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THR The Deed is Done - Becky Joins the Hipstas/Hipsters

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cornishhedge, Hi, Angie, I believe that by the time your surgery comes, you will be ready. Waiting is definitely the worst part.
 
sandpiper, Jojool, and hello friends! Today is three weeks to the day since I had my surgery, and I feel great. I've been cleared to drive, and started yesterday, with a very short drive to the clubhouse. Today, I drove to my physical therapy appointment, and it felt good to be back on local roads and have confidence in my driving. I'm really working toward building strength and endurance. Not pushing myself too hard, but pushing a little bit so that I make progress. Walking is the main thing, and I walk further every time. Yesterday, I spent 30 minutes in the pool walking forward, backward, and sideways, and doing the stretches and leg exercises that my PT prescribed.

Today's PT session was remarkable. They have the protocol my OS provided, and they told me it is very different from the PT they generally do after hip replacement. A big part of that is that I don't have the hip restrictions, and also, there are very specific things my OS wants done for specific muscle groups. We did some strengthening exercises, but the main focus was stretching and range of motion exercises, to get back the flexibility and range of motion in the hip and leg. The PT also did quite a lot of massage -- deep-tissue massage focused on specific muscle groups. He was gentle, but the muscles are so tight and so tender that it really did hurt. He then switched to doing the massage with a rubber ball so that it wouldn't be so painful, and that made all the difference. My hip and leg do feel much better and more limber as a result of the massage.

I know that there is a big difference between the US and some of the other countries on this forum concerning PT. I have to say that I am so grateful we use PT extensively in the US. I think it is worth its weight in gold. If you have a good PT, who really knows what s/he is doing, they can work wonders in terms of rehabilitation. They've saved my husband from having what is known as a "frozen shoulder" and released him from murderous back pain. He does his exercises every day and hasn't had significant pain, or needed any cortisone injections, for the past year and a half.

For those of you who will be getting PT, make the very most of it, and treasure the opportunity. Be sure to let the PT know if anything you are doing hurts, so that they can stop, modify the exercise, etc. My PT today, before doing any of the challenging stretches, always told me to let him know the moment I needed it to stop. He went very slowly and asked multiple times if what he was doing felt OK, if there was any pain, etc. You need a really good, QUALIFIED PT who knows what s/he is doing and is not needlessly aggressive. But PT can absolutely help you get back to the place that you want to be in terms of restoring your gait, regaining your strength and flexibility, averting future pain, and feeling like yourself again.
 
Wow, Becky, you are really making progress and having a great realistic attitude too! I hope you are able to get back to work fairly quickly. Do you front load all the I service cr*# for the year? We do here...if you do have a friend take good notes or ask if you can attend virtually from the comfort of your recliner via Skype. That way you will be up on all the new demands for the year. Have a fab day.
 
nmscienceteacher, Hi, there! Not sure what your question means. If it is about the training we get during the pre-school week, I'll miss that, but there will probably be handouts that my department chair will give me. There is also a lot of stuff on line through a resource called "TrainU." Everything is going virtual these days. One thing I'll have to get on top of concerns the 7th grade Civics course I'll be teaching. I've taught it in the past, and I love that course, but this year will be the first year that there is a statewide "End of Course Exam" that will count for 30% of their grade. It will be a rigorous exam. I haven't been following all the information about that EOC exam, because I wasn't teaching Civics any longer, so I'll have to jump in and learn what it is all about from scratch, so that I can make sure I prepare the kids as best I can. I do get quite a few students with learning disabilities, and they are going to have a terrible time with some types of questions on that test. I know that much, going in. Will see what I can do to weave all the different levels of critical thinking into the course. I'll be teaching three sections of 6th grade world history, and two sections of 7th grade Civics (government, political science, economics).

I just took a nap, and when I got up I could see that this morning's PT already had a big impact. I can walk so much better -- just from that one session of heavy-duty stretching and deep-tissue massage. I'm very encouraged by the difference it is going to make. I'm going to be really structured about doing my exercises at home, too. I want to lose 40 pounds during the coming year, to really get my body back. Start of a whole new life for me!!!

