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Rider1960, Dorothy, back home finally!!!! (the long version!)

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Hi Dorothy,
First off thanks for that other thread about "life changing". It was such a great idea.

It is difficult to give up a year to repair the body. I feel between my pre and post it will be a couple of years. Can't imagine as I am recovering to be thinking about doing another one like you are, i feel for you. I am a little older than you, but still, I guess we have to think about how well our body served us before breaking down - a good long time. The other thing is that we still have lots of life to live. My PT always reminds me (when I mention that last summer was crummy and now this summer I won't be up to snuff) that there will be many other summers in my life. Easy to say, but it is true. Sounds like you are being able to have some good time outside which is great. I am sure you are right in thinking it will all work out. It usually does :) it is great that your "limbo" is happening at such a wonderful time of the year when spring is sprouting out all over the place. I actually just moved to VT from Syracuse last summer (was there 14 yrs) so am familiar with the beauty of upstate N.Y. Take care and keep the faith - Cathy
 
Oh yes, Cathy, I remember your telling me previously that you had moved from NY to VT. Vermont is beautiful!!! My ex has a brother is way out in the country in Underhill and we went there to visit a bunch of times. It's pretty where they are but being built up a lot as people move in from the cities. Still very nice, though. They have a sheep farm right down the road from their house, horses next door, a maple syrup farm less than a mile away--lots of neat stuff.

Dee, Bea, and Linda--thanks for your comments and support. I really appreciate it.

Oh, a snag with the dog spray collar ... Miss Lucy decided she just HAD to go after some critter in the woods last evening on one of our walks despite my spraying her twice before she got out of range. I guess it's not going to be fool proof ... but she's still a heck of a lot more reliable since I've been using it for her. After her 15 minute disappearance chasing after whatever it was, she returned and was very content to stick close and come instantly every time I called her without my having to spray her again. That's a vast improvement over the 2 or 3 hour disappearances she used to do when she would see something and blow me off as I called her repeatedly ... so it's helping overall. I just wouldn't want to put her in a potentially dangerous situation and put all my faith in the collar--she will still be leashed when around traffic. I guess nothing is perfect ... even my Lovely Lucy :-)

Dorothy
 
Hi Dorothy

Just dropping by to keep in touch :) your next THR is coming around fast in June xx
 
Hi Sandy, sweet of you to be thinking about me.

Yes, I'm gearing up for the next surgery in June. I'm also on a cancellation list, so it could happen sooner than that. I'm trying to get all my "to do" stuff done now, so I can be ready to go on short notice if that happens.

The surgeon's scheduler told me that when they get a cancellation, it's usually a last minute thing and they only have a week or sometimes even less to get all the pre-op stuff done--exam at their office, testing and consultation at the hospital, medical clearance exam at my primary care physician's office, plus the health insurance precertification. I did get a call from the health insurance yesterday telling me I'm all set with the precert. The surgeon's office had already called, which is earlier than they did it last time ... so I wonder if they think they might end up with a cancellation and may be able to fit me in sooner.

If I go earlier, it has to be May, though, because my ex who will be handling the animal care is tied up the first half of June with work stuff. So, it's either May or keep my same surgery date of June 22. Either way is OK. I'm not feeling too painful, so I'm fine with waiting till June 22. It would be just nice to get it over with earlier if I can. I feel like I'm in limbo. I'm glad I only have two hips!

My Lucy dog is at the vet today to get some work done on her teeth. She needs a general cleaning and she also needs to have her top incisors extracted. One has fallen out and the one next to it wobbles in the wind. The remaining two seem pretty good, but I told them to take them out if they thought they might cause problems in the near future. I felt really bad leaving her. She came from a shelter and I don't want her to think she is back in that kennel/shelter environment and that she has been abandoned. I could see her little mind working overtime while she is there. She is a very intelligent dog and thinks WAY too much. I'll be happy to pick her up later.

Hope everyone is doing well today!

Dorothy
 
Hi Dorothy

Poor Lucy, I can so relate to that.. I had the most gorgeous dog (cross between a corgi and a ????). Her name was 'el van moo ho' - true, I am not kidding... we called her 'moosie'. When she was a puppy, she used to jump at the washing on the line and one of her front teeth bent out, strangers thought she was vicious because of the ways she looked, but she was so gentle. I had her for about 16 years through the thick and thin of what life throws at one every now and then... I miss her :(

But I am very happy you will get Lucy back, give her a cuddle for me :)

I will keep fingers crossed for a cancellation for you:)
 
Lucy did fine at the vet's. She jumped into the car and never looked back --she couldn't wait to get out of there. Then she came home and barked and ran along the fence line when the horses came up to the barn. Anesthesia and tooth extraction didn't slow her down a bit.

