Here I Go Again

 I am in the hospital yet again! 

The hospital I’m in.

I fell and broke my “good” left Hip!  It was severe enough that they couldn’t fix the top of my femur so they had to give me a total hip replacement on that left leg.  The right hip is not yet fully recovered from the revision so I am basically really wobbly and in quite a bit of pain. I have been hanging together the best I can but it is really hard to keep up my spirit and trust that this too shall pass.

My “100 day physio challenge” kind of ended abruptly, and I was rocking it too!   I guess that in a few weeks I shall hit a reset button.  The physiotherapist that I work with when I’m home is aware and already getting informed about my condition. Tomorrow I should get some information about what to do next from the hospital physiotherapist.

I’ll write more about how I broke my hip in a separate post. I am still kind of processing that this is really happening. Can you believe that this is the 4th time in 39 months  that I have been hospitalized due to a hip issue?

Even while lying on the ground, first injured last week, I started saying “not again”, over and over, and in the past couple days it has become “here we go again”. It seems that when I experience these life crisis I find myself with song lyrics running through my head. That doesn’t mean the whole song is relevant, but that something in the lyrics or melody resonates with me. 

 I searched youtube for the tunes I was humming and this is what I came up with. 

In a few months, this might be the beginning of my Rewind Recovery Exercise Playlist! 

Edit: It looks like I can’t figure out how to share the YouTube videos via my phone since the recent update to blogger and I’m just not up to working on it. I’ll fix it someday. 

Trust me- it would of had you rock on and dancing between Whitesnake with “Here I Go Again” Dolly Parton with “Here You Come Again” and blasting off with a Mamma Mia! clip of “Here We Go Again”

Here I Go Again

Here You Come Again 

Here We Go Again 

100 Day Fitness Challenge.

On your mark, get set and...

I am committing to my own:

One Hundred Day Fitness Challenge. 

Believe me, friends, I still have a very, very long way to go. I need a plan to improve my health in general, but you have to start somewhere with specific goals. So I plan to start by fully committing to doing my physiotherapy exercises and trying to walk regularly.

I started this blog in 2008 when I was facing massive health challenges, and I am very proud of how far I have come. I know the routines for getting better. But...

  

This latest crisis with my hip dislocation and resulting surgery has taken a lot out of me, and I am struggling. I don't feel like I have a lot of fight left in me at the moment. Maybe it is a bit of reaction to staying home for the past year and a half, not working for the past 8 months, and not socializing. I do think a lot of my hesitancy has to do with lingering fear after that sudden horrific dislocation. I just have a sense of anxiety about how one simple movement can change a life. I "feel" much safer on my couch.

 

Logically I know that the best course of action is to work, yet again, on strengthening those muscles and on my cardiovascular health. I am working with an excellent physiotherapist and I am sure that the exercises are appropriate and necessary. My hip is recovering correctly, if slowly, but it is certainly uncomfortable and is a constant reminder that things are still not quite right. As a matter of fact, I have had such limited mobility since December that I feel like all my muscles have turned into jello.

 I really need to have mypainful left knee replaced too, but I am backing off from that surgery for now. The surgeon and I agree that I have already been through enough for one year, but it does need to happen sooner rather than later. I really need to keep working on getting that knee strong so that I will be ready when that surgery happens. Loosing more weight wouldn't hurt either.

 I recently started following Nina Adrian Torres on Facebook and YouTube. She has severe Rheumatoid Arthritis and has had 19 surgeries related to her condition. What I like about Nina is that she has a positive attitude and go-to approach to life. She is a strong supporter of others, and especially other arthritis sufferers. She is a passionate and positive force in the lives of the school kids she works with and with her coworkers. She is firm in her faith and feels lifted up and that she is doing what she is meant to do. She rises to the challenges in her life, even when it is so hard, through her trust in God.  

Nina is on day 3 of her own Get Fit 100 Day Challenge. I'm jumping on board by trying to do 100 days in a row myself!

Nina has been saying,

"It's not how many times you fall - it's how many times you get back up!"

