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THR Toddlermom - one down!!

Floating through life here in rainy Houston, Texas! Our street was flooded on Monday moening, but the house and cars are fine. I had family, friends, and neighbors that weren't so lucky. Mostly cars that people had parked on the street in front of the house. A cousin lost two cars, a former employee and another volunteer with 2 feet of water in their homes. Schools shut down for 2 days due to uncertain flooding conditions.
 
Oh, how awful, @Toddlermom! Glad you are unaffected, but that's too bad for the others who are. Water is so destructive.
 
@Toddlermom, I had forgotten you are in Houston! I am so glad that you, your family, and home are okay. My goodness, what a mess. I read that your city got something like 240 billion gallons of rain throughout all of that. WOW!!
Good thoughts are flowing for everybody there and most especially those who are dealing with loss.
 
@Toddlermom
You are so lucky your house didn't sustain any flooding. We have a friend who owns a horse rehabilitation ranch in Houston. They had to transport all of their horses to higher ground. They had so much flooding in their ranch 4 ft at one point.
Just thankful you are ok. Hope everyone dries out soon
 
@Toddlermom thought of you at my pre-op visit yesterday. PA said I had to get another x-Ray since mine was 9 months old. After I asked her how the hip looked and she responded "yeah, it looks really bad". Then I mentioned that I knew I was going to have to look at doing the other hip soon. Her response was to wait and see after the first hip, that it might give me reprieve. While I hope I get news like you did, I am not optomistic. But neither were you.

Glad you faired ok during the flooding. Hope the hip is progressing and you are enjoying those young'ins.
 
@Toddlermom - am so irked that I seem to miss your posts. I gather there's some IT issue as others are commenting on the same thing. Gosh that flooding sounds awful. Thank goodness you're ok but what an incredible nuisance and inconvenience for so many others. Not sure about weather generally, there's clearly something changing though. Last week I could (in theory, recovering hip allowing) have sat outside and sunbathed. We are now poised for sleet and snow ...... Unbelievable!:snow dig:
BTW - I've been meaning to come back to you about satin pillowcases. When you talked about them before I thought "that has to be an absolute MUST postOp". So I scurried back to Amazon once more and my lovely duck egg blue satin pillow slip topped the 5 feather pillows in the Muffet Tuffet to greet my homecoming. It is pure luxury and so very very comforting (with the added benefit of waking up to slightly less muzzed-up hair in the mornings). What a great recommendation - thank you! :chillpill:
Want to know how you feel things are progressing now - you've been such a powerhouse dealing with your gorgeous kiddies, home and hip.
 
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@Toddlermom - Just finished reading the last four pages of your posts! I've missed a lot but I have to say, I couldn't stopped laughing after reading what happened to your little one with the toilet seat! You know, this doesn't end here....you will inevitably acquire piles of photos similar to the toilet seat debacle...no way around it. You have little ones...keep the fire department number handy!:heehee:

I think back on the many medical emergencies we endured with two girls! :umm: There were so many but the one that stands out I have to share: When my oldest was two years old (she is now 27) we took her to the Home Depot, had her strapped in the cart while we shopped. She became antsy in the cart so we briefly took her out for a moment to stretch those little legs. It was only a moment, a few seconds, before she climbed up onto the platform where they lined up all the sinks. This is back before they bolted things to the wall. Somehow she managed to climb up in an attempt to turn on the faucet and the whole sink came smashing down on top of her! She lets out a blood curdling scream, my heart stopped, the whole store went quite! I mean, you could hear a pin drop in those few seconds. Then, everyone came to life and before I knew it, people had swooped her up and took her away for examination!

Well, long story short, miraculously, she was OK. Lots of blood from her mouth but she had cut her tongue in the process. For days Home Depot did everything to make sure all was ok and to apologize. We could have sued, which is what they were concerned about but she was fine, lesson learned by all. Within a few weeks, Home Depot secured and bolted all their appliances on display to a back wall. This was in the early days, 1980's when the big home center stores were establishing themselves.

I had a really bad back back in those days so I have an idea how hard this is for you. I could not bend or lay flat on my back without getting 'stuck' in position. Took years to finally work through the back issues and found something that worked. Had a few years of relief before the hips went and was diagnosed with hip dysplasia....

And the flooding! How awful! I listen to the horror stories every morning. Are you guys drying up there yet? I still see storms passing by the Houston area. I'm glad you are OK, but sorry to hear about your family and neighbors who have not been as lucky.:sigh:

Wishing you a long, overdue, bright and warm sunshine for Houston!:SUNsmile:
 
@Miss Muffet So glad you are enjoying the satin pillow. I only use it for my head, but it does make me feel spoiled rotten.

@keepmovin OMG!!! The wall of appliances....wow! Yes, the potty seat was immediately hysterical. This little lady is a whole hunk of funny.


Today is kind of droopy. Life is trying to pull me back into the grind, and I am not sure that I am ready yet. Life doesn't seem to be giving me much of a choice though! My holiday fun money job keeps calling, and my non-profit volunteer organization is in a pinch, and needs some major help. (I am suddenly heading up an Executive Search committee. ) Only 2 more weeks of Mother's Day out at Church......so full time kids soon?

