Almost 6 Weeks Post Op

[hernanu]

Sounds good, Dan - It must be tough to comply with a 12 month incline restriction ( :o ), would be really hard for me, as we have some hills around here.

Good long walk, though - I find my hiking boots are actually better for me, but different strokes... I didn't have an injection to help and after my first, the unoperated hip increasingly kicked me in the shins to remind me that it wanted relief too. Good that you've got Feb. scheduled.

[Luanna]

That's great Dan. Walking outside feels really good to me too. Watch out for those slippery areas.

Glad to hear that you are making good progress.

Luanna

[Dan L]

Hern and Luana;

Thanks for the kind words, felt great to be out in the park (I'm on hiatus from my 23 year volunteer work there, so missing it alot).

The incline thing is totally impossible, I'm following it the best I can, but simply walking the dogs which is a "must do", for .5 - 1.0 miles involves a couple hills here in OH, and in our western NY state (retirement) home, the hills are bigger, much longer and completely unavoidable.  I try to keep the walks as short as possible, but that sets back my rehab overall, so I'm kinda behind as a result.

I have walked around downtown and in the mall near work at lunchtime, which seems to help some.  Now in snow/ice season that'll be more important to do, indoors that is.

Thanks again 

[Aerial]

May I ask why why you have an incline restriction for a year? That would be tough, I know I couldn't even walk my neighborhood without a good deal of incline change.

[Dan L]

Ariel;

My surgeon, Peter Brooks of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, seems to have one of the more restrictive/conservative protocols for post op recovery.  He trained with the 2 famous Birmingham docs, has 1100+ plus BHR's done.  I notice many here doing things I'm not allowed to do, including the year restriction on any resistance loading on the hip (muscle toning only, and ROM only), of which hills/inclines is one.  The specific thing they are trying to avoid is femoral neck fractures.  He has I think had only one of those in the 1100+ he has done (based on his video posted by Pat here -->> http://www.surfacehippy.info/shvideos/videosdoctor.php ) which is why I'm trying very hard to follow it, whenever possible.  My trust of him, and appreciation for his efforts is very, very high.

I do feel a bit left behind by others here making really fast progress doing many more things than I and much sooner, but the fear of a THR revision (or two god forbid with the even bigger spike down the femur and more bone loss) have me following along very carefully.  Brooks shows the various devices in the pre op consult, and after seeing my mom go through a THR and revised THR, both of those things scared me enough to take this very slow and deliberately.

My neighborhood also has hills and are unavoidable to some degree: I just decrease total number of hills I walk in any given session.

[Aerial]

Yes, Dr. Gross also seems to be one of the more conservative when it comes to restrictions.  I have been walking on hills though because I really can't avoid them.  Some are allowed on ellipticals and stationary cycles very early but not me (and I too will comply because Dr. Gross has a great record too).  You talk about a tow path and national park in northern Ohio.  I lived in Brecksville, OH and then Strongsville until I finished college at BGSU.  Are you walking on the tow path at cuyahoga falls near Brecksville?  My parents still live in the area!

[Dan L]

Ariel;

Absolutely, was in the Brescksville section of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park yesterday (where I have done the lion's share of my volunteer work), and walked south on the Towpath trail from Vaughn road (just over the Summit County line from Brecksville) towards the little burg of Boston.  The CVNP is an incredible place, but given it is between 2 urban areas, has some baggage relating to garbage and litter that we have worked very hard to keep up with over the years.  It was the top visited National Park in recent years, more than 3 million visitors, undoubtedly related to the success of the Towpath Trail itself, and the proximity to 2 cities at either end.

The towpath has many sections completed along a 110 mile corridor, in the National Park and elsewhere, if you get back here to Ohio, check it out http://www.ohioanderiecanalway.com/Main/Home.aspx.  Nice and flat for situations like BHR rehab, only drawback is the 15 minute drive to get there, and it is extremely busy on summer weekends (and a little bit hazardous because of it).

[Aerial]

Small world, I would run on that towpath when I visited until my hip went bad.  Perhaps i will be able to run a little on the next visit to my folks!

[Dan L]

Twelve week plus and I really feel great, everthing continues to improve, pain is almost nothing, really starting to feel incredibly good.  The smoothness of the action in the Bhr hip is amazing, realized it has been more than a couple years since it felt this way.  Sat in a chair at a restaurant that was painful prior for even a short time, with no pain at all.

[Kiwi]

Happy New Year Dan, that's really good news. Happy to hear you're progressing so well.

[hernanu]

Great news, and a happy new year, Dan (and all).

[Woodstock Hippy]

Dan, I just saw this, congratulations on getting out for a nice long walk in our beautiful weather.  Felt good, right?  You'll probably be getting in these nice long walks more and more every week.

[ScubaDuck]

That is a great report Dan.

I went snowshoeing with no pain yesterday.  It was awesome.

Happy New Year!

Best wishes.

