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Now the game is on!!!!

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kangaroo

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Hi folks,
Im Back!
To sum up THR I'd have to say ....What was I worried about?
Tuesday: I went in on the morning of April 28th, surgery at 8 am and a spinal anaesthetic.....still vomitted!. ...had morphine drip through an electronic, self controlled button ....hardly needed it....very little pain. OS came in to boast about his surgery ...I vomitted ha ha!
Wednesday: Tried to get up....fainted (low blood pressure), a few hours later tried to get up.....fainted. Gave up on getting up that day as the blood pressure was on the floor.... Only paracetemol for pain
Thursday: Blood pressure up a little....tried to get up.....fainted.....
Friday: Got up and my head stayed level...at long last. Now i was up and running....walking frame and then crutches.....no hassles at all....I felt good and reasonably human despite the head being a bit light.....
Sunday: Transferred to rehab....fabulous....i started on Pt on Monday (day 6) and hydro on day 7.....hydro was terrific, despite the pool being tiny...for a small amount of time I felt free of the crutches impediment.

2 weeks of rehab later Im home and a little overwhelmed, but Its good to be back....

My overwhelming summary is that an anterior hip replacement is easy, practically no pain (im on only paracetemol as needed!....and no Im not being stoic!) and whilst i have a way to go with reaching the magic 90 degrees this is a function of having tight muscles due to the extra length in the prosthesis....OS increased my leg length by 3 cm, which means that i am now level! ....a very strange feeling and makes it impossible to limp in the old way....

Now I've just got to get on with it. The only unexplained question is ...did anyone else have muscle weakness in the hand which holds the stick? My left hand (RTHR) has lost strength,particularly the little fingers, and some finger actions are lacking control (such as the letters a and s on the computer)...I'm putting it down to the stick but i wonder if it could also be because of canulas etc as well ....

So to all of those who were wondering how I am going.....Im off and running...Ill be doing the Sydney Marathon before you know it!

With love
Rachel
 
That is amazingly good news Rachel! Glad to hear you are doing so well! You sound like a new woman already!
Not sure what is happening with the finger thing.........I'll leave that to the experts to comment on.
It's great to have you back........! :)
 
Thanks Peta,
All is well, although i am a "bit" tired and the littlest efforts with the kids feel enormous!
Its good to be back home and Im reallly glad I took some sewing to rehab...i lowered the average age by about 40 years (there was one beautiful lady in her 90s) and I found focussing on a book really hard, but easy sewing was fine.....
Have you thought about a date for your other hip? Once its done, its done and you can get on with life....whats happened to your Europe trip?
Rachel
 
We're still hoping to get to Italy end of Sept/early Oct this year - hubby just has to sort out "stuff" at work before we can finalise when we are going.

As for my other hip......I'm in the process of getting some second opinions before I get it done. I've got an appt Monday week with another highly recommended OS, so I'll see what he has to say. My health insurance upgrade doesn't kick in until Sept (I'm not having this one done in a hospital where I'm in a ward surrounded by men!), and then we're looking at going away. And as we are going with friends and my sister, I really don't want to have to pull out! I'm hoping I can stagger through until early next year! I'm having good days and bad days with it at the moment, so I guess time will tell!

I'll bet the kids are glad to have mum at home! They will have missed you dreadfully! Take it easy with everything - one day at a time!

I know what you mean about the reading - I couldn't focus enough to read for a couple of weeks post-op! And I'm an avid reader! :)
 
Hi Rachel. I am glad you are doing well and moving a long. All that low blood pressure and fainting. Why was the pressure so low? Well glad you are back and looking forward to more posts on your recovery..I hope you feel better. I bet you are really happy to be in your own bed. Take care............Kim
 
That's a great report, Rachel! You have a great sense of humor. Glad you aren't vomiting or fainting anymore :)

Sounds like you are going to recovery fantastically. I'm jealous of the anterior approach. Sounds like such a different immediate result. Good luck and please post about your rehab as you go forward.
 
