dianemarie
graduate
Wonderful, Alan...good for you and very inspiring for us!
What a beautiful pool, is that where you live?
What a beautiful pool, is that where you live?
THR staffsknot story so far
- Thread starter staffsknot
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OP
staffsknot
senior
Hi, Diane,
Unfortunately we don't live near this pool. It is at Los Cristianos, Tenerife.
Our local river is at 10 degs C, as is the sea in Cornwall, South West England. Went in swimming with 8 year old granddaughter. Even with wet suits on we both came out with blue fingers and toes. We weren't the only crazy ones. There were about 20 others in the surf.
My swimming is gradually getting better. Another lesson next week should tide up some of those legs and elbows. More later.
All the best, Alan
Unfortunately we don't live near this pool. It is at Los Cristianos, Tenerife.
Our local river is at 10 degs C, as is the sea in Cornwall, South West England. Went in swimming with 8 year old granddaughter. Even with wet suits on we both came out with blue fingers and toes. We weren't the only crazy ones. There were about 20 others in the surf.
My swimming is gradually getting better. Another lesson next week should tide up some of those legs and elbows. More later.
All the best, Alan
OP
OP
staffsknot
senior
Wasn't going to post until the year and a half mark, but there have been some significant developments in the last week or two, that I think you maybe ought to know about especially if you, like me, are finding the road to recovery a long and winding one.
The first thing is that I am aware for the first time this month of performing activities without ceaselessly wondering how it is affecting the area around the replaced hip. That includes country walking, even hills, gardening, swimming, moving furniture and shopping trips, I can do them; are you listening, Lisa? Last week I spent four hours at the Swim shed, learning freestyle swimming drills. This would be two hours' worth of flutter kick. Afterwards the teacher said he would not have known I had had a hip replacement if I had not told him. Result!
I still can't swim all that well, though. I'm at that awkward stage where all the new moves have not yet come together and I'm not swimming as fast as I was before.
The other thing I've noticed is that my right leg has now officially overtaken my left leg. It is more efficient; it even looks better except for the depressing depression just around where the wound was. One of several explanations: the right hip has improved so much that it has revealed that the left is not perfect? the right and left have both deteriorated together? the left has got so much worse that it seems that the right is better? Who knows?
Anyway, it seems that the recovery is now as complete as I would have wished for, not perfect but OK. I have a pair of serviceable legs, even if the right hip area looks a bit dodgy. It's taken 17 months but I am now pretty much cured so there need be no further bulletins. No dramatic resignation, just a gentle sliding away.
The only things I may report in the future would be if I were to complete a one mile swimming race in open water or climb up a big British hill.
I would like to thank anybody who has helped or supported me in any way. My wife, Glenys, has been brilliant throughout, but everybody else seems to lose interest once you are out of hospital and shuffling about on a stick.
Except the Bonesmarties. You are always there and you have also been brillliant.
All the very best to all of you in your different journeys.
Alan
The first thing is that I am aware for the first time this month of performing activities without ceaselessly wondering how it is affecting the area around the replaced hip. That includes country walking, even hills, gardening, swimming, moving furniture and shopping trips, I can do them; are you listening, Lisa? Last week I spent four hours at the Swim shed, learning freestyle swimming drills. This would be two hours' worth of flutter kick. Afterwards the teacher said he would not have known I had had a hip replacement if I had not told him. Result!
I still can't swim all that well, though. I'm at that awkward stage where all the new moves have not yet come together and I'm not swimming as fast as I was before.
The other thing I've noticed is that my right leg has now officially overtaken my left leg. It is more efficient; it even looks better except for the depressing depression just around where the wound was. One of several explanations: the right hip has improved so much that it has revealed that the left is not perfect? the right and left have both deteriorated together? the left has got so much worse that it seems that the right is better? Who knows?
Anyway, it seems that the recovery is now as complete as I would have wished for, not perfect but OK. I have a pair of serviceable legs, even if the right hip area looks a bit dodgy. It's taken 17 months but I am now pretty much cured so there need be no further bulletins. No dramatic resignation, just a gentle sliding away.
The only things I may report in the future would be if I were to complete a one mile swimming race in open water or climb up a big British hill.
I would like to thank anybody who has helped or supported me in any way. My wife, Glenys, has been brilliant throughout, but everybody else seems to lose interest once you are out of hospital and shuffling about on a stick.