Dan

[Biscuit]

Dan, thanks for all your amazing reports on your recovery, please continue, especially after the 2nd bhr.  Husband and I are following your recovery. 

He is still scheduled for surgery the end of January, and is definitely getting antsy and impatient.  He's struggling with even the simplest things and sleeping poorly.  Reading everyone's post-op recovery is the only thing keeping our/his spirits up that we'll be on the other side of this thing soon.   

We are also planning on using the towpath in the Metroparks for recovery purposes, although here in our little town (just a couple of miles north of you) we don't have the issue with inclines as much.  We can certainly avoid the very few inclines that do exist here.   But his office downtown is on a steep incline and parking is down the hill so I know he's worried about navigating that.  I think I will have to drive him and drop him off at the front doors for a while to keep that to a minimum.

[Dan L]

Hern, Kiwi, Dan, Woodstock and Biscuit;

Thanks very much for all the encouragement and kind words.  The last couple of weeks have been really positive and very encouraging for certain.  Starting to literally "forget" about the operated leg more frequently, other than standing after being seated for a while (when I have predictable stiffness) there is such little discomfort.

The walks are helping alot, although with the snow finally here in NE Ohio, I'm less able to get out and walk on a whim in our hilly neighborhood (most people do not shovel their sidewalks  >:( ), but can walk in the mall near work, and around the building at work.

Biscuit-- Glad to hear these updates are helpful to you.  My office is also at the top of the hill here in downtown CLE, but I park "upstairs" (Near the Q) and have no hill to climb.  I was not here on crutches, but if I had been, I would have had my wife drive me.  Presuming you are working with Dr. Brooks, you are in exceptional hands-- someone here posted over the week that he's now over 1300 of these-- with very, very few bad complications.  The entire team including Mr Golnick and the Euclid CCF nursing, medical and administrative staff teams are really, really great-- they have a sincere focus on patient satisfaction and although my wife is part of that (and I may seem biased) they all did incredible work when I was there in October of last year, something to behold.  They all have the patient care aspects of this procedure down cold-- simply amazing efforts.

[Biscuit]

Yes, we are working with Dr. Brooks - we have pre-op screening coming up in a couple of weeks.  We've loved working with his team so far. 

Husband's office is right around the corner from you - he only wants to be out of work for 3 weeks, but we will see.  It's my job to keep him from going too quickly! :)

[Dan L]

Passed 3 months/13 weeks this past week from first BHR. Operated leg continues to improve, really just stiffness still, when arising from seated position.  Bit of pain around weather changes seemingly, nothing big.  I must be easily amused, but the smooth action in the BHR hip still brings a smile to my face, it is soooooo smooth!

Six weeks out from the 2nd hip.  Injection from last August in that one is no longer helping at all, and even with less activity due to snow/ice in past week, it is painful and dificult to sleep on at all, so I'm sleeping on the operated side full time, which is mostly fine but still dull achey at night after a few hours on that side.  The smaller Of our 2 dogs sitting on that side, at only 15lbs, is too much pressure.  Eager to get it done and over with.

Dan

[Two4One]

Hi Dan L, You are going to love being bilateral!  I'm already turning briefly on my hips and can't wait to sleep on either hip, like you do with your resurfaced hip.  I know you are counting down the days.

Oh Yeah, my 11 lb Bichon doesn't understand either why I don't let him sleep on my hips anymore.

One

[hernanu]

Dan, towards the end of having my second hip done, it became really bothersome; not sure if it was anticipation, or the extra pressure of having a healthy hip booking along while it was trying to keep up, but by the time it was done, I was READY.

The results were great - that same easy motion on both hips is a great thing to have.

[Tim Cunningham]

Hern, Kiwi, Dan, Woodstock and Biscuit;

Thanks very much for all the encouragement and kind words.  The last couple of weeks have been really positive and very encouraging for certain.  Starting to literally "forget" about the operated leg more frequently, other than standing after being seated for a while (when I have predictable stiffness) there is such little discomfort.

The walks are helping alot, although with the snow finally here in NE Ohio, I'm less able to get out and walk on a whim in our hilly neighborhood (most people do not shovel their sidewalks  >:( ), but can walk in the mall near work, and around the building at work.

Biscuit-- Glad to hear these updates are helpful to you.  My office is also at the top of the hill here in downtown CLE, but I park "upstairs" (Near the Q) and have no hill to climb.  I was not here on crutches, but if I had been, I would have had my wife drive me.  Presuming you are working with Dr. Brooks, you are in exceptional hands-- someone here posted over the week that he's now over 1300 of these-- with very, very few bad complications.  The entire team including Mr Golnick and the Euclid CCF nursing, medical and administrative staff teams are really, really great-- they have a sincere focus on patient satisfaction and although my wife is part of that (and I may seem biased) they all did incredible work when I was there in October of last year, something to behold.  They all have the patient care aspects of this procedure down cold-- simply amazing efforts.