 Do you think I can do it? Can I find my get up and go again?

Ok, everyone. 

I'm getting back up.

 I have things I want to do!

I still want to be Leading A Healthy Life!

Lets Go!

Wild Strawberries

I thought I would share some pics of the wild strawberries we have at the cottage. They grow in one area of the yard, near a back corner of the cottage, like a beautiful ground cover. The area is kind of like a tiny meadow with a lot of moisture in the spring and some higher grass nearby. They attract birds, insects and other creatures that love to eat them. Wild strawberries are useful, tasty and look beautiful too.

 The berries are so very tiny but bursting with flavour and taste wonderfully sweet.  They are not something we want to gather and use for cooking or a meal because they are too tiny and really not great a quantity of them hiding in the grass. They are perfect for reaching down and having the occasional little berry nibble. 

My family went to the lake last weekend and brought me back a little handful of the strawberries and took some pictures for me.

Strawberries that in gardens grow
Are plump and juicy fine,
But sweeter far as wise men know
Spring from the woodland vine.
No need for bowl or silver spoon,
Sugar or spice or cream,
Has the wild berry plucked in June
Beside the trickling stream.
One such to melt at the tongue's root,
Confounding taste with scent,
Beats a full peck of garden fruit:
Which points my argument. — Robert Graves

Home from the Hospital after Hip Replacement Surgery

 I have been home for a week now. The hip revision surgery went smoothly. The surgeon actually wound up changing the artificial hip parts and needed to repair tears in some of the supporting tissues of the joint that tore during the dislocation in December. It looks like there was no possible way the hip could have ever healed properly and stopped dislocating, so it was a good call to go forward with the surgery.

My new parts are a little more high-tech than the last ones and are much less likely to dislocate. I was concerned about the original plan to have a constraint liner in the socket limiting my mobility and how much I bend. Still, I knew something had to be done! The surgeon used a different version that won't constrain my hip movement any more than before.

 Hopefully, it won't have me living permanently with  Hip Restrictions, about not crossing legs ever, not bending from the waist more than 90 degrees, and so on. That doesn't mean I get to be stupid.. no fancy dance moves. I certainly need to watch out for falls, but I should be able to still have an active life... once we finally do a knee replacement and fix my left knee!

At the time of my surgery, we were still high in the third wave of covid in Manitoba, making for complications with our health care. The hospital my surgeon works from is one of the hospitals that has a covid ward and intensive care units, and it was beyond overwhelmed. They needed to send people out of the province to other hospitals because of a lack of equipment and staff. They closed down non-emergency surgery and admissions. Fortunately for me, my surgeon put in appeals and got permission to use the other large hospital with an orthopedic program for a few of his patients that he considered in need of the most immediate care.

  

It was all kind of odd because I technically was still a patient of hospital A, where we had initially planned the surgery before Covid closures. I went to that hospital for covid screening the day before surgery and for X-rays. Then on surgery morning, I reported to hospital B for the actual surgery and 5 nights for recovery and my first physiotherapy and rehab sessions. I get my staples out this week, and that will occur at the cast clinic at hospital A.  

On arrival at the hospital, I had to have a security guard help me got from the entrance to the ward and helped carry my overnight bag, my walker, cane, a cold therapy machine! They started me off in the room I would be returning to after the surgical recovery room. That was kind of convenient. There was a bag for my clothes and the gown and housecoat right there waiting for me. 

They had an absolutely miserable time getting an IV into me but that is nothing new. I must say this location on my dominant hand was especially horrible once I needed to use my hands to push off and move around after the surgery and for the physiotherapy.

Next to the surgery cancellation, the hardest part for me about surgery during the Covid Pandemic was going into the hospital all by myself and not having visits from my loved ones.  The phone is just not the same and despite having a truly lovely roommate,  (Hi Pat) I was lonely and missing my family. I was so happy when I finally got home to my family and my own bed!

