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THR JB's (beachgal) Joyous Journey 7/25/14!

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Day Eleven. This will be short and sweet. I slept in our bed all night. I napped this morning with pillow between knees on my non op side just to see if I could. No problem. Yay!!

I also went to hair salon and got my hair washed. I came back and blow-dried it, popped on a sundress, and my hubby now recognizes me again. Ugly twin has gone for the time being. Still wearing white compression socks and they look awful with my dress but he didn't care.

I've been working some from my recliner this afternoon and it's forcing some of my brain fog away. Another gift

Y'all, little victories. Just sayin.





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The salon sounds like a great idea.?my doc lets us shower as soon as we are home. It sounds like you are progressing nicely.


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I can't shower until Friday-two weeks post op. I'm so tired of trying to keep clean and fresh using a dishpan and a long-handled sponge! Seriously, hubby has been keeping me washed up except for hair which got solved today. In my younger days, we would backpack around Colorado with never a thought of a shower but that was a long time ago. I've since been spoiled with hot baths and plenty of shampoo!


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Well, I am sure you are looking forward to Friday then!
My first shower, I was so afraid I would slip.... I had DH hold my hand while stepping in shower, then kept
shower door cracked open while I held onto the top of the glass/metal frame.
Ha. I still hold onto that frame at the top for security I guess.
 
My first shower was the day after I got home. My BF literally held me up in the shower - he was so sweet - and it felt SO wonderful. Man I felt like a new person after that shower! You will enjoy it @beachgal !
 
Hi @beachgal it sounds like you're doing really well...great news! Strangely enough they let me take a shower at the hospital 3 days after surgery on the day I was being released. And yes it felt wonderful! Friday is only after tomorrow so it's not long now!
 
Day Twelve. My PT arrived this morning and didn't recognize me with clean hair. Haha. We talked about the muscle soreness and that it is a good pain. It is not preventing me from completing my PT sessions and she wants me to begin transitioning to my cane while I'm inside our home. Not sure if I feel ready but I'm willing to try. I know each step forward is going to require my trusting my new hip. Might as well make friends with it now.

Hubby went grocery shopping for us this afternoon. Now this might sound trivial but this is not on his usual list of household chores. With plenty of time and a list, he did a great job and actually came home with a few funny stories. I don't think he wants to grocery shop permanently but was a good sport. The level of care, support, encouragement , and love our spouses exhibit during this long recovery period is phenomenal. No request is too great for him to oblige.

The word is slowly getting around about my surgery in the Jackson area where I grew up and more and more friends are calling to check on me. I really didn't tell many people outside my family, mostly so I didn't have to deal with visitors while I was yucky. Now, the calls and visits are welcomed. One sweet friend stocked our freezer yesterday with little gourmet packets of food. She also stayed for a short visit. Her Mom had THR in April so I was interested to hear of her progress. Sounds like she's back on track.

Tomorrow is hubby's birthday. Yeh, right. What a way to celebrate. So I had bought several cards before surgery for him and two of my sisters are bringing us dinner. I also have a friend bringing him cupcakes.

I remind myself every morning over coffee that it's a journey. I'm not well yet. My hip has a long way to go but it's closer now than it was two weeks ago. The miracle of zero old hip pain still overwhelms me. My PT and my new hip are the best birthday gift hubby could ask for. So he said.

Love that man. And dog.






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Days 13 & 14. I did my PT sessions at home four times yesterday and twice already today. My PT gal came today and took the rest of the bandage off but left the steri strips to come off on their own. I was able to lose the compression sock from my non op leg and will wear the other one for two more weeks in addition to my daily aspirin for DVT. No swelling at all anywhere. Very little bruising mostly at the incision site, thanks to icing and a great OS. Zero pain. No pain med at all. No Tylenol for two days now.

Just stepped out of my first shower since pre op. There are no words. Hubby was handy with shampoo and bath gel. So I'm piled up on our bed, clean from head to toe, wrapped in towels, with dog beside me. Best feeling in the universe but standing for ten short minutes was tough. We're not happy with the shower mat I bought. It doesn't stick to the floor very well so sisters will have to find a better one. Hazards of online ordering.

