It's now 11 weeks and progress is slowing down! I went to the physio last week - she said my muscles are still very weak and I need to keep up exercise to build them up.
I tried my first proper walk yesterday - around 6 miles in the country on tarmac mostly but with some steep inclines. I used trekking poles which really improved my gait. It was great for the first 4 to 5 miles but then I started to suffer. My quads got very, very sore and clearly were not used to such exercise. I took the rest of the day to recover with elevation and ice. This walk showed that while I had been progressing quite well I still have a long way to go. It was very different to strolling around town!
I am still getting stiff around the hips and can be a bit sore from time to time. I still cannot balance properly for long on the operated hip. But at least I am finding the cycling machine and cross-trainer fine and can swim well.
I would be getting a bit despondent with my progress were it not for hearing others' recovery stories on this forum. I consider myself to be relatively fit compared with most but presumably it is the severity of the arthritis (amongst other factors) which is dictating the recovery time. I find it amazing that some people are walking well and pain free within 6 weeks.
The last year has also made us conscious of what type of place we will move to when we downsize - not too high maintenance and close to facilities. In the UK we have a programme called "Escape to the Country" where couples find a dream home - it amazes me to see elderly couples who want to move to a house with huge amounts of land in the country - if they got dodgy hips they are in trouble.