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)

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. 

💚

Difficult Health Decision

 I have some very disappointing news. I'm still broken.

After three months of wearing the hip brace, I was excited to finally get out of it and get back to my activities. I went to 2 pool exercise classes and one physiotherapy appointment. I was going to get a form filled so that I could get back to work with modified duties and eventually be back to normal hours. I was just starting to get a few things done around here that have needed doing, we went for a few car rides and a little walk in the park, and I was wearing pants other than leggings! Then it happened.

Last week, while I was seated, my hip had a partial dislocation. It popped out when I twisted sideways and kind of reached forward. I screamed, and my daughter called her dad and tried to figure out what to do. She was just starting to call 911, and I kind of arched my back with the pain and tada it clunked back in. Yes, I actually could hear the thunk as it relocated itself, and immediately the sharp, severe pain stopped. I cried and cried because, beyond the pain, I knew what this means. I put the miserable brace back on until I could check in with the doctor.

I called my surgeon's office and got an appointment for his next office day. He believes that we should do a revision surgery as soon as possible to go back in and change the style of the liner in the artificial socket and check things out. The protocol, if it had fully dislocated, would absolutely have been to do the surgery. There is no good guide for what to do with a partial dislocation, so the choice was up to me. I questioned why this dislocated at 2 and a half years out. It is very, very unusual - dislocations are usually very early in the game or after many, many years of wear. There is no answer to that one.

 I was supposed to have that cancelled knee replacement finally happen in July. He is highly concerned that if we don't have my hip stable at the time of the knee surgery and it dislocated again, it would be catastrophic for the recovery of both joints. He suggested that if the hip wasn't 100 % by then, we should do the hip instead of the knee at that time or just cancel the knee surgery.

 I asked if serious strengthening exercises would be a possibility instead. Our decision was that since I already had an appointment in a couple days with the physiotherapist, I should get her opinion. 

I saw the physiotherapist three days later. She really didn't think it was likely that we could get it strong enough once I was having repeat injuries like this, and the unfixed knee was not helping the situation. She said she would just go with the surgery rather than waiting in fear for another dislocation. Don't put so much work into strengthening that hip just to have the muscle cut in an emergency situation. Made sense. 

I called the doctor's office, and now I have surgery scheduled for May 19th.

Three weeks is actually a nice amount of time to get organized for life after surgery and to talk myself into accepting that this is really happening. On May 25th, it will be 3 years since I was in the hospital having the replacement and 13 years since I was in the hospital due to the pulmonary embolism and the subsequent brain injury. May is apparently not an easy month for my health. I am pretty discouraged at this point. I feel like I have done all I can, but then I question what I might have done wrong that I am having trouble with my hip like this. Unwarranted Self-blame is an issue for me sometimes.

The new Physiotherapist, Janine, said something helpful. I hadn't actually said anything about blaming myself out loud, but I guess she picked up on my emotional state. She looked at me kind of sharply and said, "You do know this isn't your fault, don't you?  This isn't you, failing here... it's your hip. No, actually, it is not your hip .. it is the prosthesis (artificial hip) that is failing. Maybe a problem with it. Maybe not the right fit or orientation for you and your life, but for sure, it is NOT you!" I didn't realize how upset I was feeling about that until I felt such a wave of relief go over me with her words.

I'm going to try and get some fun into the next 3 weeks while I still can. Life has already been so restrictive in this Covid Time. Unfortunately, we are in another wave in Winnipeg and experiencing increasing restrictions related to rapidly increasing case numbers. Another bunch of limitations because of the hip and now continuing for 4 more months is just adding to the isolation and feelings of being restricted. Even though I am in quite a bit of discomfort and pain, I want to go for some car ride adventures, take some photos, have a picnic, get some takeout food and enjoy our yard. I don't want to miss this lovely warm spring weather.

Too Much Stress, Updates and some Whining

 Hello Friends! 

I have been busy lying low for the past couple of months. I must admit that I kind of went into a tailspin and just reached a point where my emotional and physical reserves reached a breaking point. The name of this blog, Leading A Healthy Life, has felt more than a little ironic lately.

 The injury to my hip on December 22 was very traumatic, but it was only the last straw. 

 I thought I could keep busy at home post hip dislocation, and I was going to try and use that time at home in some constructive way and hoped to share my projects here. I really found it difficult to do anything. I couldn't even sit in a regular chair or at a table. I was either lying flat on my back in bed or in a raised recliner. I wasn't in a ton of pain, but I was really uncomfortable all the time, and because of wearing that hip brace 24 hours a day, even at night, I was pretty sleep-deprived. It seems that I want to roll over a lot, and you can't in a contraption like that brace. I didn't like being dependent on my husband and daughters for many basic things, such as washing my hair and dressing. One of the most irritating things is that I seem to always be dropping stuff, and I need a lot of help picking all those things up. 