Rachel,

Welcome back! I have been wondering how you were doing and am glad to hear you're doing so well. My RTHR is in 11 days and it's nice to hear good reports. Please keep posting about your recovery.

Diane
 
Welcome back Rachel,

I only left you another message today. So glad to hear you are home and all went well.
 
Hi Rachel!!! So glad you are back! We all missed you! Now that the worst is behind you....it will only get BETTER! Keep up with your physio and I hope the kids keep taking good care of their special Mum! :)
 
Hi Rachel, Great to hear from you. I have been thinking about you and hoping you were progressing well. Isn't it great to be past your surgery and on the healing side?

I had nausea and a near fainting spell on my first day after surgery. It was due to the narcotics causing very low blood pressure -- mine was 75 over 40 and I was still standing! Of course, the nurses put me to bed very quickly and adjusted my medications.

My left hand was sore for a few days when I started using the cane, but this faded as my hand got stronger and I leaned on the cane less. I would guess that the weakness is due to new demands being put on your hand. The good news is that you will not be using that cane very long, especially with your anterior approach.

Welcome back!

Gail
 
Rachel, let me add my congratulations and good wishes for you as you progress in recovery. You have a GREAT attitude and it's so fun to see that "real you" coming through now that you're over the surgery hump. Welcome home!!!
 
Rachel Rachel!!! You're baaaaack!! We have missed you so much and been wondering how you were doing!! So glad everything went well for you! I also vomitted after my spinal, figured it was due to that little bit of other stuff they give you to actually put you pretty much out. Bet hubby and kiddies are so glad to have you home! :) Keep resting, PTing, healing, and you will be in that marathon! :)

Karen
 
Ahh, kanga! Sooo good to hear from you at last. And I'm delighted to discover that despite everything, things did go well in the end. I am so very, very pleased for you. Keep on keeping us up to date, won't you?
 
Thanks guys, you are a burst of encouragement....despite the fainting/vomitting, I really have not felt bad/terrible/depressed/in pain etc. The vomitting was only a couple of times (at the OS which I thought was really funny... after the event!) and the fainting was typical of me in a surgical situation and very carefully watched....I warned them before i got up that i have a tendency after hip ops to faint (thats the voice of experience) so they always had someone with me to cushion the fall as the lights went out.!!)
From a surgery point of view it took a little longer than the OS expected as he had to carefully find his way through scar tissue...he said that took a long time....and then when he got to the bone it was so "stuck" he had to cut it into 4 pieces....he reckoned it was as close to a "fused hip" without fusing it!

The PT has been good. I started out with a hip flexion of under 40 degrees, and by the time I had been at rehab for 2 weeks it was at about 80 degrees.....80 degrees is enough to ride a bike i think....so it gives hope for my jaunt across the harbour bridge....!
Rachel
 
Rachel, I thought it was so funny the way you described the surgeon coming in to boast a little about his work and then you threw up. Pretty good for a guy's ego. That was a great story and I bet he tells it around the doctor's water cooler.....assuming he has a sense of humor.
 
Jamie, OS does not have a sense of humour.....but he has solved some of my issues in life and I'm not paying him to be funny!
 
Hi Rachel,

I think it was a total of three I left on the same phone number you messaged me on that time I was in Sydney.

LOL on the vomitting at the OS, I did the same thing once with a different doctor, he was standing at the end of the bed telling me what a great job he had done, and at that time with my head in a kidney bowl, I wasn't really interested.

Can't wait to hear when you have done the Bridge crossing!!!!!!!
 
Rachel
Welcome back and congrats on your new hip. glad it went well, I always vomit after surgery in a day or 2 as well.
Keep resting, stay in pj's, take stool softeners and any pain meds you need.
judy
 
No need for stool softeners!!!! and pain meds is only paracetemol!!! I'm really glad I haven't needed more of either.....although I would take them if need be....
Ive overdone things today....ive been starved for company my own age over the last 3 weeks....tomorrow I go to day therapy....pt and hydro...
I think I'll resort back to pjs after the therapy tomorrow!
 
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