Not sure why I am hesitating to jump back in yet. Everyone else is ready because it has been 2+ months, and I am just starting PT? So I have given the body quite a bit of time to heal.

Recovery: Almost 11 weeks. I can have up to 35 sessions of PT. Now I just have to figure out when....

Recent Accomplishments : 1. took my kids to the zoo for 90 minutes. 2. Shopping is dandy for 1-2 stops 3. Lots of household tasks....(tile floors make me tired after a morning of puttering with dishwashers, laundry and diaper changes.) 4. 2nd hip is waiting, for now

Worries: 1. Not losing as much weight as I hoped 2. Not exercising/PT as much as I hoped 3. Feeling very anxious in general but not surgery related (flooding/rain, tax day, life, kids)

Physically: periodically take Tramadol at night, mostly Tylenol every few days, 2 Tylenol pm each night to sleep. Sleep still isn't easy, not from pain, but I just have trouble settling down my body physically.

Flooding: we are still dry, but the Brazos river is SOOOO high. Family member had both their cars totaled and neighbors lost a car too. Former employees and volunteers are out of their homes because they had 2 feet of water in the house, and on and on. Hoping for a dry two weeks! What a difference.....After 5 years of drought in Texas, major lakes are full. In less than a year, lakes on average have gone from 61% capacity to 100%.
 
@Toddlermom Understand your concerns and worries completely. In a lot of respects, our recovery further out ends up being the most difficult part of this journey.:unsure: In the early days, you receive the attention you need and everyone is there for you. You don't feel so alone. Now, life moves on and you're expected to move right along with it, regardless of the pace of your recovery. We begin to internalize our bad days because we tire of complaining all the time. And, you have a family to tend to!!

Two months is still early out, of course not to your family and friends, but for you physical and emotional issues continue. Hang in there! Your strength will get better and everything will eventually fall into place. I think the decision to wait on the other hip was a wise decision.:yes:

I see you still find yourself restless at night which is making it hard to sleep. This must be a common complaint by many people after surgery. I am having the same issues at night. I have received all sorts of recommendations and advice but nothing seems to work. Actually, last night I took a leap and rolled onto my stomach! Just felt I needed a different sleeping position. I know this is not wise just 5 weeks out but I was really careful not to break precautions. Not sure why but it worked!:yes!:

I think when I'm able, I'll look into a few session of acupuncture to see if that helps unstress the body internally. Read that this could help with sleeping issues.

The flooding your way....how awful! :blackcloud: I see you all had another stormy night last night as well. I hope this ends for you soon. How much more can you guys take?

Praying for :SUNsmile::SUNsmile::SUNsmile: days ahead for all in the midwest!
 
Hello,

Just caught up reading your posts and wanted to say hi. Totally know what you mean about life pulling you back in...I feel it coming already. Almost makes me want to downplay my progress and improvement to husband, kids, everyone else, so that their expectations are low and I can decide when I feel I'm ready to take on all that life stuff. They are all very clear about my precautions for the first 3 months, but I'm already laying the foundation that a full recovery might not be for a year, which is in fact true I think, so they don't get their hopes up too high, too quickly. I'm starting physio next week and I want to be very diligent with it and with just walking daily. I also want to lose weight to help my other hip and joints. I think we just need to schedule those things and make them happen. Everyone around us needs to know that the recovery is just as important as the surgery itself. Getting out for your walks, or physio to rebuild strength around our fancy new joints is essential.
--Robin :)


RTHR, MIS (minimally invasive surgery), posterolateral approach, Feb. 15, 2016-cancelled :( waiting for a new date
 
Hi @Toddlermom , How are you? How is Houston. My sympathy goes to you and all those people who were not so lucky and lost cars for example. I hope, nobody got injured.

I understand what you mean when you say life draws you back in, and you can't resist all the obligations that face you, e.g. children, mother's day, tax. That is the case with me, too. I'm well recovered and have forgotten about my hip, but then there are these obligations - not hip related.

We also have to remind ourselves to take it easy because the day only has 24 hours. It doesn't suddenly have more hours, just because our hips are well recovered (hihi). I swore to myself to be a better housewife and not to be so untidy and clean up more often (blamed it on my hip which hurt), I promised to put more effort into my cooking (my daughter thought I hated cooking, but I don't, I actually quite enjoyed it but didn't make so much effort because my hip hurt). But the result was - I stressed myself out and had a crying fit last Tuesday - trying hard at work, exercising enough to keep fit and slim, looking after the house better, cooking nice meals for my husband, and we also have to follow up the tax return - all this ended up in being overworked. Try not to tire yourself out. You have children. At least my children are grown up, but of course we worry about them, whenever they are not happy. Parent-child relationships and the love that goes with it are for life. Take care - Constanze
 
@Toddlermom, it was good reading your update. You continue to be amazing in your recovery. If I may be so bold, I'll give you a piece of advice I learned the hard way and have given to others throughout the years: 'No' is a complete sentence. (That courtesy of Oprah) Some things you have to do, but others you do not. It's okay to say 'stop' and decline when things feel overwhelming.
Sending good thoughts as you progress with your recovery. :)
 