Except the Bonesmarties. You are always there and you have also been brillliant.
All the very best to all of you in your different journeys.
Alan
Hello Staffsknot, I'm not sure that we've ever communicated before, but I have always read your posts with interest, because they are so intelligent! I like, and quite understand, the concept of a 'gentle slide away', but your insightful comments will be much missed by many of us.
Do let us know when/if you achieve your ambitions - the 1 mile swim or the big British hill. So please just gently slide back here now and again, won't you?
Do let us know when/if you achieve your ambitions - the 1 mile swim or the big British hill. So please just gently slide back here now and again, won't you?
HaggisWhisperer
member
Hi Alan, I'm glad it is all finally coming together for you and well done with the swimming 
I too would love to try "a big British hill". I like quite close to Tinto which is 2,333 ft so just a Graham but still what I intend for my first proper hike (I discovered a few weeks ago that Graham's were actually named after my husband's cousin Fiona). I'm going to work up to a Munro.
I too have a depressing depression - great name by the way. It sort of crept up on me but they seem not uncommon in us hippies. Maybe if I ever make it to a sylph-like size 10 it will disappear :hysterical:
Thanks for all your help over the past year and no literal sliding away. Slipping and sliding is not good for hippies :wink1:
Nancy
I too would love to try "a big British hill". I like quite close to Tinto which is 2,333 ft so just a Graham but still what I intend for my first proper hike (I discovered a few weeks ago that Graham's were actually named after my husband's cousin Fiona). I'm going to work up to a Munro.I too have a depressing depression - great name by the way. It sort of crept up on me but they seem not uncommon in us hippies. Maybe if I ever make it to a sylph-like size 10 it will disappear :hysterical:
Thanks for all your help over the past year and no literal sliding away. Slipping and sliding is not good for hippies :wink1:
Nancy
nancyellen
junior member
Congratulations on reaching this point in your recovery!
Nancy
Nancy
lisanewmc
post-grad
Dee205
senior
Alan,
I always enjoy your insightful and amusing posts! While I will miss them, I'm glad that you feel confident enough to slip slide away. As you say, the hips might not be perfect but are good enough.....keep up the excellent job swimming and doing the things you enjoy. Good luck! (and stop back occasionally)
Dee
I always enjoy your insightful and amusing posts! While I will miss them, I'm glad that you feel confident enough to slip slide away. As you say, the hips might not be perfect but are good enough.....keep up the excellent job swimming and doing the things you enjoy. Good luck! (and stop back occasionally)
Dee
OP
OP
staffsknot
senior
Hallo, Friends,
One or two people asked me to return if I managed to reach either of two goals. The first was to climb a big British hill, or mountain, as we call them. The other was to swim at least a mile in open water.
Before I do that I want to emphasise that there is absolutely nothing special or outstanding about any physical things I do. There isn't. I am nothing more than average. I am not therefore here to show off in any way. Yes, I am delighted with what I have been able to do in my recovery, but it is not in any way extraordinary. The only reason I have returned is so that I can send a message to people who are at the beginning or at least not all that far into the recovery process, or quite a long way in but not seeming to be doing very well.
The message is quite simple: there is an energetic, active life to be had after hip replacement. If you look back in this thread, you will see the stages, the triumphs, the disappointments, nothing spectacular, but just gradual improvement in mobility.
No, I haven't climbed my big hill. When I have made a big effort, the next day brings soreness and aching to the area around the repair, such that I would find it all too easy to imagine being in hilly country when something snaps, or goes permanently on strike, or fatigue causes a slip, or a wrench, or worse. I do not think it is right to set off up a big hill if I suspect that it is likely somebody will have to turn out and rescue me. So no big hill.
Swimming is different. I am confident in my ability there and have on a number of occasions swum more than a mile in open water, using a mixture of front crawl, breaststroke and stopping, treading water to gossip with friends. On one occasion, there was a misunderstanding and I found myself alone in the middle of a lake with half a mile to go to reach the nearest bank. It was lovely. I laughed to myself at the sheer joy of being there in warm water (18 centigrade) on a sunny evening in beautiful surroundings, and I thanked everybody, my doctor, my surgeon, the nursing teams, my family, my new friends in Dove Dippers, and my older friends in Bonesmart. I thank you all. I couldn't have done it without you.
