Outpatient Hip Replacement...

[CT_Shooter]

I got a call from PT7 telling me that ESquared reported for surgery today at 6:00 a.m. I'm sure we'll be getting some good news in a day or two.

Well, all the good wishes, mojo, karma and prayers seem to have worked!

I'm officially on the schedule for "First Up" on Monday, May 4th. Check in at 6:00, commence sawing at 7:15am.

[BigAl52]

Heres hoping all goes well for Esquared.

[markiver54]

Was thinking about Evan but figured I would wait till it's over before calling him.
Did not want to possibly raise his anxiety prior to going in.
Hope to talk to him soon!

[Rifletom]

Hoping all the best for Evan. He's been waiting a bit for this to take place.

[JEBar]

thanks to PT7 for the info and to CT for passing it on .... sure hope all's well

[ESquared]

Thanks to you all for checking in!

Yesterday was a whirlwind day, to be sure. On the road at 6:00, check in at 6:30, right into the pre-operating room parade of nurses, doctors, blood-typers (B+), I/V hooker-uppers, and finally the surgeon, who was THE one all the nurses so far would turn to if they needed something done. Good guy, very calm and agreed to "light this candle" right away.

By 7:30 or so, it was time to be whisked into the O/R, slid over to a much firmer bed/platform, and hit with an oxygen mask ("Just take a few deep breaths..."). It was no time at all before someone (who? don't know for sure, but I think the anaesthesiologist) said "We're gonna start your sleepy drugs now..." and I felt a very cool sensation in the back of my hand, where the i/V was placed. No counting down from 100 or anything. I just looked up into the eyes of the nurse and said "This is gonna happen really fast, isn't it?" and she said "YEP!".

Next thing I knew, it was 2-1/2 hours later and it was in recovery. I just remember saying "WOW!" quite a few times and wiggling my toes to make sure it was all still connected. There was tightness/pressure in the hip area, but still no pain to speak of. It wasn't long in there, just some monitoring, and by 11:00 or so, I was taken up to a regular room (#441), where I began to be tended to by another nurse (Elizabeth) and her assistant. During the course of the day, I let at least 10 people know my name and date of birth ("Just checking...!"). Kinda funny.

By now, it was lunch time, so let's order up a burger, some chips and see how that goes! Here's where I noticed the first side effect of one of the drugs (or maybe some combination). I had complete and total dry-mouth. That bag of Baked Lays and pound cake were a challenge. More water and iced tea to get it down. Who knew?

Throughout all of this, there were various conversations with various caregivers about this whole "outpatient" thing. "Well, the doctor has 'Release Pending' in your chart..." Come to find out the release was pending the approval of the hospital's in-house physical therapist (Tom), who showed up about 2:30 to put me through the paces. Reviewed the 3 main rules about dealing with a new hip, got from the bed to a chair, then upright behind a walker, then it was time for a cruise up and down the hallway! All good! Tom was impressed! Little staircase at the end? No problem! "You're good to go! You're going home!" Rock on, Tom!

There was another visit by an Occupational Therapist, who showed my how a toilet works (that was quick!) and we got to brush my teeth. At this point, I can stand unassisted, so she's in Tom's camp about going home, even though she doesn't get a vote. More tips on how to put on your bloomers (one of those long-handled "grabbers" which Amazon is delivering tomorrow) and such, and she (Heather) recommended I take off my compression socks when I got home, since I was already pretty mobile. Gotta love that.

So, by 5:30 or so, after a bit of a kerfuffle over my walker (regular third party walker vendor didn't like my insurance company, so the hospital just ended up giving it to me!), my son picked my up, delivered me to Casa de Evans and we had some great pizza! Got my meds all squared away with a grid to track what I'm taking when (5 of them), so now it's on the full-blown physical therapy starting tomorrow. Today, however, is for rest and recovery. My five-minute walks up and down the very short hallway will be just fine! Normal up and around for lunch and such. And, the dog's gotta go out every so often, so there's that opportunity for more up, down, in and out!

Thanks for waiting for this specialized "Range Report," believe me I didn't have the gas for it last night. Happy to report all is well and that it went as planned. Appreciate all your queries and concerns, it means a lot!

