Hi Karen,
I'm a snowboarder and also a Gross Surface Hippy. I've been riding for about 14 years (well, except for this year!). I'm 2 weeks away from my 6 month post-op milestone. Woohoo!! My biggest question for myself is whether to snowboard or not to snowboard at 6 months. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do. I feel great. But, I know that my hip is still on the weak side. So, my sense tells me that it would be smartest to wait until next season when I'm expecting to ride with no worries. The problem is that I live in Utah and it's in my face every single day.
Anyway, for someone starting out 10 months post-op, I agree with the others that you should get some padding for you hips, hockey pants are one option (these are really well padded shorts, but they're expensive). Years ago, I used to play hockey and I was able to fit into boys junior sizes which are far cheaper than adults. Another option, is to get protective, padded shorts from a skateboard shop. Or, you may find that when you rent your board they can also rent you protective pads. I'm pretty sure they usually have wrist guards and helmets. But, I'm not sure about protective shorts. You really need to protect that hip.
Most beginners fall on their butts a lot on their first day, sometimes really, really hard. I'm worried for you that this could really jolt your hip. Are you cemented or uncemented? I don't want to throw cold water on your parade. But, I do have to ask, are you sure you want to do this right now? Maybe it would be better to wait the full 12 months, just to be safe. I'd be concerned that you may not have full bone in-growth to the device just yet. If you catch your heel edge and go down hard on your butt, like most beginners do, I wonder if you could loosen the device if it's not fully grown in yet. I feel terrible about saying that. But, knowing how hard beginners fall, I want to make sure you think it through.
But, if you do go for it. Get that padding and try to learn in more powdery conditions or soft spring conditions. Don't try to learn on bulletproof hardpack. Take a lesson and slowly and gently learn to figure out your edges. Beginners who are in too much of a hurrry tend to fall the most and the hardest. Your snowboard turns come primarily from your hips. Especially when you're a beginner and riding very slowly, you'll find that very subtle movements in your hips translate to where the snowboard goes. So, it should be interesting to see how your new hip feels about all of this!
One more thing . . . . always keep your knees soft and slightly bent, never rigid!
Where do you live? Or, more importantly, where will you be going to learn?
I'll be interested to hear what you decide to do!