I am finding the recovery easier this time compared to my first hip replacement for various reasons. Since I dislocated it in December, I have been under a lot of restrictions and have been in pain and too some level gotten used to moving carefully.  I think we have gotten a better handle on my pain management too. I believe all that lying around in the brace has made my leg a lot less stressed physically. Still, the downside is I have most certainly lost a lot of overall strength in the past 6 months since I got hurt. 

I had been expecting to have knee surgery... and then it suddenly changed to hip revision, but the prehab exercises to prepare for those surgeries are very similar. I know the exercises well. Same as three years ago, and this time, I had lots of lead-up time, like it or not. Even though most of me feels like jello, I have tried to at least strengthen the muscles affected by surgery.

I have successfully lost some weight since my dislocation, so I am sure that has also made my recovery easier. I will eventually put up some posts about my weight loss experiences. It is a big part of my living health journey, and I rarely talk about it. I guess I am more than a little sensitive on the topic. I was a chubby kid that has also spent most of my adult life as an overweight person.  People, the struggle has been a hard one. I was not tempted to overeat with the hospital meals though.

I have an appointment set up with my new Physiotherapist in three weeks. Until then I will continue to do the hip exercises assigned by my hospital physiotherapist at least three times a day.

I am going to be editing my previous post Preparing for Hip Revision Surgery which included my plans about packing for the hospital. I had most of it correct but now I have even more helpful ideas and suggestions.   You do want to get your packing correct to make everything easier and as pleasant as possible during your stay at the hospital. So "stay tuned!"

Just in case you were wondering... I'm not really sure exactly what kind of hip replacement prosthetics I got, but it will be similar to what they discuss in the link below..

'Dual mobility' hip replacement reduces risk of dislocation (medicalxpress.com)

Surgery Tomorrow!

 I am having my Total Hip Revision tomorrow morning.

 Third hospital time is the charm for getting this hip functioning properly I hope.   I’m not looking forward to surgery or the recovery period but know that I need to do all I can to keep being mobile.

Cross your fingers and say a little prayer for me, please! 

Picnic Time at St Vital Park

Bob and I decided it was time to get out a little more. 

We have always loved visiting different parks and landmarks, and we decide we just need to get out a lot more often and check out places near us. We both have enjoyed outdoor cooking in all kinds of forms, and we even have a pretty cool picnic backpack, but it has been sitting there never used. So we decided it is the time!!

This week we visited St Vital Park. It is about 46 hectares of park space located in the city beside a river. It features BBQ areas, lots of picnic spaces, soccer fields, volleyball, and many trails. There is even a charming duck pond. Another nice feature is a rock and flower garden that would be lovely for things like wedding pictures.

We parked the car on the side of the road when we spotted a couple of lovely picnic spots toward the river. We were looking for a table located with some shade on this beautiful but still very warm day. Jasper, the dog, really is well adapted and insulated to both hot and cold temperatures because of that furry coat. Still, no need to push it, so we find places in the shade for him to lie down. 

Between the road and the picnic spot we picked, a family of geese were enjoying the shade. Once we got out of the car, the family got their kids up and headed across the road stopping traffic. There were large trees and lots of lovely wildflowers nearby.

Jasper loves picnics. He has a bag of his own that comes complete with a water bottle, doggie water dishes, a big bag of his favourite treats and the all-important poop bags.

Our dark green picnic backpack has lots of pockets and an insulated center compartment for our picnic lunch. We are starting off with simple food, but I hope to get into more exciting menus over the summer. 

Here we really enjoyed our unplanned "grab and go" lunch from our fridge at home

• a ham and cheese bagel with mayo and lettuce.
• potato chips
• fresh fruit from our fridge
• a soft drink
  

After we cleaned up, we ran our supplies back to the car and went on a little walk on the trail by the river. I am not up to walking much right now, but the lovely walking trail and fantastic views were so beautiful they encouraged me to walk a little further.

I shall soon be rested... to sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure, is the most perfect refreshment. 

~Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814

Preparing for Hip Revision Surgery

 I am still waiting for Hip Revision surgery, and it looks like it is going to be a long wait after all. 