[JEBar]

OUTSTANDING TRULY OUTSTANDING ....

we are absolutely delighted to see this report .... historically the next couple of days will be more of a challenge as the pain meds wear off .... listen to your therapists, don't underdo or overdo

[BigAl52]

Good to hear all went well Evan. Hope the day is good with PT.

[Shakey Jake]

Read your report with much delight. I'm glad your confident in all that took place and recovery process. Give 'em hell!
Jake

[markiver54]

Thank you for your detailed report Evan!
Glad to hear it seems like things went as smoothly as they could. I'm sure you will feel like a new man, in relatively short order.
Hope to talk soon when you get back to your routine!
Hope you heal quickly!

Mark

[BigAl52]

Im pretty sure Evans routine will include a yellow scooter. Guessing extra effort is taking place so Evan can get back to scootin

[ESquared]

Im pretty sure Evans routine will include a yellow scooter. Guessing extra effort is taking place so Evan can get back to scootin

Look for new thread. "New Hip Incentive"

[JEBar]

how are you getting along today ????

[Grunt67]

Glad everything turned out ok, Evan. Sounds like, with some therapy, you're good to go. Wish you the best.

[ESquared]

how are you getting along today ????

Thanks for asking, JB! Don't have anything to compare it to, but doing pretty well, I think. Been up and around, up and down some stairs, trying to get back to bearing weight on the fixed leg. Getting my own meals fixed and cleaned up. Might be sorry (and sore) tomorrow, just in time for PT.

Need to get off these morphine tabs. Don't like the way they make me feel, even though they do seem to knock down the pain for a few hours. Tomorrow AM will be the last, I'm thinking.

My next goal is to be off the walker and on the cane by this weekend!

[JEBar]

understood on the morphine .... it pays to get off of it ASAP ... it still amazes me just how quickly they get folks up and around after such a surgery

[ESquared]

Maybe it's a matter of being highly motivated and very task/goal oriented, or maybe it's just plain dumb luck, but my rehab/recovery seems to be going pretty well. On Friday, I had my 2nd PT session (with a new guy, while the previous gal (who is great) took a birthday holiday), where I got detailed instructions on how to best use the cane (same step as injured leg, short strides, hips under you, stand up straight!). So, bye-bye walker. Folded it up and haven't used it since.

The other thing the 'new guy' said to me, almost in a way that he didn't want others to overhear, was, "You know, the best therapy you can do is just get out and WALK if you can." Made sense. All these table exercises and stretch this/flex that are essentially the same things you do when pounding the pavement, right? Filed that away.

Then, yesterday, with "sitting around pain" being about a zero (on the 10 pt scale), I decided to take the New Guy up on his suggestion, grabbed the cane and headed out. Nice day, flat street, good pavement, so...10 minutes out, 10 minutes back. No land speed records, but a 20-minute walk was 10X (at least) the duration I've been able to endure over the past several months. Felt more like a full body workout, got my blood pumping, sweat glands working, and got home really full of myself. Can't remember the last time it felt that good to need a shower!

BUT FIRST, "just one more thing" (as Columbo used to say). Thought it over and decided to give myself the car keys back and run some errands. My only conversation with the Doc about returning to driving was back in December, when he said it was a very individual thing to decide, but his only criteria was that the patient not be on narcotic pain meds. Well, my last day on those was last Wednesday (day 2 post-Op), so it became another challenge to tackle. The hardest part was the little swivel move to get my legs in the car once I got my ass planted in the seat, but working the pedals was a breeze. With no one to tell me not to and the dog always up for an excursion, off we went!

So, another walk (or two) today on a nice, cool but sunny Sunday, and maybe I'll just drive myself to PT tomorrow! Not bad for under a week!

[markiver54]

Fantastic Evan!
Love hearing good reports like that! I knew you would recover quickly. You are quickly on your way to a better quality of life.
Very happy for you!

[JEBar]

OUTSTANDING .... sounds like its going well and you are most certainly on the rebound

[cooperhawk]

I hope your therapist is as good looking as mine was.
She was a doll and I always enjoyed going to see her even though it cost a little pain. Takes the edge off. Just do what they say and you'll be fine. I know quite a few folks who have had this and the more you go for it the better.