I second @DeepBreath. It is easy to say but it also becomes easy to do when you realize that YOU set the parameters. No one else can read your mind. I'm a do everything, ask for little and remain stoic through it all person. That is "MY" problem. I cannot blame anyone else when I fail, fall, become ill or, as in hip recovery, do too much. @Toddlermom, I don't have young ones at home anymore but even living elsewhere they ask me to go, do, take care of a lot of things. I have to be the one to say, I can't, No not now, I'm tired and need to rest. I can say it nicely but with emphasis and I have to mean it. I'm just too tired, I'm worn out, I ache, if I do this now then I'll pay the price later, I need to heal, I'm going to need help, I don't want an infection, I'll be down for a much longer time if I don't res. I put on such a facade and had happy face for so many years to "please" the family. We must all realize that the people close to us need to know that we need them. Lecture over. :bow: --julie
 
@Toddlermom, I still very vividly remember those endless, exhausting days with young kids. If all you were doing was tending to them and their needs, that alone would be a huge job, and a completely necessary job. But you are doing or thinking about doing so much more. Yes, your holiday-fun-money-job keeps calling, but you can say no. You are involved in a non-profit volunteer group, and it is about volunteering - not requiring. Again, you can say no.

Wish you wouldn't feel it necessary to worry about things like losing weight or exercising/PT. Josephine and the other forum support people are always saying that exercising/PT isn't necessary for hip recovery, so no need to feel guilt about that. Sounds to me like your normal life gives you plenty of exercise! And as far as the anxiety about things beyond your control, well, if that is sapping your strength and making you unhappy, perhaps you can ask for extra help dealing with those feelings. We need to be very honest with ourselves about our limits and stick to doing only what is necessary after major surgery and for considerable time afterwards. Hope you can be kind to yourself at this time! We finally have springtime and flowers are blooming, and it is nice to have good spirits to go with that.
 
Hoping you get some "me time" and some peace and quiet when you need it most!


RTHR 1/15/2016. Posterior approach. Due to AVN. LTHR in my future.
 
@keepmovin the sun came out yesterday, finally! We are so lucky to have come through it without any flooding....that I feel a bit terrible about feeling the blues! Supposed to have 3-5 more inches over the weekend. (Our area will be fine.)

I think it is the sleeping bit that is causing it. Just a little pressure in a bunch of directions. And I want to go back to the time when I had fewer expectations ..... Ugh!
 
@Kitsmom My friend, hope you are doing well! Slow and steady. :loveshwr:It is amazing to think how far I have come in 11 weeks.:eyebrows: It is interesting.......one day I am feeling pretty good, and the next day I am wiped out! Similar activities....so right now it is about endurance? Or maybe about anticipation and planning for those lows? And I am never quite sure which solution is 'best'. In the last two weeks, it has become easier to predict how the body is going to react to the activities of the day. And sometimes life just puts unexpected things in your lap.

Example: Hubby has gotten a work call and he is flying out in the morning to help another company for 48 hours. I CAN do this mommy thing solo for 48 consecutive hours (I think?)...including taking son to a tball game. To manage, I should probably go hang out with a friend on one night to get help with the dinner, bath, bed routine. Endurance planning. Or I could get help the WHOLE time if I drive and stay with family. But lengthy drives are exhausting and I haven't attempted one this long yet....and I haven't tried sleeping in another bed either. Earlier in recovery, several people would have jumped in to help at the house....now the response is 'would you like to come here?'

All reasonable and kind offers, and I gotta make a choice. Just none of them are simple. Frankly, two days of slightly below-average parenting ALONE are slightly less frightening than this one thought........facing a potty break at a truck stop with two small children after sitting in a car for 90 minutes. :yikes: And managing to get everyone back in the car again to drive another 90 minutes. :bricks: No way. So we are staying here. I keep reminding myself of the children's book, The Little Engine that Could....and repeating 'I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!':rotfl:
 
@Constanze Isn't it funny how we make 'deals' with ourselves? To be a more perfect version of ourselves? A friend of mine said something to me that has stuck, 'our goal is to be slightly above average.' And these are amazing people, parents, and professionals. Somehow, the idea of averaging out your efforts.....it gives you permission to have those wild potty seat days!! Because later in the week, you are going to have a couple of AWESOME days!:egypdance:
 
@DeepBreath I love that line!

@Squirrellymom Had a heart-to-heart with my partner Wednesday night. Lots of hugs. I had a few tears. He is awesome at handling dinner and helping with bath & bed. Right now, his job involves quite a bit of work at night....so some of this is hanging around for a short time. But he will be more available soon.

And I am very aware that some of this pressure is self inflicted. Not by him, or others. It is a part of ME finding a post-surgical balance. And sometimes I am going to get it wrong:shrug:. And that's ok. Just adjust and forgive myself. Frankly, the anxious feelings are compounded by poor sleep (she says while typing at 3:50 am:bored:). I had a better day on Thursday, because I finally had a good night before.
 
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