Dorothy
 
Hi Dorothy,

Glad to hear that Lucy returned unscathed from the dental procedure and went right back to "work."

Keep us posted on the next hip -- and yes, it's good you only have 2 hips otherwise it would be hard to ride a horse!! :th_heehee:

Take care,
Cardie
 
Hi Dorothy, just checking up on you as I read earlier that you might get called for your surgery sooner than planned. Sounds like you're still there, but might get a slot this month, so fingers crossed for you. I'm sure you'll sail through it - you sound very together and organised. What I think is amazing about having a second THR soon after the first is how you totally forget about the first one once you've had the second one done. I don't mean you forget about what the experience was like, but you don't baby the first hip any more because you've got the new one to look after. At least, that was my experience. The first new hip is now my 'strong' one. And isn't it great that you'll be able to enjoy the summer with two shiny new hips and all the surgery behind you?

Glad that your Lucy got through her visit to the dentist all right.

Love, Jane
 
Hi Dorothy
Have not been checking the forum in a few days. I see that you may get an earlier date for your second hip. That sure would be great for you to be able to get it over with. The sooner you can ride, maybe this year a bit yet? I hope your healing process will be as fast as with the the first one.
All is well on my side. Still healing more slowly now. Riding my Silver about three times a week, but only in the hills behind my house. Took Cody to a de-spooking clinic yesterday. He did great.
Take care and have agreat day.
Bea
 
It's been a while since I've posted about my recovery.

Things are going well with the hip I had replaced. Let's see ... I'm about 16 weeks post op. The leg still needs more strength and the hip flexors are tight and stiff when I get up out of a chair after sitting for an hour or more. But, things in general are going very well. I can do pretty much anything I want to do and it doesn't get sore while I'm doing it. It may be sore later after I've been sedentary, but it's something I can handle and work with. Certainly a far cry from the pain of the arthritis!

I only feel the mild weakness when I climb steps or take the first few steps after getting up from a lying or sitting position. The leg does not feel like it's had anything weird done to it--like a foreign object put into it, which really does amaze me. How can they do what they do to the leg and have it feel normal??? It will just be nice when I can feel that it is as strong as a normal leg.

My surgery for hip number 2 is still on for June 22. I go for pre-op stuff June 12. It's coming up before I know it. When I scheduled the surgery it was 3 months away ... now it's only 1 month. Time flies by so fast!

Drum roll please ... I splurged and bought a laptop computer! I did this mainly because I had so much trouble sitting in a regular desk chair after the first surgery ... it gets kind of boring hanging out at home by myself so much of the time. This will help me stay connected while being more comfortable. I can sit in my recliner and be the computer. Great!

I just set up the computer today. It's one of the more simpler models, but it is SO much faster and more efficient than my old desktop computer. Amazing! I rarely have to wait more than a couple of seconds for something to load. I didn't want to spend a lot of money for something more than I actually needed--I'm about as far from a high tech person as anyone you could ever find. I email, surf the web, and watch some videos ... that's about it.

I had no clue what to buy. I talked with an IT person where I work and talked with a number of sales people at stores to get the basics before buying one. I bought from Best Buy and found their sales people were very helpful, not pushy. They understood where I was coming from and sold me a nice HP computer that definitely seems to do what I need it to do without costing me my next paycheck. I've been watching reruns of my favorite TV shows this evening and I have a trial subscription to Netflix to see if my internet service will stream it adequately. I live in a rural area and don't have much to choose from as far as providers. The one I have thinks I'll be OK with streaming video... just have to see. I haven't had a chance to test out Netflix. But, I'm already in love with the new computer!

Still have some things to do before surgery--at least this time it's going to be done during the nice summer months of the year. That makes my life much easier, with the horses and dogs to care for.

I hope everyone is doing well either pre or post surgery. I can't really say I'm looking forward to going through it again ... but I know it's what I need to do and it will help me to feel better (the right leg is starting to flare again as the results of the prior steroid injection are wearing off) and get me completely back to my previous-to-hip-arthritis active life. So, bring it on!

Dorothy
 
Great to hear from you, Dorothy!!! And now that we know you have this spiffy new laptop, we'll be expecting to hear from you often...:th_heehee:!!!
 
