Greetings from Providence Hospital!

[ctb]

Hello all, I am an official Gross hippy!  My surgery was on Wednesday and it was a breeze.  I actually wasn't worried about the surgery as much as I am of the recovery.  I have to gush over Dr. Gross, Lee, Nancy, Erin and the entire staff at Midland. I also have been very impressed with Providence and it's staff.  I showed up at 8 a.m. and was greeted right away by staff who showed me to registration.  Very soon thereafter I was taken to pre-op where I was prepped and then taken to get my dexa scan.  Yay!  My bones are apparently good.  Next back to pre-op to finish with surgery prep.  A half a dozen people must have come and gone.  One thing for sure, they are not going to operate on the wrong limb here.  I was given all sorts of happy meds before being wheeled into the OR, within seconds I was out of it.  That's when I entered dream scape.  I wanted to ask if I had been given some psychedelic drug because it was truly a strange trip.  I was like living in a Salvador Dali painting.  Gradually, I started coming out of it and I was in recovery.  My BP spiked during surgery, so they kept me in recovery longer then most. 

I was finally taken to my room and settled in.  Since the spinal had worn off, they went ahead and got me up on the walker.  I was pretty sore, but managed to go up and down the hall.  Still very stiff and I can't really bend the leg at all.  Dr Gross said that was normal.  Now I'm waiting for PT and OT.  I can't wait for OT so I can be given the go ahead to shower and dress.  I hate these gowns. 

I am so glad I chose to come here and highly recommend it to everyone.  The night before surgery we went to the Solstice Kitchen since it was recommended here and OMG, I may move here just for their dirty martinis.  Best one I have had in forever.  I got a scallop dish that was fabulous - and I usually tend to shy away from scallops because I have had some bad ones in the past.  Thank all of you who recommended this restaurant. 

Even the hotel was very nice for a Residence Inn.  I drove up with my sister, so we reserved a two room suite and it has worked out very well.  Each room has a private bathroom and the room has a nice sized kitchen with dishwasher, stove, and fridge.  The courtyard is closer, but either way we were going to have to drive to the hospital, so it made sense for us to opt for the double suite at the Residence Inn.

I'm just so glad to be on the other side.  PT is here, so I have to go! 

Edited because my subject line went away. 

[B.I.L.L.]

"WELCOME TO THE OTHER SIDE CTB"

[Jbennett]

Congrats. I'm exactly a week ahead of you. I was pretty happy with the hospital staff as well. Not once did anyone seem put out by a request for help with something. I know nurses and techs sometimes get bad attitudes after dealing with people needing stuff all say every day. Not once did I ever feel that at Providence.

[hernanu]

Congrats CTB!  excellent news that everything went fine.

[obxpelican]

I am not surprised Dr. Gross has a top notch crew for sure.



Chuck

[ctb]

Thanks all - I just finished with PT then OT (shower - yay!) then xray followed immediately by group PT.  Whew!  But it was worth it because I can feel a world of difference in my leg since I got up this morning. 

[Dan L]

Wecome, it's all downhill from here, you're going to love your new hip!

[ctb]

Thanks Dan -I already do!  I'm sitting here with no pain whatsoever (ok, the meds may be helping a bit) but prior to surgery I was in constant pain - either stabbing or throbbing - and most meds gave me very little relief.  I am also looking forward to the day my sister can't call me Quasimodo anymore.   

[hernanu]

She'll come up with something else - sisters are like that.

[Woodstock Hippy]

Congratulations, CTB, welcome to the club!  Glad you're feeling well

[ctb]

She'll come up with something else - sisters are like that.

Haha - so true.  This is the same sister who told me I was a hypochondriac right before I was admitted to the hospital with an asthma attack.  And she's a doctor. 

[hipnhop]

Glad it worked out well. It only gets better.

[mslendzion]

Congratulations, wishing you a quick recovery.

[LAB123]

Hey CTB...Thanks for the info and keep posting...I'm one week behind you (scheduled w Dr. Gross 3/28) and have you and jbennet to look to for advice..All the best and good luck,

Larry

[Pat Walter]

Congratulations on the new hip!  I hope your recovery goes by quickly.  Take it easy and stay in touch when you can.  Your last dinner before crossing over sounds fantastic!

