Back to normal …
It was a wonderful feeling to walk into the hospital limp free and crutch free for my 6 week post op checks having driven there myself. I had a very positive discussion with a member of the surgical team and a reality check – more sage advice ‘Don’t go mad! You’ll feel golden and you are but no stomping (
), jumping or impact activity. Take your time to heal properly.’ and he explained that the healing of the bone around the implant and the recovery of the muscles takes time and shouldn’t be underestimated.
So from the comment I was given on the day of my op, did I
‘hate the surgical team for a week then love them afterwards’ ? No I didn’t. I loved them from the point at which I’d had the operation!!!
I did have to contend with all the anticipated post-op challenges of swelling, minor pain and niggles (mainly due to those oh so necessary but annoying stockings!) and the need to be ever so cautious and get used to other people doing things for me at least in the first few days but I feel very positive about my new hip. A series of small victories over the first few weeks such as being able to put on my own socks easily, get in and out of the bath, trim my own toenails (gross I know but more gross if someone else has to do it for you !), drive, climb stairs normally, walk without crutches etc. has been very uplifting and it’s amazing how these unassuming activities take on greater significance when they have been such a struggle in the preceding months.
Now at 8 weeks post op, I’m enjoying the simple pleasure of walking normally again. I am slowly increasing my exercise levels in line with professional physiotherapy advice and I definitely won’t ’go mad’ as I want my shiny new hip to last as long as possible and I’m so happy to be ‘back to normal’.
Everybody who knows me and saw how I was pre-op is stunned by the change and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard ‘but how is this possible? You would never know you had had major surgery only a few weeks ago. It’s like you never had a problem. You are perfectly balanced’.
I’m back in the gym albeit taking it cautiously and this morning before I wrote this one of the very supportive class instructors said to me ‘So which hip did you have done again?’. The fact that she couldn’t tell - that put a smile on my face !