Hi Terri,
Congratulations on your upcoming surgery!! I had simultaneous bilateral THR May '05, Stryker metal/poly, uncemented, posterior approach. Now every body, surgeon, surgery is different so no one can tell you exactly what your recovery will be like, but I can tell you how mine went.
A lot depends on how good a shape you are in before the surgery. I was in excellent condition being a competetive masters athlete, so my recovery was very fast, but at least it can give you an idea of what is possible.
How well you do your PT following surgery is very important too. The harder you work, the better you will do.
I will tell you that having new hips has given me a new lease on life, and I love being able to do things without the pain!
I was getting around the hospital after 1 day on crutches, home the next day. The grinding pain in the hip is instantly gone! The pain from the surgery was easy to stay on top of with some really nice drugs and I was off them within a week. After about 4 days I was forgetting to use my crutches when going room to room!! I was back in the pool doing therapy as soon as my incisions healed, about 2 weeks. With my OS permission I was walking without any aids completely by 3 weeks. Back to work with help as a dog groomer at that time too. Within 2 months I was starting to cross train.
If you travel by air for your work, plan on being patted down every time. You will set off the metal detectors everytime! I just let them know as I p*** thru and they send me off to the coral. Usually only takes a few extra min, but plan for more. One time they had trouble finding a female worker available so I had to wait almost 15 min with an already tight schedule!
If you work at it, I think you could be dancing at your daughter's wedding!! What a wonderful goal for yourself! Good luck.
Andrea