THR I have a cold, my mother has her THR today<

[Pumpkin]

Nevillek,
The Stage 1 pressure sore your Mother appears to have, needs to be kept off of surfaces, bed etc, you should be able to do this when her leg is elevated, be sure the rest of her leg is well supported. She should also be changing positions frequently. Avoid any dragging or shearing over her heel when she moves.
Ask your OS or nurse about obtaining a heel protector.

 

[Josephine]

Spot on as regards the pressure sore, Pumpkln!

As for the chair, Neville, she shouldn't be sitting on a chair with wheels as it will be unstable when she wants to stand or sit.

 

[Jamie]

That "heavy" feeling she's having in her leg is a normal part of recovery. It will go away with time.

 

[nevillek]

Nevillek,
The Stage 1 pressure sore your Mother appears to have, needs to be kept off of surfaces, bed etc, you should be able to do this when her leg is elevated, be sure the rest of her leg is well supported.

Thanks @Pumpkln .. So the site of the sore (heel) should be left in the air with the pillow supporting the portion above (calf+knee)? What if she rests the part on a soft pillow? If I remember correctly, the PT said the ankle should always be supported during elevation??

 

[nevillek]

As for the chair, Neville, she shouldn't be sitting on a chair with wheels as it will be unstable when she wants to stand or sit.

Ah, thanks @Josephine , I always hold it though when she sits on it because of that. That's the only "high" chair we have actually.

 

[nevillek]

That "heavy" feeling she's having in her leg is a normal part of recovery. It will go away with time.

That's good to hear @Jamie

I'm just hoping she's able to move her op leg by herself soon.. Right now I have to pick it up/put it down/turn it myself whenever she wants to get out of bed.

 

[Pumpkin]

If I remember correctly, the PT said the ankle should always be supported during elevation??

You have to make a choice, the heel should be free of any pressure. You want to support the whole leg with the heel being free of any surface. As she heals and becomes more active this will not be an issue.

Just for your self, lying in bed, scoot down and let only your heels over the edge of the bed. You will feel the weight of your legs distributed evenly. Now scoot up and lie flat, with your heels on the bed. You will feel just how much pressure your heels take when lying flat.

 

[nevillek]

You have to make a choice, the heel should be free of any pressure. You want to support the whole leg with the heel being free of any surface. As she heals and becomes more active this will not be an issue.

Just for your self, lying in bed, scoot down and let only your heels over the edge of the bed. You will feel the weight of your legs distributed evenly. Now scoot up and lie flat, with your heels on the bed. You will feel just how much pressure your heels take when lying flat.

Mom now says that it's a red thing from wearing her shoes pre-op. I'm not sure what to believe. Either way, I'll let the heel free.

 

[nevillek]

@Josephine I just came across this PRE-OP CT scan and Xray report that says she had a femur fracture already! Is that the same one that is surrounded by the wire in the post-op Xray? I wonder how it fractured before the op and without her knowing?

Also, it says her pelvis is tilted to the left.. Any idea how bad is that?

 

[nevillek]

My mom has an itchy red rash type patch outside her groin area on the left side since yesterday. She had a left THR 16 days ago. Any idea what this could be? It's outside the groin area exactly on the curve. She hasn't taken a bath/removed the bandage yet.


She had UTI during surgery and was given antibiotics for 10 days for it until discharge last week.

Could this be a bacterial infection?

 

[Jaycey]

@nevillek You may have noticed that I merged your second thread started today with your mother's existing thread. Please keep all your questions on this thread so that we have a history and can better advise you.

What are staff saying about this rash?

 

[nevillek]

Doc gave her Surfaz-SN cream. It's much better now.

 

[Josephine]

I just came across this PRE-OP CT scan and Xray report that says she had a femur fracture already! Is that the same one that is surrounded by the wire in the post-op Xray?

No, that's a totally different fracture. Besides which, the report says it is 'old' which implies also healed. And the femoral neck is totally different to where the wire is.

And the fracture is described as impacted which means the two parts of the bone are pressed together. In this case it's often the case that the patient may be totally unaware of the injury and just think they have bruised it or something. Such fractures also invariably heal fairly readily.

 

[nevillek]

Hi Josephine,

Good to see you back. Thanks for the info.

Just to update- it will be 4 weeks to her OP tomorrow. She's free of pain now and off the pain killers. Taking the iron tablet (Orofer XT) in the morning and cholesterol/calcium at night only. She had developed intertrigo in the groin and above buttocks last week but it has cleared with the cream now. The incision has also become dark to light red. I took her out for dinner last week too.

However she's still unable to raise her op leg to get onto the bed or do the leg raise exercise in bed; it still feels very heavy in the hip area she says.


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[Chihuahuan]

@nevillek So glad to have an update on your mother and that she is doing well.

 

[froggymom]

I'm so glad to hear your mom's getting better it's wonderful that you took her out to dinner. Take care

 

[nevillek]

@nevillek So glad to have an update on your mother and that she is doing well.

I'm so glad to hear your mom's getting better it's wonderful that you took her out to dinner. Take care

Thank you so much you'll. Your support throughout has meant a lot and helped us in the most difficult of times. Hugs and good wishes. Please continue to be with us.

 

[nevillek]

Dear @Josephine .. I've had a runny nose/cold since last 5-6 days as I've been doing all the housework and today, I notice mom sneezing/coughing a little once every half an hour or so, which makes me feel a little scared that I might have passed it on to her. She might have also got it because of re-starting the ICEPACKS due to soreness/pain since last 3-4 nights.

Should I do anything (get meds from family doc) to supress her cold immediately or wait it out?

 

[Celle]

A cold is a virus infection. The icepacks won't have caused it.
Yes, probably she did catch it from you, but I don't think you need to worry. It isn't likely to cause any infection problems for your mother's leg and hip.

If the cold makes her feverish or uncomfortable, she can take Paracetamol (also known as Panadol, Tylenol and Acetaminophen) in a dose of 1,000 mg each time, 4 to 6 hourly, to a total not exceeding 4,000 mg in 24 hours.
Do make sure she drinks plenty of fluids as well.

It's good to hear how she has improved and lovely to know that you could take her out for a meal. Is she able yet to take responsibility for her own care, or didn't she do that before her surgery?

 

[nevillek]

Is she able yet to take responsibility for her own care, or didn't she do that before her surgery?

She's extremely stubborn and least bothered about her health and started doing most of the household chores (albeit with occasional pain later because of that) inspite of me asking her to take rest. Then sitting on the computer for 4-5 hours a day to play games, walking without the walker in haste sometimes, getting lazy to do exercises, feeding a baby on her bed and leaving it dirty with biscuit crumbs in the process not bothered about hygiene, bended down to pick up things or tried sitting on a low sofa once or twice, etc etc. and SEVERELY making me mad in the process. I'm starting to get more strict with her. It's like I have to keep an eye on her 24/7 or she does as she pleases regardless of the dangers I explain about to her.