4 weeks through….. here’s the low-down!

So, I am now 4 weeks clear from surgery. All the Meds have stopped and I am becoming more mobile by the day!

I am still using 1 crutch for the most part but, I can manage to get around the house without it and walk short distances without it too! there is still quite a pronounced limp when I don’t use the crutch, but this is not due to pain, only the fact that there is still not quite enough strength in the new joint to fully weight bear so I am “Hitching” a bit.

Most of the time I am pretty comfortable now. Sitting still for long periods of time or on a chair that is too low or high bring on discomfort after a while. For example, this week, we went to the cinema to see Snow White and the Huntsman. When we got in and sat down, I was a little wary that the seats would be troublesome. I sat down and to my supprise the seats were great! However, about 45 minutes in, the pain and discomfort came and by the end of the film I wasn’t really concentrating on the film, but how long there was left!

Car journeys again, are still not quite right and going to resteraunts etc dont sit well, but, I do feel there is progress.

The main worry that I have at the moment is, I still seem to have an impingement, stopping me from raising my knee past 90 degrees…. with BHR (Birmingham Hip Resurfacing – for any newcomers to the blog!) there are supposed to be no restrictions in movement unlike with a THR (Total Hip Replacement). I am going to email my surgeon to ask him about it today. I have found some stats on the tinterweb stating that Impingement can occur in BHR subjects and that sometimes revision surgery is required…… I’m still hopeful that it is just inflammation around the joint or something similar that is the problem but we will see…

until then, I will keep up with my physio and strive to get back on my Snowboard and back out on the Golf course ASAP!!

See you all in a week!!

Now I know how Wolverine feels!!!

Physio  done, Staples out and a rather long walk….I’m Shattered!

So, Yesterday, Pippa took me to my Physio appointment. I had a nice young bloke called Peter. He was very professional, and it seemed like he knew about Hip Resurfacing or, had at least done some research so that lifted my confidence in him straight away!

It took about 20 mins of questions and testing the movement in my hip, seeing how I walked with both, one and no crutches (that last one surprised me!) and then he took me over a few basic exercises to help me strengthen the stabilizing muscles around the hip. He also pointed out that I was still walking with a “limp” and showed me how to start to correct that. This may take some time as I have been walking with a limp for quite a while!

Then it was off to the Rushcutters for a meal with Pippa’s family as it was her mum’s Birthday. This was the first outing we have had since the op, and I

even managed to put some trousers on! the meal was nice and the company even better, the only problem I had was I had to get up every so often as my hip would start to become uncomfortable, This just meant I had to walk about every half hour or so and then it was fine again.

Last night tried to go the whole night without waking again, but didn’t quite manage it, I made it to 05:30 today though so its getting better!

This morning I had an appointment at my Doctors Surgery to have my Staples taken out. the surgery is about half a mile away so, I decided to walk it! It took me nearly half an hour using both crutches, but I have to say my

hands hurt more than my hip did and I was rather pleased!

The nurse called me in and I gave her the extractor tool that the hospital had asked me to pass on. This is where today’s title comes in…. I now think I know how it must feel for Wolverine every time he gets his claws out and puts them away again! It wasn’t exactly painful, (a few were but most weren’t) but it was uncomfortable…. The good thing is that the wound is

Join the Dots!!

healing well and in a few days I should be able to have a shower without worrying about getting it wet!!! that will be BLISS!!

The walk home was also pretty good and again, my hands hurt more than my hip (when will they make crutches comfortable??) but I could feel the strain in the muscles by the time I got in! I sat  down       for a bit with my leg raised and found myself nodding off! I think the walk really took it out of me!

All in all another good day and tomorrow I get to pick up my puppy Alfie so nothing can make that day bad!!!

Positive Mental Attitude!! PMA!!

Firstly, sorry for not posting yesterday… really busy one!

So, I read my blog back to myself and realised, I had started to fall into a hole of worry and negativity. A comment from one of my readers Emma, made me realise that I was looking at this recovery the wrong way and that needed to change!

I went to bed with a promise to myself that tomorrow I would wake up in a positive frame of mind!