Dorothy,
Glad to hear your preparations for side 2 are going so well and about the laptop! This last month will fly by for you:) just think a few months from now you will be well past all this and on your way to a new bionic life........lucky we only have 2 hips. I'm five days into side two and its better than the first one. Hope it's this way for you too!
Great news about Lucy! When my coco had some teeth pulled last year, it took him awhile to get over it.
Dee
 
Thanks! Yes, just a little longer till #2 is done. And I agree--I'm glad we only have two hips!

It's not that it's been a rougher than expected surgery and recovery ... It's just that I'm so tired of my life being on hold. My horsey friends are talking about and getting together for rides ... and I can't join them. I am going to go to the after-party for a ride coming up Memorial Day weekend. It's a benefit trail ride for a friend who recently passed away from cancer. People will give whatever donation they want and the proceeds will go to our friend's favorite charity--a therapeutic riding program in the area. The socializing will be fun, even if I can't actually participate on the ride.

Lucy is doing fine after having her teeth cleaned and her extractions of the bad teeth. Her teeth look so white and pretty now--she is giving her younger "pearly whites" sister Heidi a run for her money.

I'm still loving the electronic citronella spray collar I discussed in earlier posts. Lucy respects it and has been pretty reliable. She has taken off after something a couple of times and either ignored it or got out of range very fast ... but for about 98% of the time she is perfect with her recall. I even put it on Heidi last evening because she was running around the horses and barking non-stop despite my telling her to stop it. She has some of that selective hearing problem too ... must be something in the water ... it can't be because I've spoiled them too much :-) One spray when she ignored me when I was calling her off the horses and she snapped back to life and her (selective) hearing problem became much improved and she stopped running around barking at the horses like a maniac. She also blows me off at times on a general recall when she is farther away from me and is busy with something more interesting, so she got a spray for that too and seemed to make the connection for the subsequent recalls ... last evening anyway :-) Both of my dogs are very sweet and well behaved except a little disrespect when they are kind of far away from me and have something better on their minds. This spray collar seems to work very well for them.

I'm going to start making my to do list for the next surgery. Even things like making sure I have enough toothpaste to last for a while ... simple things like that ... can be a big problem if I run out and no one is going to the store for the next few days. I won't be able to drive for a longer period of time this time because it's my right leg. That is bothering me some--I went into the left knowing that I could drive shortly afterwards and that was great when I started to get a little housebound feeling, even if it meant just going for a 15 minute car ride in the country where I live. This time I'm going to be subject to everyone else's schedule. That sucks. I love being independent and free to do anything I want, any time I want to do it. It will be more difficult having to rely more on others for at least a month afterwards. I'm sure he won't let me drive before at least a month.

Well off to join Mike for breakfast and then back home to mow my horse pasture. I don't have a big tractor and mower (Please let me win the lottery soon!!) so I mow it with my yard tractor mower with a 42" deck. I can't go fast because it's rough ground, so it takes over 3 hours to mow it. But, I'm not really complaining because it used to have so many large rocks sticking up that I wasn't able to do it and had to hire someone with a tractor and brush hog,and then they were getting tired of the rocks messing with their equipment and were getting hedgie about even continuing to do it. Mike was kind enough to do some major rock picking (you should see the pile!!!) and I've been able to mow it myself for the past few years. Keeps the weeds down and keeps the land looking pretty. I live in a small town in the middle of no where, but it is residential looking with close neighbors surrounding my horse pasture, so it's nice to have it looking pretty.

Have a great day!

Dorothy

​
 
Hi Dorothy, the toothpaste was one of the things I was obsessed with pre op...ended up with enough to last for months on end but it is little things like that that it's annoying to run out of. I'm fussy about certain stuff so I made sure I stocked up on the things I would whinge about if my hubby got the wrong ones post op.lol.

I have been looking at the citronella collars for my two naughty pooches, they like to completely ignore us most if the time when called so I think I will give them a whirl seeing as they are a more gentle shock approach. Thanks.x.

Not long now and you will be back on your horses and living life to the full and then it will all have been worth it.

Take care

Ann
 
Dorothy,

So good to hear from you and that you are quickly approaching #2 new hip. I had stocked up on toilet paper and just recently ran out! But better to have what we need. I know what you mean about being independent and having to rely on others but let them help and pamper you...there are those that really want to help you. Enjoy the day, beautiful weather isn't it?
 
