Had L THR at Hospital for Special Surgery 1/7. Finally released on Sunday afternoon. It was a lot harder than I thought. One inch leg lengthening, which is great, so I won't have a limp, hopefully. I did not need a bone graft, but I did need a blood transfusion, which is not unheard of with this surgery. That threw me for a loop - very weak, and still weak at home. They had a lot of trouble controlling the pain, and I was in tears the first two nights. Finally ended up on dilaudid, and tylenol, which surprisingly increases the efficacy of the dilaudid. HSS is an AMAZING place - they really have everything down to the smallest detail. I had my own room, which was fortunate, because of the problems at night with the pain, and it had an East River view, which was so pleasant. The nursing staff was very attentive, and all call were answered within one minute. Everything was clean and new, and comfortable.
I am starting in home PT today, and in home nursing service as well. I do not know how other patients do this on their own - I am totally helpless, need help going to the bathroom, getting water, ice pack etc. By the way, I am returning the ice machine I purchased- used it once and it was so inconvenient, you had to stretch the tubing across the room so the line didn't kink, so it created a tripping hazard. Using the 1 cup alcohol/4 cups water in several zip loc bags did the trick. Put it in a travel pillow case.
I will keep you posted as time goes on- this is only the first week so I don't want to get too impatient with myself!
I am starting in home PT today, and in home nursing service as well. I do not know how other patients do this on their own - I am totally helpless, need help going to the bathroom, getting water, ice pack etc. By the way, I am returning the ice machine I purchased- used it once and it was so inconvenient, you had to stretch the tubing across the room so the line didn't kink, so it created a tripping hazard. Using the 1 cup alcohol/4 cups water in several zip loc bags did the trick. Put it in a travel pillow case.
I will keep you posted as time goes on- this is only the first week so I don't want to get too impatient with myself!