One day I did climb my mountain. It was rough and heathery and 500 feet from the pub at the bottom to the disused reservoir at the top. That is about my limit. But whilst there I swam a mile in a heavy rainstorm. It sounds a bit crazy for a 70 year old hip replacement survivor, but I enjoyed it.
To those who are still struggling, be determined and patient, a difficult blend to manage, I know, but if you can manage it, the rewards, the targets, are there for you as well.
Good luck and all the best
From Alan
One or two people asked me to return if I managed to reach either of two goals. The first was to climb a big British hill, or mountain, as we call them. The other was to swim at least a mile in open water.
Before I do that I want to emphasise that there is absolutely nothing special or outstanding about any physical things I do. There isn't. I am nothing more than average. I am not therefore here to show off in any way. Yes, I am delighted with what I have been able to do in my recovery, but it is not in any way extraordinary. The only reason I have returned is so that I can send a message to people who are at the beginning or at least not all that far into the recovery process, or quite a long way in but not seeming to be doing very well.
The message is quite simple: there is an energetic, active life to be had after hip replacement. If you look back in this thread, you will see the stages, the triumphs, the disappointments, nothing spectacular, but just gradual improvement in mobility.
No, I haven't climbed my big hill. When I have made a big effort, the next day brings soreness and aching to the area around the repair, such that I would find it all too easy to imagine being in hilly country when something snaps, or goes permanently on strike, or fatigue causes a slip, or a wrench, or worse. I do not think it is right to set off up a big hill if I suspect that it is likely somebody will have to turn out and rescue me. So no big hill.
Swimming is different. I am confident in my ability there and have on a number of occasions swum more than a mile in open water, using a mixture of front crawl, breaststroke and stopping, treading water to gossip with friends. On one occasion, there was a misunderstanding and I found myself alone in the middle of a lake with half a mile to go to reach the nearest bank. It was lovely. I laughed to myself at the sheer joy of being there in warm water (18 centigrade) on a sunny evening in beautiful surroundings, and I thanked everybody, my doctor, my surgeon, the nursing teams, my family, my new friends in Dove Dippers, and my older friends in Bonesmart. I thank you all. I couldn't have done it without you.
One day I did climb my mountain. It was rough and heathery and 500 feet from the pub at the bottom to the disused reservoir at the top. That is about my limit. But whilst there I swam a mile in a heavy rainstorm. It sounds a bit crazy for a 70 year old hip replacement survivor, but I enjoyed it.
To those who are still struggling, be determined and patient, a difficult blend to manage, I know, but if you can manage it, the rewards, the targets, are there for you as well.
Good luck and all the best
From Alan
bottomshollow
Former BoneSmart staff member
![[Bonesmart.org] staffsknot story so far](https://data.bonesmart.org/attachments/3/3313-f49b5642499359b52079b394e313b31e.jpg?hash=9JtWQkmTWb "[Bonesmart.org] staffsknot story so far")
(I am a thumbnail, click on me.)Alan, what a super update! Us ordinary people can do some pretty extraordinary things when we set our minds to it and persevere.
![[Bonesmart.org] staffsknot story so far](https://data.bonesmart.org/attachments/3/3314-6c7f590a213cec8ca9c1f7cc69594b0e.jpg?hash=bH9ZCiE87I "[Bonesmart.org] staffsknot story so far")
I can picture you now---how wonderful for you! Thanks for sharing.
Terrific up date Alan! It is wonderful to hear of your successes and adventures. The ordinary becomes extraordinary when you could not do it before and now you can. And one day perhaps you will climb that bigger mountain.
From The Sound of Music
Climb every mountain,
Search high and low,
Follow every byway,
Every path you know.
Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
'Till you find your dream.
A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life
For as long as you live.
Read more: https://artists.letssingit.com/sound-of-music-lyrics-climb-every-mountain-q47jrxt#ixzz24fwTWylu
LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community
Read more: https://artists.letssingit.com/sound-of-music-lyrics-climb-every-mountain-q47jrxt#ixzz24fv9DcIb
LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community
From The Sound of Music
Climb every mountain,
Search high and low,
Follow every byway,
Every path you know.
Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
'Till you find your dream.
A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life
For as long as you live.