Have a great day!
 
Sorry. Becky, meant to call it inservice...ipad and i don't type nice together. Sounds as if you will have a good year. We don't have much up on the web the way you do. We have a new teacher from Florida who was surprised we have to write all our own tests...evidently her district sent out tests from central office. We don't have that level of micromanagement...partly because our district is far too large for that. Statewide end of course exams sounds pretty rigorous for 7th grade...we don't have state wide stuff till highschool LOL. Maybe it would be good if we did. They might take school more seriously!
Wish I could find good pt here similar to what you are describing...I am holding off on pt until September tolet me cope with back to school first. The pt for my knee replacement wasn't very good...very cookie cutter and mostly handled by the tecs...I wasn't very satisfied by it.
Have a great day. Off to swim at a friends pool...without my surgeons permission...he is a stick in the mud about swimming.
 
nmscienceteacher, Yes, I thought you were referring to in-service training. I will miss that day, but I don't think I will miss much. I'll get the info from my department chair. We write our own tests for just about everything, except that in my school the principal wants us to have grade-wide exams for each course. I usually write those exams, so that I can control what goes on them. Of course there are test banks (on-line) that we can use to create those exams. In addition to that, there is the never-ending cornucopia of mandated tests. Ours are called FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Achievement Tests), as part of NCLB. I'm sure you have something similar. Now there are even more tests coming down the pike. Soon, there will be nothing but testing, all the time. Some tests are now computer-based, and of course we don't have one computer for each child (or room for that), so the students take those tests in shifts and the school is locked down for testing while that takes place. It's a mess, and so destabilizing. There is less and less time for actually teaching each year. The end-of-course exams are supposed to replace FCAT, but most schools do them in addition to FCAT, so a student might have the math FCAT and the Algebra end-of-course exam. Parents as well as students are freaking out. How much further can they go with this? Now, in addition to the Common Core, we will have PARCC exams, although I believe Florida is trying to withdraw from PARCC.

Stop the madness!

Glad you are doing well with your rehab, and going swimming. Water therapy is the best thing for rehab. Wish you could get first-rate PT where you live. Is there a PT department in your hospital? Sometimes they are very good. I am walking better just as a result of today's session, and I know it is because of the deep-tissue massage and specialized stretches.
 
BeckyR, great to hear you are doing so well also! (See my post today). I agree 100% about the value of PT and am looking forward to my outpatient to start. I've just been doing the exercises my home health PT gave me and am ready for more...especially the massage! :-)

Wow, you are driving already. I guess since you don't have the hip restrictions. I got into my Mini today to see if I could tolerate getting in and out. I think I could drive, too. I had a dream the other day I was driving and realized I wasn't supposed to be...oops!

Well, maybe July 10th was a perfect day for a THR, but I am glad we are both doing so well! Here's to it!
 
sandpiper, marcopollo, Poppet, nmscienceteacher, and all my sweet BoneSmarties! More progress to report. Yesterday, I drove to my school -- 20 miles each way -- to pick up a textbook for a course I'll be teaching this year in addition to the one I normally teach. It felt great to be driving again -- very natural and smooth, and I had a great sense of freedom and being normal again. The administrative staff, who are working in the summer, were astonished to see how well I am doing after only three weeks. They just couldn't believe it. It was nice to feel so dazzling, standing there twirling my cane.

Then, in the afternoon, I went for a walk to "Paris" (aka, the mailbox), and decided to see how far I could walk, because I was tired of only being able to walk that distance. I wound up walking the entire 3/4 mile circuit of the street I live on. It was hot out, and I got pretty tired, but I stopped periodically to rest, in the shade, and I was able to go the distance. It took me 30 minutes -- about twice the amount of time it would before I developed hip problems -- and I had such a huge sense of accomplishment. I felt as though I had run a marathon! I'm pretty stiff as a result, and will need to do extra stretching. I don't plan to do that circuit on a regular basis just yet, because it was definitely a hard push for me, but I felt such a need to do it, and to know that I could do it. Hurray!

