Hi Hippies!
I'm a 57 yr. old female from the Vancouver BC area. I am now 2-1/2 weeks post-op and doing great. My recovery has been so much easier than I ever imagined it would be. I'm definitely one of the lucky ones. I had the outpatient procedure at the Proliance Surgical Center in Kirkland, and it was a good decision for me. We went down to Kirkland and checked into the nearby hotel the day before. The hotel had provided the extra things I requested for the recovery day, and gave us a room very close to the entrance. Perfect! I chose to have the spinal and mild anaesthesia, to reduce the nausia effects. I checked in at 9am and we were able to leave by about 3pm. I had very little nausea, after leaving the Center. I chose to take only Tylenol and Advil for the pain, and it was sufficiently effective for me. I don't like narcotics because of the nausea, brain fog, and constipation. We left for home the next afternoon around 1pm. The drive was hard, but we had ice from the hotel, and that helped alot.
I started the post-op exercises on day 2, very few reps, very cautiously. Gradually increasing as time went on. I've also gradually increased walking everyday. I found a Fit app on my phone and I started at just a few hundred steps a day, and have gradually increased to 4000. There was substantial improvement by day 6, by day 10 I was mostly using just 1 crutch to get around. I'm planning to move to my old cane in a few days. I focus on walking correctly, not quickly. I hadn't been able to walk correctly for nearly 2 years, so this excites me. I really don't think I will need the cane for very long. I'm looking forward to taking beginner salsa dancing lessons this summer.
I am so grateful for finding this website. It really gave me the courage to forge ahead!
Now I'm a happy hippy too! Thank you Pat!
And a big thanks to Dr. Pritchett!
Cheers
Katherine ( Scaredy Kat)
Well done. Looking forward to the same relief from Dr. Pritchett middle of July. Salsa sounds fun but might be best to avoid those attractive high heels for a while just yet.
Hey Katherine, thanks for the updates and it sounds like things are going well.
I am following in your footsteps; from Vancouver, going to Dr. Pritchett for outpatient surgery in late Aug and doing the Synovo Preserve.
Amazed that you managed with just Tylenol and Advil - wow!
What hotel did you stay in? Sounds like a good option.
Grant
Happy to read your story. kathrine which hotel did you stay in? How long did you stay in seattle?
thanks
avi