Bilateral THR My New Hips Are Here

[C Mac]

Hi Jen,

What an awesome report, glad that you are doing so well. Sounds like your PT has a more global approach in looking at your back as it relates to your ROM and not just focusing on the hip alone.

Keep up the good work!!
Take care,
Cardie

 

[djklaugh]

Excellent, Jen! I'm delighted to see you are doing so well. It is wonderful and amazing how great life is when the joints are moving easily isn't it?!

Today I wrangled 2 feisty big cats into their crates for a session of grooming (in house thankfully) - I sure could not have done that alone 6 months ago! And one is over 20lbs and I had to haul her fuzzy self out from under the guest room bed and carry her down the stairs - yowling and wriggling all the way.

So congratulations on your wonderful progress - may you continue to thrive and enjoy your new hips :cat-kittyandsmiley:

 

[Jamie]

Beautiful post, Jen!!! You made me smile!

 

[charlie cyborg]

Hi Jen,
Just like the weather in the UK at the mo you are a ray of sunshine, it's great to hear the positivity in your voice .... onwards and upwards babe!!

Love

Charlie

 

[rider1960]

Jen, things are going so well for you now! That is terrific! I'm VERY happy for you!!!!! YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAA! New hips are such a gift, aren't they. I know I feel like I've been given a second chance on life--that's how good it feels

Keep up the great work--I'm sure you will.

Dorothy

 

[DallasSarah]

Hi Jen,

Brilliant update and sooooo true. It does seem to take a long time to suddenly yell out oh my goodness my hip-hips feel amazing then again it's NO time at all considering the years before the surgery of pain.

Love you are doing so well!

xxooxx

 

[haldox]

Jen-Ditto everything you said! Its a wonderful and amazing gift. Im so happy you are doing great!!

 

[dectjc]

Hi Jen,
Great to hear from you and that you are doing so well, keep up the good work and take care

 

[Jen]

Thanks so much everyone! Between the amazing weather in NYC and my recovery breakthrough, things have been great. But be forewarned friends, that I'll be grumbling in about a week-and-a-half when I have to make my grand return to work. Dealing with the NYC subway and bus system for the first time in over three months should be epic. The Benny Hill theme song is already running through my head.

 

[Z15]

Jen,
i did not realize you were a NYC kinda New Yorker! Yikes... The streets of New York occasionally have another pedestrian or 3, don't they???

And EVERYONE is strolling casually with nothing but the utmost focus on those with whom they share the sidewalk... :hate-shocked:

I can see why an extra couple weeks to tackle that environment makes the greatest of sense. You are now fortified and ready to HIP-CHECK anyone who gets in your space! Keep us posted.

Z

 

[C Mac]

Hi Jen,

We give you permission to sharpen your cane to a point and use it indiscriminately, yet discretely, as you navigate your way thru the streets of NYC in a couple weeks time. :th_heehee:

Have a nice weekend,
Cardie

 

[Poppet]

Hi Jen

Sounds like you are progressing very well. Definitely take advantage of the extra two weeks before you go back to work, especially battling with NYC crowds.

I remember Anita saying she took her stick with her for a little while at first, mainly for protection ! .. something to consider maybe?

Thanks for popping by on my thread, and the kind words 

 

[dectjc]

Jen,
How about getting a big Rottweiler! People will give you room and you can always ride on his back when you get tired. Just a thought.

 

[DallasSarah]

Hi Jen,

Thrilled you are doing well, you are always a great beam of sunlight...radiant

I always admire the NYC members getting around the city. With normal legs the pace can be exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. My show is there in a couple of weeks at the Javits and I've officially got out of going, and I completely LOVE coming into the city, eating in the great restaurants and buzz! I'm just not in the mood to mess around with my baby hip not yet! There will be other city trips soon! And you had both done you have healed so quickly it's fabulous!!

Have a good weekend!

xxooxx

 

[Bionica]

Hi Jen!
Wow, haven't been to the Big Apple, but can imagine the challenge of navigating such circuitry. I agree with the others that you need to have a walking stick
1. To look tres cool and dignified
2. To clear a path
3. Self defense
4. Again, to look authoritative and commanding.
Or hail a cab and let him honk you through--that would be my plan--as if I know anything about NYC...

 

[rider1960]

I like sharpening the stick idea!

Seriously, having a cane with you really does put people on alert to give you extra space. Good idea.

Dorothy

 

[VThereandnow]

Just getting caught up with your thread after you commented on mine. Hope your transition to work and the subway went well. I will be using you as inspiration. I hope my PT is 1/2 as good as yours -cathy

 

[Jen]

Thank you everyone for the ideas. I returned to the office this past Monday without a cane but only because I just ordered a folding one as my old cane seems too "bulky" to carry around when I really don't use it.

I was tempted to take Cardie's advice a step further and search for canes with retractable sword tips at the end. But I decided to be good. For now....(insert evil grin).

Cathy, you will do great . If you are free to choose your PT, it is worth it to visit a couple of places to find one that works for you.

So, my commute to work was fine. I was able to walk from the bus drop-off point all the way to my office building. That was one of the little things I was looking forward to post-op. Before the surgery I had started taking the train after getting off the bus because I just couldn't handle the walk anymore. Now it is easy, breezy :biggrin:. But the workday is a different story. Funny how I can have the tops of my femurs sawed off and metal spikes hammered in but still have a fairly pain-free recovery. Yet the second I have to sit at my desk at work for any stretch of time, my lower back muscles decide to yell "no m'am!" Wow. Then there's that initial hip stiffness when I get up. I did plenty of sitting while I was at home recovering (for 3 months!) so I guess it's that static, super-upright work desk posture (on a hard chair) that is something of a shock to the system. I'm making sure to get up and walk around as much as I can but I must say that the weekend can't come fast enough.

I tip my hat to all the amazing members who have returned to work just weeks after their surgeries. I've had three months off but after a few days in the office I'm already feeling it.

 

[Z15]

Jen,

So glad that you were not bowled over on the streets of NYC!! And I would guess that whether you go back after 2 weeks, or whether you go back after 6 months, that the transition is going to be a "little" painful. I think it is our bodies rebelling about the new format and structure.

But i am glad you survived.

I am VERY glad that your walk is now do-able...but just remember to be extra careful during next winter's "frozen spit season"... :wink1:

Z

 

[rider1960]

Jen, I think you did great just getting to your office!!! All I have to do is park outside my building and walk in. You did a full days work before even getting there.

My first week back was miserable! I was surprised too. Something about sitting upright like that and concentrating all day--very tiring and things you didn't expect to hurt, hurt. The fatigue! It took about a week and a half for me to adjust. And, I was like you--I felt like I was doing very well at home too. Going to work at even a sedentary desk job is much more difficult than recuperating at home.

Dorothy