You know what?? I did! I woke up after a pretty good nights sleep with my alarm clock waking me to tell me to take my painkillers and Antibiotics instead of the usual waking up every hour hoping it is time! The Leg Bully didn’t arrive, and there was only a lingering of the dead leg given yesterday.

After doing my exercises, I got up and headed downstairs. Pippa had already gone off to work and it was a nice day outside. I stepped out into the garden and looked around. I do love my Garden! The Bird feeder needed re-filling so I did that, then I looked at my (what should be) veg patch… there were weeds all over it and it really needed digging over… I didn’t delude myself into thinking that I could manage that, but I did go to the shed, get the weed killer and go at those pesky dandelions and thistles like they were invading aliens trying to take over my world!

After doing these positive things I felt great! these were the first “real” things I had done since my op and it felt great to be even a little bit useful. Next I knew that we were having Chinese style pork stir-fry for tea, and that the marinade for the pork needed doing. Those that know me know I love to cook! So, I painstakingly gathered all of the ingredients to a single area so I could work and away I went!

I was back! good old positive me, could see that this isn’t all that bad! And even if I can’t do everything right now… there is still a lot that I can do, and I am in a MUCH better position than a lot of people!

Now, either someone from the NHS has been reading my Blog, or I’m a lucky so and so, because that afternoon I got a phone call from a physiotherapist saying I had an NHS appointment at 16:30 today! I’m not retracting my previous blog because my thoughts on that still stand but, sometimes the NHS can surprise you!

My parents turned up for a visit (which is always nice!) and ended up staying for tea. We needed some more meat (and wine for my Mum!!) so Dad decided to walk to the shop. I was feeling good so decided to go with him. I got there and back with no problem, its not all that far but further than I had walked before now and it felt really good!

Last night I turned off my 04:00 alarm hoping that I would sleep right through… unfortunately at 05:00 I woke up needing my pain relief…. getting better though!! This morning I woke up and again, the Dead leg Bully wasn’t around… I’m now hoping I’ve seen the last of him! I have to say after the amount I did yesterday on my leg, I was expecting to pay for it today!

I’ve now dropped to 1 crutch whilst in the house and that seems to be going well too!! I can get around fine and it makes life SO much easier having a spare hand to carry things with etc. I’m off to my physio appointment now so we will see how that goes! then its off out for a meal for Pippa’s Mum’s Birthday!

At the moment, Life is GOOD and I think a lot of it comes down to that switch in attitude! so remember PMA!!!

Physiotherapy…. NHS Vs Private

In my opinion, one of the most important parts of recovering from an injury or operation like this is exercise.

Now, I’m not talking about going running or climbing K2. I’m talking about doing the CORRECT exercises and the correct AMOUNT of exercise for the stage of recovery you are at.

The problem with this is that most of us don’t know what these exercises are, how many of them we should be doing and when we should be moving on to the next stage. This is where Physiotherapy comes in. Physiotherapists are trained to know these things. They spend years at university and, obviously, gather more knowledge, experience and possibly specialisms as they progress in their careers.

So,”Get to a Physio as soon as possible!” would seem to be the obvious advice….Apparently not, if you are using the NHS! After speaking with my doctors’ surgery, they have agreed to refer me to a local physio… This could take up to 6 weeks, just to get an appointment….

I’m thinking that this first 6 weeks of recovery are possibly the most important and where I’ll benefit most from the support and input of a physio. So, now I feel like I’ve got to find and pay for a private physiotherapist, which could obviously become a bit pricey. I have been looking on the internet and phoning around this morning, trying to find a local Physio with experience in hip replacement. I found a few and called them up asking for availability and costs, etc.

Generally, they all seem to come out around the same price – £30-40 per hour if you go to them and £55-£65 for a home visit. For me, it would probably be cheaper to get a taxi there and back, rather than have them come to me. And when’s the earliest appointment that I could get?…. Tomorrow!

I can’t quite get my head around how there can be a 6 week wait on the NHS, when there are physios with availability the next day. I know that there are funding issues within the NHS, but surely there are some areas that are more important and pressing than others? In my opinion, recovery has to be one of the most important areas after surgery.

If the recovery is bad or compromised, won’t the overall success of the surgery be compromised too?

Of course, there is always the ‘DIY’ version, using Google and Youtube! – Maybe that’s the way to go??