Read more: https://artists.letssingit.com/sound-of-music-lyrics-climb-every-mountain-q47jrxt#ixzz24fwTWylu
LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community
Read more: https://artists.letssingit.com/sound-of-music-lyrics-climb-every-mountain-q47jrxt#ixzz24fv9DcIb
LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community
Alan, your story is such a good one for people who are thinking about surgery or just new in recovery to follow. I am so thankful that you have taken time to tell it. The fact that you are just an "average" guy with a new hip makes it perfect. It proves that average people can have extraordinary lives with their new hips!!! Bravo!
Phillygirl
junior member
Alan, Congratulations on your 1 mile in open water, forget the THR that is quite an accomplishment. Your right slow and steady progress. I am not yet playing tennis but have not given up on it either. May you be on the other side of that British hill soon. Your postings were always very inspiring. 
Good Luck Philly girl
Good Luck Philly girl 
Poppet
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VThereandnow
graduate
Lovely post Allen. Thank you for coming back to tell your story. Cathy
OP
OP
staffsknot
senior
I'm sorry I haven't been a better communicator over recent months. It's partly because whatever I wanted to say to people by way of advice was pretty much what other, far better qualified people were already saying, with a far better level of expertise than I could ever muster. The rest of what I might be able to tell fellow strugglers boils down to my saying that I got a lot wrong during my recovery, owing to as tendency to be very impatient, and to believe firmly that none of the cautionary words people were using could in any way apply to me because I was something special, a piece of daftness that I now recognise as the rubbish it is.
Anyway, back in the early Autumn (Fall, as some of you would have it) I was telling you of some swimming adventures, and since then there has been more of the same. The difference has been that I have continued to do swimming throughout the British winter, outside, in lakes, rivers and the sea. Most of the time it has been in wetsuit, but some of the time it has just been in a male bathing costume. I allowed myself to be talked into entering something call The Big Chill Swim, held on 2nd February this year, in Lake Windermere, no wetsuits allowed. I was in the 30m Breaststroke, for men over 70. The air temperature was 2C and the water 4.6C. The big news is that I won a Gold Medal, well, gold-ish coloured anyway. The bad news that goes with it is that I was the only competitor in my age group, Men aged 70-80. Still, I turned up and the others stayed home, so fair enough. As I said before, there is nothing special about me. 2 years ago I would not even have managed to climb down the ladder into the water, much less climb out again, so the message for people at an early point in their recovery is that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that if you were active before, with luck and patience you could be active again. I am keenly aware that not everybody is as lucky as I have been, but many are. If you are one of the unlucky ones, oodles of good wishes go from me to you. If you are one of the lucky ones, there is no reason why you should not manage to get right back to wherever you were before all this hip and knee business got started.
Lots of love to all of you, Alan
Anyway, back in the early Autumn (Fall, as some of you would have it) I was telling you of some swimming adventures, and since then there has been more of the same. The difference has been that I have continued to do swimming throughout the British winter, outside, in lakes, rivers and the sea. Most of the time it has been in wetsuit, but some of the time it has just been in a male bathing costume. I allowed myself to be talked into entering something call The Big Chill Swim, held on 2nd February this year, in Lake Windermere, no wetsuits allowed. I was in the 30m Breaststroke, for men over 70. The air temperature was 2C and the water 4.6C. The big news is that I won a Gold Medal, well, gold-ish coloured anyway. The bad news that goes with it is that I was the only competitor in my age group, Men aged 70-80. Still, I turned up and the others stayed home, so fair enough. As I said before, there is nothing special about me. 2 years ago I would not even have managed to climb down the ladder into the water, much less climb out again, so the message for people at an early point in their recovery is that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that if you were active before, with luck and patience you could be active again. I am keenly aware that not everybody is as lucky as I have been, but many are. If you are one of the unlucky ones, oodles of good wishes go from me to you. If you are one of the lucky ones, there is no reason why you should not manage to get right back to wherever you were before all this hip and knee business got started.
Lots of love to all of you, Alan
bottomshollow
Former BoneSmart staff member
Take care, don't be a stranger---keep us updated. We care.
![[Bonesmart.org] staffsknot story so far](https://data.bonesmart.org/attachments/7/7979-562ec98de54b88a3d36699936e022737.jpg?hash=Vi7JjeVLiK "[Bonesmart.org] staffsknot story so far")
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