Greetings again fellow Hippies.
I know I don't have to apologise but I will do so anyway - sorry for missing the last few days.
You will be happy to hear that I did indeed go home on Sunday - just 3 and a half days after the operation - and it was, without, the best and worst time of my life!
What do I mean by that? Well, it was superb to get out of hospital and find myself in familiar surroundings again. The fact that the excellent hospital staff thought I was good enough to go home (and they were right - I was good enough and I wanted to go home!) really gave me a fillip. Here I was, walking well on crutches, aches and pains easing, so soon after the op. Brilliant!
On the flip side, the journey was exhausting! I have never had a forty minute car journey (where I was the passenger) take so much out of me! It was insane! As soon as I got home (in fact, to my parents place, who are looking after me for a couple of weeks - see, I don't have to do anything) it was as much as I could do to crawl into bed, drug up and then try, really very hard, to sleep...
But, initially, could I sleep? No way. I just dozed. I think what had happened is that I had reached that point of complete and utter exhaustion. Thinking back on it now, I slept, maybe a few hours each night I was in hospital, was drugged up to the hilt, intensive physio and my body was trying to recover from a major op. I didn't realise, until I got home, just how much I had put my body through. I was so drained, I couldn't even sleep properly to start the recovery.
So, on Sunday night I felt terrible. I was bursting into tears at a moments notice, I was sleeping for an hour then awake for three, I felt so ill... ill like I have never felt before! I turned around to my wife at one point and said why did I do this? It was if the dodgy hips were, in some ways, better! My wife and my parents were brilliant and just kept on saying "give it time, you are expected to feel terrible right now. You are doing brilliantly. You are way ahead, now just rest."
And, although I really didn't believe them, I did just that. Rested. I did my exercises only when I wanted to, got up a few times for little walks but not many and, gradually, through Monday I felt just ever so slightly better and, last night, I slept for 7 hours straight! Woohoo!
And today, well, I got up at lunchtime and have been up all afternoon (the cricket was on so I had incentive - we won). Tonight, I still feel a little strange but I am so much better than I was on Sunday.
So, advice for anyone out there waiting their hip hop - be aware, exhaustion can and will probably strike. Try to avoid it, of course, but be prepared! Listen to your body - it will tell you when enough is enough!
As for my hips, well, they're ok. I haven't lost any movement even though I have slowed the exercises down a bit and they are feeling less and less swollen. My right hip is more painful... painful is the wrong word... uncomfortable but I think it's because my surgeon cut through more muscle or at least the wound is in a slightly different place - it's better than it was anyway.
Oh, and getting in and out of the car? No major problem as long as you have a helper to guide you legs in! I sat on a pillow and this allowed my better half to grab both of my legs and swing them in - my whole body turned on the pillow. Simples!
Right, my body is saying enough is enough. So goodnight all! Sleep well.
United States
I'm delighted to hear you are back home and on the road to recovery! Yeah the first few days out of hospital are difficult - and the trip home - oy vey! I went home by "care car" - a van with a wheel chair lift and 2 strong fellows to hoist me up the stairs into my house - yup exhausting is the word for that experience. 
