Yes, it is time for an update. I just hit my 2 months and 1 week point (9 weeks). It seems like recovery has flown by - the first 5 weeks were slow going, but progress was fast. I have been faithful about physical therapy and I also have really enjoyed it. I feel like I improved after every session. At 6 weeks I got the green light to go in the pool, so in mid February I went back to the water aerobics class. I am much younger than most of them but I feel like they have accepted me into the water sisterhood. Even though I am 9 weeks out I am still using a cane most of the time out of the house. About 2 weeks ago I went on my first long walk and it was really wonderful. Not easy though - I had to concentrate fully on my gait. It took about 13 days, but the walking has lessened the terrible stiffness in my hips. I have also been walking on the treadmill at the gym and using the elliptical machine. The last 2 days I have been able to do the Stairmaster - very very slowly. I haven't been released from Physical Therapy because I am still using the cane and I am still having incredible difficulty with stairs, which is not surprising since I could barely go up one step for an entire year before my surgery. I told my surgeon that I had been using a cane for 6 months before my surgery and he said that my recovery would probably be slower than most. And it has been. But I am grateful and super happy with where I am now.
Jessica