What a gorgeous weekend it was in Upstate NY! I hope you got to enjoy it dianemarie.

I mowed the horse pasture today and it looks so pretty--almost looks like a manicured lawn. It was funny because I bought a wide brimmed straw hat to wear when I'm out in the sun for long periods of time and had that on for the first time. One of the horses stared at me with a little hesitation on his face because it was like he didn't recognize me. I talked with him and he calmed down a bit, but he wasn't completely comfortable until the hat came off. Funny, though, I put it on him and he was fine with that. :-) He just didn't liked me wearing it.

My back got pretty sore and my hips seized up riding the mower. I stopped and got off to walk around every hour (about 3 hours total) and I looked like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz for the first couple of minutes! Other than that it wasn't too bad. I did see, though, that I won't be able to use the mower for a while after the next hip surgery--it will be difficult to get on the thing ... and then the position of my legs and the seat will break the 90 degree restriction. So, I guess that's out for the first 6 weeks. I'm going to show Mike how I do it--there are some areas that have huge tree roots sticking up, uneven ground that has to be approached in a certain way so the mower deck doesn't get hung up or the blades messed up. Although he will probably be OK, I think I'm better at judging stuff like this than he is. I hope he doesn't hit something and break the mower. Don't need another repair bill ... or worse yet have to buy a new mower. It only has to be mowed about every 3 weeks to keep it looking OK, so I'll plan to mow it just before my surgery and he should only have to mow a couple of times until I can take it back over.

I just can't get over how much I love this new laptop! It's nothing special, but it is so much nicer and faster than my old desk top computer. I'm sitting here in my recliner with my feet up all comfy and typing away. I'm so glad I decided to get it.

Not much longer till my next hip. Some days I don't feel too bad and I think "Maybe I can let it go a bit longer ..." But, then I think about all the ibuprofen I'm taking each day, interspersed with Percocet, and I know I can't go on like this. Taking all that medication for a long period of time is not good for my body. And, of course, I can't ride my horse or go for longer hikes with my dogs until I have it done too. That always snaps me back to reality and feeling confident that I'm making the right decision to get it done now before it gets as bad as the other hip was. I really don't think I could go through that again. It was pretty nasty.

Dorothy
 
Dorothy,
Haha, totally understand the stock-up mentally....I bought enough of the shampoo/conditioner I like probably for two years! My side 2 is the right side also so I have the same driving concerns. I like knowing I can come and go without being reliant on others:( just think a few months from now, everything will be great and you'll be making plans, going out, etc. that's what I so look forward to also!
Dee
P.s. Glad you love the laptop! It will help you keep us updated!
 
Hi Dorothy
Sounds like you are pretty ready and have things planned for your next operation. I hope the healing will be fast. Probably will help it being summer and getting more outside than being stuck in the house.
I also thought if I need my right hip done, I will do it in October or so, so I have time to heal before the winter weather hits plus I would be more ready to ride in the Spring.
Yesterday I rode the first time with someone else at a BLM area close by for approx two hours. The trails are pretty level there. Rode my Silver and all went well. My operated hip felt so great. No pain while riding. A bit tight by the groin area and that was it. My right hip did bug me and hurt. The shot I had in it sure did not do the trick.
But, I tell you Dorothy, having no pain in the left hip while riding was just awesome.
Have been riding here at home at least every other day now, so hoping the right hip will get a bit more used to it. Maybe I am kidding myself.
Congrats on your new computer. I have a small pocketbook computer and it sure was nice to have something to write with while lying on the sofa.
Isn't Kris' new baby just beautiful? I have been watching her and she just nursed for a bit. I hope she can get up on her own soon.
One of my dogs will have a tumor from his eyelid removed tomorrow. They will clean his teeth too while he is out. I hope all will be well for him. He had a hard life. Was a whole year in the shelter when I took him home. He is a Chow/black lab mix, nine years old now. Very sweet boy. Just tough to be a large black dog. There are so many of them and hard to find new owners.
How is your weather now? Raining here today.
Have a great week.
Bea
 
Dorothy,
Just checking in to see how everything is going! Hope the pre-op for side 2 is smooth and going well! Just think, pretty soon you will be truly BI-onic also:) hope all is well and thinking about you!
Dee
 
Hi Dorothy,

Thinking of you and am anxious to hear all about hip #2 and supporting you as you recover. But remember, you have the best surgeon in the east! All the best to you.
 
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