Yesterday, my sweet hubby, Spencer, wasn't feeling well, and by nighttime he was really sick -- dizzy, nauseous, weak, and had horrible back pain as well. Fortunately, I have recovered enough so that I was able to take care of him throughout the night, and then this morning I drove him to the nearby "doc in the box" (urgent care center) and they gave him the care he needed for what turned out to be a urinary tract infection. He is resting comfortably now, though still weak. But it felt good that I was able to change the linens, drive him to the doctor, and take care of him. He has been taking such good care of me during my recovery. It seems fortunate that we don't get sick at the same time, so that one of us is always able to care for the other. Only once, in the 24 years we've been married, were we sick at the same time -- a wicked case of flu. I don't actually remember how we got through that, but we did, and we were companionably miserable the whole time it lasted. We laugh about it now, as we tend to do with all things once time goes by.

Hope you are all well and happy. This operation was the best thing I've ever done for myself, and I do feel that I have a whole new life, even though I am still on the recovery trail!
 
BeckyR, what a wonderful, wonderful report, filled with so many important milestones... You should feel very, very proud of yourself :)

Just a tip, remember to ice after your walks, it really does help to reduce the inflammation quickly without it becoming chronic :)

Well Done you! xx
 
[Bonesmart.org] The Deed is Done - Becky Joins the Hipstas/Hipsters
BeckyR, sounds like everything is coming together really nicely for you.

Take care and keep us posted. We care.
[Bonesmart.org] The Deed is Done - Becky Joins the Hipstas/Hipsters
 
Yes, finally the new stronger Antibiotics are starting to work. By the time I finish this course, I would have been on antibiotics for three weeks, 21 days.. As soon as I have finished them I will start on a course of probiotics, no point being on them whilst on the antibiotics, just a waste of money really.. Thank you so much for asking BeckyR x
 
Poppet, I am so relieved that you are responding to the antibiotics. I hate it when I have to take them, but they do have an important role to play when they are used properly.
 
Yep and because I have Chronic Kidney Disease from taking NSAID drugs with only 40% kidney function both kidneys, my medical team, GP, OS and Renal Specialist don't take chances with me :)
 
Hello, Friends, A little more progress to report. I have been following Nylsor 's advice, and keeping a list of things I can do that I couldn't do a few days or a week ago. Friday and yesterday, I was able to do laundry (including folding), dishes (including putting away), and changing the linens on the bed. Today, I was able to climb the stairs instead of using the elevator, and I did it with "reciprocating steps," i.e., one foot over the other rather than baby steps. Didn't have to lean too heavily on the railing, either. These are such mundane things that it feels silly to write them, except that they are big forward steps toward me. With each one, I feel more normal, and as though I'm getting back to myself. I'm much more active at home, walking around doing little things, and I can feel my energy coming back.

I don't have any hip pain, but I do have aching all through both legs. I think it is because all the muscles are SOOO tight, and I was so sedentary before the surgery. Just getting back in motion is causing the aching, I think. Of course it is nothing like the pain I had before. I still use the cane some of the time (especially when I'm tired), but I often find I forget it and leave it somewhere around the house.

Life is returning to what it should be. Hope you are all doing well.

sandpiper, sandybeach, Jojool, B4goldie, didoan, marcopollo
 
BeckyR I just love your reports. You have given me the strength and knowledge to face my upcoming surgery with excitement instead of terror! I'm still afraid, mostly of the 'unknown', but not terrified like I was a few weeks ago. Thank you. And I'm so happy for you that you're feeling great! :SUNsmile:
 
Very interesting and troubling front-page article in today's NY Times about why a hip replacement that cost about $13,000 in Belgium (including round-trip airfare from the US) costs about $78,000 in the US. Worth reading for those interested in health care policy.
 
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