Good Luck.

Pat

[curt]

   AWESOME!!!!  Ctb, Enjoy the new ride!

Curt

[imgetinold]

Sweet!  You won't believe how good you'll feel one week from today.  Then, you won't believe how good you feel two weeks from today.  And so on.....and so on.

Oh, and you have TONS of Gross hippies to look to for advice on here!

Keep us posted!

[ctb]

Update: Day two post op.  Last night my leg stiffened up on me again, probably because of the activity from earlier in the day.  This morning I was able to get up and walk again and that seemed to loosen the leg up.  I was able to shower and dress myself w/o assistance.  I would recommend bringing a towel from home to the hospital.  All they have are these little towels that you can barely wrap your hair with, let alone dry your entire body.  The other thing I would do in hindsight is buy the hip kit before discharge.  The grabber would have come in handy on more than one occasion while I was there.   

Also, I would recommend getting pads for your crutches if you don't have them already.  When I first started using crutches, my hands and under my arms would get sore very quickly, so I ended up ordering some from amazon. 

We're back at the hotel now and I am managing to get around pretty well.  Dr. Gross said not to walk too much at first, so I don't over do it.  I'm trying to just relax and take it easy, but it is hard now that I know I can walk without daggers stabbing my hip.

[jb46]

CTB,
Congrats and continued good luck in your recovery. I'm a month from today with Dr. Gross.
Please continue to post, between you and the other recent converts, I feel like I'm being given an incredible gift getting a step by step guide book...knowing what to expect can't hurt, right?
( I know...the "all patients are different" line has to be inserted here).

All I can do to thank you is promise to pay it forward after I get fixed.
I hope your recovery goes better than you ever imagined...thanks again...jb

[ctb]

JB - I know what you mean, it is because of this board that when asked by Dr. Gross if I was nervous about the surgery, I was able to honestly say no, not at all.  Frankly, I was more nervous about the recovery process.  I still am because that seems to vary so much from patient to patient and I'm terrified I'm going to break a rule and do something to mess up my hip.   That being said, I've made it to day 6 post op.

I'm pretty sure now that I must have been running on adrenaline the first couple/few days post op.  I was up and walking 200 ft not long after surgery and then I walked quite a bit the next day as well as my exercises and group PT.  By that night I was starting to feel it.  I felt more energetic and limber on Friday a.m. (day 3), the morning I was discharged, but later in the afternoon my leg felt like dead weight again.

We drove home on Saturday, and my leg was still not nearly as cooperative as it had been the first couple of days post op.  I was able to maneuver better on Sunday and today (although still not with the gusto I had immediately post op).  I have had some throbbing in my hip today, I don't know if it because of too much activity, not enough activity or if I just didn't take my pain pill early enough.   

Some insights/suggestions:  We had a 6 hour drive home, but fortunately we had an ac adapter in the van for the ice machine, so I was able to keep my leg iced much of the way home.  I highly recommend getting and adapter if you are driving and don't have one already.  I also bought a cheap walmart memory foam pillow on the way down and it was worth every penny of the $15 I spent.  Not only did it help with the bumpy roads on the trip down, but it also served as a nice cushion at the hotel and the way back home.  The Residence Inn beds are not the most comfortable on a sore hip pre or post surgery. 

If I could go back in time, I would have bought the claw thing and sock putter on way before surgery.  I can't tell you  how many times I had to contort my body to put my socks on by myself.  And actually, I wouldn't mind having two of the claw picker upper things now. One for picking up things and the other for picking up the first one when I drop it. 

If you don't have a kindle/ipad/tablet/laptop, get one (and/or a combination thereof).   Bless Providence for having wifi. 

I have to reiterate - The Solstice Kitchen is wonderful.  It was recommended by several other folks on the board and I am so glad we went.   I wish I had gone the first night as well.  I'm still having dreams of their dirty martini.

Question:  One thing I haven't figured out is why I had a smilie face drawn on near my incision with what appeared to be initials as well as an outline of a person on my calf.  Anyone else get the Picasso treatment?