THR Rainbow Recovery for Great Aunt Janet

[hippy52]

So glad to hear that you're home and recovering nicely. Wishing you only the best in the weeks to come.

 

[mydog]

@Great Aunt Janet - it sounds like you are doing wonderfully! Congratulations on getting to the other side!

 

[Joydancer]

Oh my goodness, how wonderful Great Aunt Janet !!! So good to see you are home !!!
So glad to hear from you and how well you are doing !!!
Trumpets plzzzz.... officially congratulations on your new blitzen hip !!!!

Glad you are settling in back home and know we have much to chat-up....

Rest and sleep well, till tomorrow.

 

[HollyB]

Congratulations! You did it!!! I'm really looking forward to reading your recovery thread which I hope will be full of wonderful healing experiences that are totally uneventful! All the best to you.

 

[Constanze]

Congratulations @Great Aunt Janet! I enjoyed reading your very humorous first recovery report. You're doing fine - exercising in the hotel corridors - that sounds super. I'll have surgery this coming Monday. My surgeon is good-looking, too, and athletic according to his CV on the internet. So I expect he'll have more understanding for my situation than the other 2 surgeons I consulted previously. I'd like to resume my long-distance swimming and long-distance biking if possible. Of course, at first, I know I should take it easy. I'll try not to be too ambitious with the exercise. That can wait.

You reported in one post what an interesting job you've got - in the outback. I'm also glad everything went ok with the flight. I've been to Queensland before but not to Brisbane. We've been to Cairns, went snorkeling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef, went to Ayer's Rock and Alice Springs, and to a few national parks in the northern territory. It was in 2011 and 2014 that we went to Australia, and we want to go again next winter. We also went around with Quantas - super airline. What material is your artificial hip made of? I've heard that titanium won't set off the alarm at the airport but that might be a rumour.

All the best for your recovery - Constanze

 

[wcgirl]

How ya doing @Great Aunt Jane? Glad to see you posting and getting right back to cheerleading!

 

[hippy52]

Thinking about you today and hoping that you are continuing to feel better each and every day.

 

[Joydancer]

Blitzenhipsagoago, hoping you are sleeping in and enjoying much being home...nothing like ~ home sweet home ~

Gotten lax of doing some of my home exercises, stretches...have to be sure I keep up with those... PT gave me some copies with sketches so I remember them no excuse to miss "homework" lol !!

Bet your little munchkin paw-paws was glad to see you !!!

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

My surgeon is good-looking, too, and athletic according to his CV on the internet.

you naughty girl! Sounds like an excellent match up for you @Constanze, and you put me to shame with your energetic sportsgirlship. I will be satisfied with being able to go for bush walks again - we live 100km or so away from Carnarvon National Park, and I haven't walked there since my honeymoon (31 years, don't know how he puts up with me) - it is a gorgeous place, and is a goal for next year. Can't wait.

What a good traveller you are, you have been to more of Australia than many Australians! It is a great place - I emigrated here from UK 14 years ago and so really appreciate the space, the light and the sun (OK, sometimes there is a little too much of that but that is what hats are for!) - and the peace. I lie on my bed with the breeze coming through the flyscreen, watching the birdies nibble the blossoms outside the window and all I can hear is - breezes in the trees, birdies, my windchime, the occasional passing car, and dogs chatting to each other down the street. Heaven. Brisbane is an interesting city - all hills and lots of green and the sparkling Brisbane river - but the noise of any city or big town is something I don't miss. Do you have plans on where to visit next time? Let me know if you need any info!

My hip is titanium and some kind of, um, plastic (I forgot to write it down, hoping my GP will get a letter with it in!!!) and definitely set off the security alarm at the airport. It was no hassle though (although I did warn them not to pat me down!!!) In my drug-enhanced mental state however, I was quite ready to show them my rainbow bottom and wound in public if there was any trouble, no, don't worry about the curtains, just take a look at this!

Oh @Joydancer - Home is wonderful! To be able to wander about in the middle of the night to make a cuppa and have a read and listen to music, very comforting. And La Bindy is making the most of her princess status once more, and enjoying lots of unauthorised visits to the bed to cuddle with her ma!

We are in sync with being a little laidback with our exercises! I am going to finish my allotted pc time (sitting at desk tut tut, gotta space it out) and go and do some more, you have reminded me!