The city has a massive number of Covid cases, and our ICUs are beyond capacity, so non-emergency surgery is on hold yet again. I find it hard to deal with the uncertainty of the situation, but with the extremely high risk of covid in our community, I believe it is just what needs to happen. I have been struggling to move forward with anything, and I am very much in a holding pattern; I can't exercise much, I risk falling, I can't work, volunteer, or do much work around the house, and with Covid, there is no chance of going shopping or visiting with friends right now. I have had a hard time focussing on all the things I can do and tend to slip into thinking about the things I can't do. 

Hip Reversion surgery is what it is called when there is a problem with a hip replacement, and they do a second surgery to try and fix damage around the hip and its parts. Basically, the name says it all. They are revising the surgery that was done before. In my case, since I have had a serious dislocation and now it is still unstable, they intend to change the lining section in the hip socket to a different type that fits differently and restrains the amount of movement of the hip a little more. They will also check for things like damaged ligaments etc. In the meantime, I am at significant risk of it dislocating again, and I have some pain and mobility issues.

When I had the original hip replacement, I didn't really know what I should expect with surgery and the rehab part, and I was pretty scared. I learned a lot from Facebook groups, and internet sites and friends and the hospitals did have prehab classes where I spoke with their dietician, a physiotherapist and an occupational therapist who tried to prepare me for surgery and recovery and teach me ways to cope while living with arthritis and explain what they can.

I wound up needing a different car to come home in than when we had at the time and a different bed because we were sleeping in a low bed with a raised wood frame around it. I needed a bath seat, raised toilet seat and a handle around the toilet. I needed a walker and crutches to deal with stairs into our house. It was highly suggested that I get a recliner chair to sit and probably sleep in.

This will be my third time in hospital dealing with this hip, and I am starting to feel like quite the expert. At least this time, we don't have to buy any of the furniture or medical supplies! Been there, done that! I might not know "when," but I do have a better idea about the "what" and "how."

Packing lists

 

The last time was an ambulance ride with no jacket, no shoes, no phone, no nothing. My husband followed the ambulance to the hospital, and of course, they wouldn't let him in because of Covid 19, but they did take my phone from him and got it to me sometime the next morning. It was good to get in touch and tell him what was happening and eventually to Facetime on Christmas with my family. This time I plan on being prepared. I won't be having any company allowed, so no one to bring supplies.

Items I will Need to Pack

In the Hospital

• iPhone and earphones. Save some podcasts and music to my phone to keep me distracted.
• Charging cable and wall plug connector.
• glasses and a labelled case to put them in
• pen and notepad, maybe some activity book like colouring or crossword
• Slippers with good grips that you can easily step into.
• housecoat
• moisturizer and lip balm
• Hairbrush, elastics, hair clips.
• toothbrush and toothpaste in a case
• They do provide soap but if you have a particular kind, pack it along too.
• mini nail kit
• Pillow, comfort items or a small blanket if you want to. Things to keep you more comfortable.
• important papers your hospital might require like a list of medications and your health care numbers,
• Hard candies to suck on, or maybe breath mints
• Money is tricky. Loose change is usually a good idea, but with covid, nothing is open anyway.
• I would bring a garbage bag for dirty laundry.

Going HomeTime

• fresh underwear
• skirt and shirt or easy pull-on dress. (pants just don't work out well)
• I'm thinking about other slip-on shoes rather than my slippers for getting into the car.

Pickup Time

• Husband Bob is to bring a jacket or sweater if needed
• walker to get to the car
• crutches to get up a couple of stairs into our house.

When I get dropped off at home, Bob will go to the pharmacy to fill prescriptions from the hospital for pain killers and assorted other items.

I will update this post if I think of anything I forgot!

💚

I will stop whining about my hip for now and, like a good recreation person, move on to all the things that I can do until I actually have surgery. 

There are lots of things that don't involve much bending or stretching. And don't including all the things you can't do because your city is under severe constraints and risk due to Covid 19. 

💚