Hip Replacement – 1 of 2!
I recently had my hip replaced, simples!
Errr… well, as it turns out, not so simples!
Thousands of hip replacements are carried out every year, it’s an everyday operation for orthopaedic surgeons. As a patient, you tend to believe the same. Plus, we’ve all heard the stories of people having their hip replaced on Monday and back playing golf on Friday! Being fairly naive and forever the optimist, I was assuming that I could be one of those bossing the recovery, break dancing after a week (although I couldn’t break dance before!) and rocking around the kitchen.
That’s not quite how it turned out, sadly.
We’re always being told that everyone is different, I wanted to be different but in a ‘you’re amazing’ kind of way, not in the ‘I can’t even wipe my own bum’ kind of way! (true story, if a little too much information!).
The first 10 days are a complete daze, Morphine does that to you. Navigating the stairs on crutches with a new hip and the other one still, as the surgeon put it, as bad as it could get was hair raising to say the least, especially when you’re as high as a kite on drugs.
Maybe it’s just as well my memory is fuzzy!
Three weeks after the surgery I was getting around fairly well and starting to ditch the numerous bits of equipment that were scattered around the house and at six weeks I was back to speaking at an event in person, albeit on one crutch still.
People told me that having my hip replaced would be life-changing, what I didn’t allow for is that I still have one very painful and dodgy hip so the ‘life-changing’ bit hasn’t quite kicked in yet.
The good news is that my right hip has healed well and is feeling good although I’m now seriously lopsided as my right leg is now about 3cm longer than my left! A minor fact that should be sorted when the second one is done soon, and I’ll have gained a bit of height back having shrunk dramatically over the years! Something that makes me very happy.
Was it worth it? Absolutely, just take note of the advice you’re given beforehand.
And a piece of essential advice, definitely buy a litter picker, it was a lifesaver!
