I am now one week post-op after my hip replacement surgery.  My surgery was Wednesday, October 8 and I am writing this on Thursday, October 16.  The most surprising thing to me so far is how much work this recovery business is!

I was the first surgery of the day at Dublin Methodist last Wednesday at 7 a.m.  I had a spinal and, at 1:30, I was released from the hospital.  There were two challenges to the day.  First, I had to complete three PT tasks in order to be released.  I had to take the three in stages because my blood pressure kept bottoming out every time I tried to move on to the next stage.  Standing – and then laying back down until my blood pressure rose again.  Walking to the hallway – and then laying back down until my blood pressure went back up.  Finally, climbing up and down steps.  Once I completed the steps, I was cleared for release.

The second challenge of the day was actually getting home.  The drive to the hospital in the morning took 21 minutes.  The drive home took three hours.  I-270 is the most direct route between our house and the hospital.  When we got on I-270, traffic soon slowed to a crawl and then stopped completely.  After being at a complete standstill for 15 minutes, I looked up the reason on my iPhone.  There was an active shooter on the highway at 315 and I-270 and the police had shut the road down.  Ten lanes of traffic were all being routed off I-270 onto secondary roads.

After 1.5 hours, Tom and I managed to get off I-270 and headed north.  This is close to where John and Jackie live and we know all the back roads.  But all of them were crammed with traffic.  There was the usual city traffic and then there was all the traffic forced off I-270.  No matter which way we tried to go, traffic was backed up for miles.

Tom and I were both tired and hungry.  I hadn’t had anything to eat and Tom hadn’t had anything since breakfast.  We also needed to stop by the pharmacy and pick up the nine medications my doctor prescribed for post-op care.  Tom felt really bad that it was taking so long to get home, but what could we do?  We finally arrived close to 4:30.  Tom got me in the house, settled on the couch, and then made me some lunch.  I think I was sleeping by the time he got the car unloaded and got himself some food.

The first day post-op, nursing care and physical therapy came out to evaluate me.  Physical therapy also looked at the house to see what I needed.  I had a walker from the doctor’s office but I was already getting up and down off the toilet on my own.  I have a PICO drain, which means there aren’t any dressing to change.  One waterproof dressing stays on until I have my follow-up with the surgeon.  The nice thing about this is that I can shower when I want.  The challenging thing is the little pump that requires very loose-fitting pants.  I only had one pair of suitable pants, so John brought me some fun plaid pajama pants that work great.

Since then, life has evolved into a routine.  It takes me a good two hours in the morning to eat breakfast, read my Bible, do my morning exercises, and take a shower.  Tom has to help me get the compression stockings on and off because I can’t reach my left foot yet.  Then it is time for my morning nap.  Ha ha!  Not really.  I did take a nap the first few mornings but if I nap now, it is in the afternoon.

I have to do my physical therapy exercises three times a day and I’m supposed to walk every hour.  In addition to pushing the walker around the house every hour, I have gradually worked up to three times around the cul-de-sac of our street.  I feel like I am moving pretty well.  There hasn’t been a lot of pain, but the left leg is stiff and swollen.  Three times around the cul-de-sac equals 1.5 miles.  Pretty good for one week post-op.

Today the physical therapist took me off the walker.  I walked around the cul-de-sac with a walking stick instead.  It felt a little awkward, and surprisingly scary, but I made it.  I am looking forward to doing it again tonight.

I’ve had a few visitors.  My sister brought Mom and Dad down on Friday.  John and Jackie came by on Saturday.  I told John and Jackie to bring some sweets, so they brought me cupcakes, cookies, ice cream, and Ghirardelli chocolates!  That should hold me for a while.  Sunday I made it to church and yesterday we went up to spend some time with my parents.

Tom has been a terrific caregiver.  He helps me with whatever I need.  He is a little overprotective, but he insists he is just being cautious.  Like just now.  He is going for a bike ride, so he put my walking stick out of reach.  I had to promise to use the walker if I get up while he is gone.  As I get stronger, however, he is less cautious.

So far recovery has gone about as expected for one week post-op.  I wear out quickly but am making progress every day.  Thanks for your prayers and thoughts.  I know this is easier with a community of support like all of you.