Wendy's Recovery

Sept. 1

The days go by fairly fast but I'm still counting down desperately until Sept. 22 when I see my surgeon again. I really hate not being allowed to put any weight on my operated leg and seriously wonder whether my surgeon is the last one on the planet to impose this type of restriction. That being said, as John so wisely pointed out, if I go against his instructions and something bad happens, the warranty will be nul and void! So in lieu of walking using both feet, I hop a lot on crutches and complain vociferously and frequently. Only three weeks left!

There's still a lot of muscle flexibility left to be gained and my knee has a way of reminding me that recovery can be a long and winding road. However, although I have also complained that the physiotherapy exercises that have been prescribed for me are "Mickey Mouse", I do them faithfully and enjoy the fact that I am pushing my body to wake up and get going.

Since this is the day to talk about frustration, I have two more to present. But first, a bit of background for my non-hippy friends: I have been on the Internet, reading and posting on three different sites created for hippies and their friends and families. Through these sites I have made a number of wonderful, supportive friends (you know who you are!), learnt a lot and found comfort and caring when I was at my lowest before this second surgery.

So, what are my beefs, you might ask. They concern both recovery and the care and feeding of the artificial hip:

If I had found these sites before my first surgery, I would have gone in expecting to practically spring off the operating table and begin figure skating within a week of surgery. The sites abound with glowing reports of easy, pain-free, quick recoveries. As you all know, my first experience last November was the absolute opposite. I like to joke that I had a DAP (disability augmentation procedure) rather than a THR (total hip replacement) the first time. I feel that people on the verge of surgery should not have the fear of God put in them by reading about disasters such as my own. But they should also understand that everyone's recovery differs and measuring oneself against someone else can be counter-productive. We must listen to and accept the messages from our own body, not someone else's.

There is also the issue of exercise and what one can/should/shouldn't do with an artificial hip--because let's face the facts, it's not a natural hip, it IS artificial. As artificial hip recipients get younger and younger, the boundaries are pushed further and further out. The mobility needs and desires of an eighty year old are completely different from those of a forty, much less a twenty year old. Prostheses and surgical techniques are changing to keep up with the new landscape, but I fear that many hippies refuse to face the fact that they are now equipped with new parts that have NOT been manufactured by the best company in the world, Mother Nature. Proper exercise is absolutely necessary to keep the hip going but high-impact activities like running are anathema to the artificial hip. Insisting on continuing to do such exercise after a THR is, in my opinion, the height of macho recklessness. OK, I'm an old fart, but I've suffered too many surgical disasters to want to wear out my hip prematurely.

I have expressed these two often highly impopular opinions on the various hippy sites, but I also wanted to share them here. Thank you for listening!

posted by WRG @ 4:47 p.m.