any advice? my surgery is in 2 weeks!

[elie]

dr. de smet is resurfacing my hip in 2 weeks time.....anybody have any advice for post-op?

just wondering what kind of clothes to take.....how many hours a day will i be doing re-hab?....how much free time will i have....will i need books and my laptop? ....will i be in bed for much of the time?.....should my relatives in europe come to visit?.....should my husband rent a car and do some day trips?.....

i know these questions sound dumb, but these are the issues that i'm not sure about....
i am 100% confident of the surgery, i'm just a bit unclear about what happens after.

[obxpelican]

You hit the right place, the proprietor of this forum had her hip done through him.... YO!  Pat!


Chuck

[Lopsided]

Elie, I thoroughly enjoyed my treatment with with Dr. De Smet, and so should you.

What to take? Comfortable loose clothing and a swimming costume.

You have about half an hour physio in the morning, and then the nurse will change your wound. In the afternoon, you have half and hour to an hour of hydrotherapy. Don't be late for either. Apart from that your time is free.

A couple of good books helps a lot. I had a few spare and left them at the villa. I took my laptop too.

You will be resting much of the time, but not necessarily in bed.

It is reassuring to have your spouse stay with you, some people bought their whole family. I would not recommend your husband rents a car, getting in and out of, and riding in a car is not comfortable soon after surgery. Instead, you might want to take lots of short walks. If you feel up to it after a couple of days, you could take a tram or taxi into the old town and walk around there.

Most of your time will be relaxing, enjoying the company of the other patients, and physio and hydrotherapy.

The time at the villa should be a good experience. As for the two days you are in hospital, look at this thread that I wrote the day I came out http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php?topic=1987.0 .

D.

[BrianW1998]

Hey Elie!

I'm one week Post op here and the best thing I did was make sure everythng was ready at home, particularly the bed.  I sent away for a 4 inch thick foam mattress pad to put on top of the mattress, then put a sheet over it.  You will sleep well, no issues, no bedsores, etc.   Also make sure the raised toilet seat is high enough and one with the handles on the side.

First couple of days is all new territory, but gets better daily.  I was kinda freaked out at all the complications some had on here, but I guess I'm one of the lucky ones!  Good Luck

[bothdone]

Take in some ear-plugs.  Hospitals can be noisy places.  It is nice to get a bit of peace and quiet, particularly in the middle of the night.

Hope everything goes well.

Ed 

[elie]

thanks for good solid advice!
going in with a strong mind and a fit body, and looking forward to a new hip!

[Tin Soldier]

Not sure what De Smet does for anit-biotics and pain meds, but eat yogurt and be prepared for your digestion to get messed up.  I did not plan for that and I probabaly should have tried to get the system back in shape while still in the hospital.  You should suggest to the nurses that a little Belgian beer always settles your stomach and see if they give you some. 

Also, have as much fun as you can.