BHR with Dr Bose continued – 8 months on

Well its now April 2012, and 8 months have passed since my operation with Dr Bose.

I feel it’s time for an update, especially for those considering a hip resurfacing. 

I am 49 years old and not a day goes by that I am not grateful for having done the operation.

It has been one of the best things I have ever done in my life and I appreciate the skills and assistance I received from the people involved in getting me back on my feet.

Today I can do everything. Run, ride, swim and exercise as much as I want and WITH NO PAIN. I can walk around the mall with my family and not be in pain for 2 days following. 

No pain killers. Just getting on with life.

Anyway..  After my 7 days at the hospital I boldly took a 14hr train ride to the West coast of India. Karola was waiting for me. I figured I would be sitting or lying down on the train so why not? With my 2 walking sticks and small back pack. I  managed to get around on busses and rickshaws. I didn’t have any particular place in mind but after speaking to the information desk at the train station I decided on Kovalam followed by Kochin. I can recommend both places for recuperation. Walking on the boardwalk along the beach was just what the doctor ordered. Fresh grilled fish at night and walking around all day was a great way to recover.

I keep up the exercises I was shown in the hospital and managed to move over to one walking stick by day 8. I always listened to my body and decided to return to 2 sticks on day 10 as I seemed to be pushing things too fast. It turned out to be a good idea as by day 12,  I was much stronger and easily managed things back on one stick again.

I found the best form of exercise was the walking so I kept it up. Unfortunately my incision was slow to repair and the top 2 cm of the incision was still weeping blood and was slightly darker than the rest of the wound. So I sent the pictures via email to Dr Bose and he recommended as a precaution to get some anti biotic and continue changing the bandages. By day 18 all seemed to be better and the bleeding stopped.

After 3 weeks in India I flew home via Chennai and went back to the hospital for my final checkup.

It was 2.5 weeks after the operation that I stopped using the crutches and was walking (with a slight limp). If I was tired, I would go back to a single stick for that extra support throughout the day.

Back home I continued my stretching at least 3 times a day and every day showed improvement. I took every opportunity to climb stairs and focused on trying to reduce my limp.
I devoted special attention to my left foot, which curled inwards slightly when I walked. Even today, it tends to turn inwards slightly every once in a while when I walk and run.

Over the months I slacked off a bit and stopped doing my stretching and I feel if I had continued my daily workout, my repair time would have been quicker, but that’s life. Even after 8 months I have to stretch otherwise things seems stiff, but that is part of my regular exercise regime. I find riding a great way of stretching, and after an hour  or two of riding I feel fantastic. 

I still have my scar, but I put vitamin E cream on it and hope that it will fade over time.

Life is great and just the simple task of putting on socks and shoes makes my day.

I am grateful.

Jonathan