30 more days until I see OS for release. Seems like an eternity but I have a lot of PT work to do between now and then. Just can't look too far ahead. Baby steps.


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@beachgal yes that shower when you can do it without needing a shower chair or anything feels so great. I'm really cautious since I don't have a shower mat so I can't enjoy the shower as much as I would like but even being extra careful the shower is probably my favorite thing in my day.
 
@beachgal and @rans0m00. I'm just catching up today on how the new hippies are doing. I can remember when I took the first standing shower. I felt nervous, but happy also to move forward. Beachgal, you are a real trooper to wait 2 weeks for that first shower. BTW I found a shower mat at Bed Bath and Beyond before my surgery . It is anti microbial, has a coarse fiber like texture, and sticks to the shower floor. I can't bend over to scrub anything below the thighs, so the coarse texture works well to scrub the soles of my feet. The best way I can describe the texture is similar to a loofa sponge. Anyway, you are moving along so well, and have a good attitude about the journey. Keep on keeping on. See y'all later.

LTHR, posterior, 7 July. 2014
 
@beachgal, my doc allows shower from day 3. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow, day five. I haven't quite worked out how I will maneuver. I'll probably leave the door open and have my better half hold my soap and shampoo. I don't know how I'll turn to get all my kibbles and bits without my walker though. I don't have to keep my incision dry (staples), but I'm thinking it might be more sanitary and through to dry it with paper towels.



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@muckingabout, I asked my PT gal if I needed to pay any particular attention to my incision and she suggested that I use a bit of alcohol along the incision line to help dry it quicker. Of course, first time out, I didn't do that. But we were careful to be sure it was dry before dressing.


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@beachgal I think I may wait another day or two to get a little more confident on my feet. Thanks to dry shampoo and baby wipes, I don't feel gross yet and I'm only 4 days in.


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I was not stable enough on my feet to shower my first week. Between the pain med issue and lack of sleep, I would have been nuts to chance it. I know I'll get stronger and have more stamina with each shower but I won't be doing it again today.

My sister is getting a shower mat from Bed Bath. & Beyond today so that will help me feel more secure too.


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@beachgal Yeah, I decided I'm going to stay upstairs another day too. I had no trouble going upstairs in our two-level house straight from the hospital, but the trip down scares me.
 
@beachgal and @muckingabout, you guys are hard core to live without the shower. I was in the shower the morning after I came home from the hospital (day 4). The first time, I took a shower in my daughter's bathroom, as she has an actual shower, with my husband standing by for back up. On day 5, I braved my shower, which is a bathtub. I was nervous about stepping over the bathtub rim and stepping out, but it was okay. Beachgal, I can imagine how you must have felt all squeaky clean, laying on your bed. I love that feeling.
 
@beachgal @cthipster I asked my 21 year old daughter whose judgement I trust, if I looked or smelled like I really needed a shower and she assured me I did not :) Also, she is a lead infant teacher, so I relied on her experience to get the softest and most delightful smelling baby wipes, so I feel good.

BTW, my husband just changed my dressing for me and it looks great. It was also nice to learn after more than 30 years of marriage that he is equally adept at putting my clothes ON.
 
@muckingabout, I really did LOL (laugh out loud) when I read your last sentence. I'm so glad to read so many stories here of people with great spouses. My hubby has always been fantastic through two hip replacements, 2 childbirths, and an appendectomy. And his mom, who is awesome and a retired nurse, has come to take care of me both times, giving up months of her life, and she did the same when the kids were born. Unbelievable.

I didn't have any dressing on my scars. They just had the steri-strips, so I could get them wet, although not wash them.
 
@muckingabout, wow! I wouldn't go near a shower if I could see staples! I don't have any staples. They just did the interior stitching with thread and then covered the incision with a steri-strip.

With hip replacement #1, I got an abscess at the top of my scar, and part of the internal stitching popped out. Freaked me out to feel something that felt like fishing line sticking out from the scar. I went to the OS, and he just snipped it or pulled at it and took it out. Must be dissolvable, so this piece may have been too close to the surface.
 
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