I watched a lot of TV and YouTube. Bob got us a new  TV while I was in the hospital, It is a new smart one for my side of the bed, and I watched for hours. There was nowhere to walk to, no exercises I was allowed to do, no meaningful work I could do, and no friends to visit due to covid restrictions. I haven't even seen my son and grandkids in almost 8 months, and they live only a half-hour away from me. My eldest daughter is a province away, and there are many quarantine restrictions about crossing the provincial borders, so I have not seen her in almost a year.

 There have been a lot of health issues and other stresses going on for our family in the past year and it has really been getting to me. I know that so many people have it worse than us, and we do keep those who are suffering and have lost loved ones and their homes and jobs in our prayers and thoughts. I am indeed very grateful for a loving family and good care, and lots of available resources. 

 I had 2 minor surgeries this past year - one for a large painful cyst, a lipoma, in my back and another procedure to remove a very large bleeding precancerous growth in my colon and I had to deal with anemia related to that condition. The followups are all looking great. 

One daughter was supposed to have her gallbladder out and was frequently in a lot of pain. Still, the surgery was put on hold from November due to hospital closures until a few weeks ago. She had surgery 2 weeks ago and is still uncomfortable but recovering slowly.

The other daughter had a severe shoulder injury due to a workplace injury. After a lot of difficulties, she was finally diagnosed correctly, but her surgery was also delayed. She eventually had the surgery but will be left with permanent limitations in her range of motion. She went back to university (zoom classes) because she will need to find a new occupation.

 I was supposed to have a knee replacement in January, but that will be on hold for a while until I am doing better with my hip recovery. I don't have a tentative date yet, but it will happen. They need to catch up with covid related delays in elective surgeries and any further covid shutdowns with the hospitals.  

Work has been horrifically difficult this past year. Covid 19 has hit nursing homes especially hard. When you are a recreation person, you are the substitute for friends and family while still being part of the health care team. We try to bring some comfort during these heartbreaking times that are filled with so much fear and loss, and loneliness. Many of our people suffer from dementia and can't understand all that is happening but most certainly are aware of the changes and anxiety around them. We heard about staff dying from covid in other facilities just a few miles from us, and we worried about what is in store for us.  In many ways it is good to not be at work during Covid but I really do miss it. I miss planning activities that are helpful for people and I miss the residents and  my many wonderful co-workers. I know everyone is well cared for but it is hard to shake the feeling that I ought to be there doing my part. It is very hard to putting my own recovery first even though there is no way I physically would be a help at work. I keep telling myself it is like the airplanes. Grab that' oxygen mask first or you can't help other people.  Self care is complicated sometimes. 

One significant stressor has been a rental property we own. We have a 2-bedroom house I inherited from my dad that I rent out as an important part of my income. That went very bad to this past year when the Government made it impossible to kick tenants out during Covid or charge any overdue fees. The tenants just stopped paying rent. They did a tremendous amount of damage to the house, such as breaking doors and door frames, dog feces everywhere, gouged walls, cement poured down drains ruining the plumbing.. you get the idea. It has taken us almost all of the past 3 months to get it fit to rent out again. I couldn't help with repairs and cleaning because of my hip, and I was frustrated and angry beyond belief. There we were trying to deal with the financial fallout happening to our family. I can't track her down to collect any of the money she owes me. I was notified just yesterday by the government-run water utility company that they also can't track down the tenant. Therefore they are legally allowed to tack her water utility bill of over $1500 onto my property taxes. It will be payable in full with my billing next month. I sat there stunned and yelled at the letter, "That is just not fair! I am not a big corporation... just someone with their dad's house!"

Okay, My Whining is Over, for the moment anyway.

The update is:

• I am now 2 weeks out of the hated brace, and I started physiotherapy 3 days ago. I like my new physiotherapist and think she is just right for my recovery needs. 
• The rental house has new tenants as of 2 weeks ago, so that chapter is over.  
• Our daughters are both recovering well. 
•  I have lost some weight and feel pretty happy about that, and I really enjoy wearing some different-sized clothing.
• I got the first dose of the Covid 19 vaccine- AstraZeneca, and the second will be in June. Bob will get his vaccination in a week.
• The city pools finally opened up 14 days ago. I got into an arthritis aquatic group class with a max of 10 people located in a very big pool with a lot of room to distance. I can't do many of the exercises, and Di, our fearless leader, keeps her eye on me. It feels wonderful to walk and move in the water,
• I hope to be back at work on modified duty in a few weeks, so hopefully, that goes well. My supervisor is sounding supportive and happy about my return.

And People .. it is Spring! The time for new beginnings!