 

[Jaycey]

Welcome to the good side @Great Aunt Janet ! Sounds like you are doing very well. I'll leave your official recovery articles here for you to refer back to. Any questions - fire away. We are with you!
First are the BoneSmart mantras ....
- rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist - to do it to you
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
- if you won't die if it's not done, don't do it
- never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!
- be active as much as you need to be but not more than is necessary, meaning so much that you end up being in pain, exhausted or desperate to sit down or lay down!
Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery
Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Activity progression for THRs
Home physio (PT)
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

Just a little update on my Day 12 - can't believe how fast it has gone.

New hip seemed a bit more painful last night and this morning I am feeling a bit weak and snivelly (poor me ) despite being waited on hand and foot by my man Florence. So today is Sunday, taking it nice and slow all day, as I want to make it out to drop in on a Goat Expo meeting this afternoon if I am up to it. One of the guys that does so much for the group is on chemo and is pretty sick, and if he is going, well, I would feel very pathetic if I didn't give it a go, and I have stuff to say (how unusual for me!!).

I managed to catch some decent periods of sleep last night - hurrah - but I keep worrying that when I sleep I will get too comfortable and turn over without precautions so I think that stops me properly resting.

So I have just toddled round the garden with both crutches this morning instead of setting out for a walk on the road, doing my lying and standing exercises gently, and keeping up the regular paracetamol and ibuprofen. Just using one crutch - or sometimes none - inside the house.

Hunky Florence changed my dressing yesterday, all looks good, should be able to dispense with it on Tuesday. I've got these steristrips all down it - do you think I peel them off or just let them fall off? Didn't think to ask surgeon.

Overall, I think the daily improvements lulled me into thinking they would continue incrementally, and of course these things don't work like that. Darn, out of my control again!

this has cheered me up, thanks!

 

[HollyB]

Hi there @Great Aunt Janet. I just love reading your reports and I'm beyond happy for you that your recovery seems to be going so well. Wish I could help re the steri-strips but my incision was glued. My instructions were to just let water run over the incision when I showered and eventually the extra glue would dissolve. If I were guessing about your steri-strips I would guess not to pull them off but just let them dissolve in the showers over time. I'm sure someone on Bone Smart has had steri-strips. Did you get a packet of discharge instructions when you left the hospital? I did and it contained an entire section called "Care of the Incision". I was instructed not to put soap directly on the incision, use mild non-fragrance soap (like Dove), gently pat dry with a clean towel, and no lotion on the incision. Dressing had to be changed daily for about two weeks. Double-check your discharge info. -- maybe your particular answer is there. Keep on giving us those great updates and know that I'm thinking about you way over on the East Coast of the US.

 

[wcgirl]

I just love how you were able to cheer yourself up in your last update! keep up the good work -- i think you deserve a day of rest. Bless you

 

[Jaycey]

I've got these steristrips all down it - do you think I peel them off or just let them fall off?

Just let the steristrips fall off.

Sounds like you are doing really well in this recovery!

 

[beachgal]

It's the early Sunday morning hours that take me back to the days of healing last summer. With your sweet post on my thread, I wanted to read a bit about where you live and the experience you've endured to this point. Now I know why you call yourself Great Aunt Janet! Sounds like you've done a great job of handling all the steps toward a very successful surgery. Recovery is slow but if you pay attention, you WILL see improvements daily, though maybe not in areas you expect!

Keep up the good work! Don't overdo it! Listen to your body and be your own best friend. You've got great support at home and on this forum. I'll keep an eye on you!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[isolde]

Hi Great Aunt Janet, you are doing brilliantly. I LOVE the idea of a Goat Expo, is it really a big exhibition of goats or am I being stupid (love goats)? Really pleased you're doing so well.

 

[wcgirl]

I wasnt going to bring up the goat thing... Hope all went well.

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

I made it to the meeting - just half an hour, but it made me feel good to do something out of my street! @isolde - It is all things Goat (we love them here too) - racing (with little kids driving in carts), cheese, goat pies, petting goats, goat crafts and toys, goat dressup, guess the weight of the goat, grow a goatee comp, norny hats .... I love it, so eccentric and good fun, and I always work in Goat Central.

Better today after extra rest yesterday - and thanks for all the encouragement and info. I walked for 15 mins, about 30% of weight on crutches, and that got me round a whole block. Yay.

 

[torment]

That sounds very goatastic! We had planned to go do some short walks through local shops this coming weekend, but we'll see. Nothing as exciting as a goat expo going on around here.

 

[webbie73]

Great Aunt Janet, I am just catching up with your thread. Your home sound just lovely!!!!

It also sounds like you are doing so,well with your recovery.