but maybe not available to see- made in 1993 so pre YouTube. I was living ( and gardening) in Sydney Australia at that time, and it amused me that the London garden was considered to have a mild winter. Not compared with a Sydney winter!! But when I saw how the Maine garden just disappeared under snow and ice for months ( and the American writer holed up with her indoor plants in NYC), I realised that, in comparison, south England winters are mild. There is always a bit of something going on in the garden.

I miss a lot about my Sydney garden - all those things I took for granted like bougainvillea and birds of paradise flowers and lemon trees. When I came back to England, I had to learn all over again about plants being non-hardy. But I do enjoy having the four distinct seasons.

 

[Layla]

Promising is encouraging! I’m going to hold that thought. I hope it’s comforting to you.

I‘ve never heard of the book The Three Thousand Mile Garden, but I’m going to search it up.

There is always a bit of something going on in the garden.

We’re definitely like the Maine garden here. All is buried under snow and ice. The closest I get to any gardening is containers of Spruce tops and similar cuttings to brighten the white and brown landscape, but Spring is on the way!

I miss a lot about my Sydney garden - all those things I took for granted like bougainvillea and birds of paradise flowers and lemon trees.

Sounds lovely! Bougainvillea is so beautiful.
I hope your day is going well, Klassy. I‘m just drinking a cup of coffee at this point.
Have a good one!