Monthly Archives: February 2016

Day 10 Post Hip Replacement Surgery

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on December 23, 2015

Day 10 Post-Hip Replacement Surgery:

The good news – Physical therapy is going well. I got cleared yesterday to start using a cane! I still need my walker, it’s going to be a gradual increase of using my cane. Joe said he’s going to bead it. Awesome. And my PT exercises are getting easier every day, even though I’m surprised how tired I get afterwards. 3 more sessions of home PT and then after the New Year I start out-patient PT.

Today I start trying to cut my pain medicine dosage in half. I can stretch the current dose out to 6 hours between, now I’m back to every 4 hours, but only half the dose. We’ll see how it goes. I have to go to LMH to do a blood draw every 2-3 days to monitor my dose of the blood thinner I’m on. So I get to get out today sometime.

I get my staples out next week!! Then I can get out and about more without so much worry about infection.

I can sleep on my non-surgical side with a pillow between my knees, which is such a relief. I can also cook eggs for my breakfast and bake cookies, with plenty of rest during the process. I can hang out in the living room on the new furniture my mom and Joe B bought me. Little Sara has gotten good at moving my walker up and down the stairs. She is so careful with me. She waits at the bottom of the stairs as I head down, looking like she is ready to catch me if I fall. Lol. And Shelby is always thinking ahead of things I might need. I have very thoughtful and caring babies.

And movies….I’m getting finally watch a bunch of movies I’ve wanted to see for a long time. Finally got Joe B hooked on “House of Cards” so we are starting with Season 1. We haven’t binge-watched anything in years.

We have so appreciated all the meals provided by friends, organized by Makyla King. And Jeri Johnson for organizing the lunch at my house last week, and the early Christmas dinner she is bringing over tonight.

The not-so-good-news:  all the meds and the recovery process are giving me night sweats and occasional chills. I’ve woken up a few times with a damp shirt that needs to be changed. I don’t have a fever and I’ve talked to my home health nurse about it. All of my blood work is fine. It seems as if this is just something to deal with. It messes with my sleep though…I find myself waking up every few hours. I’ve been scrolling my Facebook and my Twitter in the middle of the night, that’s where all the recipe posts come from, in case anyone was wondering what my sudden interest in all kinds of recipes is…..

Wearing these white compression tights is getting old. Really old. And they have an opening in the top of the foot, yet my foot is supposed to stay inside. Shelby bugs me by moving the hole and making my toes stick out, then she laughs and takes off….lol. Smh….

I knew my emotions might feel like a huge roller coaster ride during the recovery process. It was a concern I expressed to Joe and to my doctors before my surgery. And I found I had good reason to be concerned. Had one really bad day where all I felt like doing was crying….for no reason. I had to read up on the night sweats and the roller-coaster emotions, and found out those are normal things in recovering from a traumatic surgery such as hip replacement. So that helped me relax a bit.

I still get tired easily and I go lay down as soon as I feel like that. I used to have a hard time resting when there was always something that needed to be done, but Joe B is doing so much, and the girls and my family are helping, where I don’t feel any kind of way about resting and getting better and stronger. And since Joe B’s area of expertise is health education, I told him that I was glad I married him….lol. He changes the dressing like a pro, monitors my meds, helps me move my pillows around so I can change positions when I sleep, and makes sure I don’t over due anything.

All in all, I’m making excellent progress. I’m glad I’m a homebody because staying at home doesn’t bother me.

Day 5 Post Hip Replacement Surgery

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on December 18, 2015

Day 5 Post Hip Replacement Surgery:

My Lawrence, KS family, headed up by Jeri Johnson, planned a little lunch for me in my home today and a white elephant gift exchange. She wanted to get me in the holiday spirit. Which is a big deal for Jeri to plan and do, because she is a total Halloween girl….I don’t think she even considers Christmas a real holiday. Hahaha. Jk. Thank you Jeri and Freda and Makyla, Joe B and my mom and dad. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the company.

I got to take a shower today finally. Joe had to wrap up my leg with Saran Wrap Press N Seal and some tape so the dressing wouldn’t get wet. He did such a good job, that bandage was still completely dry when I was done. Washing my hair and fixing it, putting my contacts in, felt so normal and good.

My mom wanted to get Sara out of the house for a bit today…so Sara went with her but she told her grandma she needed to get back to take care of me because her dad was gone taking Shelby to practice. My 9-year old is so responsible already. It’s truly heartwarming how Shelby and her are both so helpful and careful around me and my hip and my incision.

I can get in and out of bed with ease because I have good upper body strength. The only exercise and movement i have difficulty with is moving my surgical leg out to the side, but Joe said it’s because that movement uses the 2 small muscles the surgeon detached to get to my hip joint. I am getting used to laying down and sleeping whenever I start feeling tired. I’m still surprised how quickly I can fall asleep,and how quickly I can get tired even when I am feeling good.

Still taking my pain pills to stay ahead of the pain, but I can stretch out the doses to 6 hours now. Samantha keeps telling me that this is no time for me be all gangsta, that I need to take the pills as scheduled until I’m a little further out from my surgery. Lol. I’m not a fan of the pain pills like I thought I would be….hahahaha. I am looking forward to being done with them as soon as I can be.

The meals keep coming and they are all delicious! Jennifer Donnely brought over baked chicken, rosemary new potatoes and green beans last night, and tonight Andea LeBeau Spottedhorse brought chicken fajitas. Everything tastes so good and is very much appreciated. I am surrounded by awesome people. And everything is so healthy!!!! That’s just icing on the cake!!

Day 4 Post-Hip Replacement Surgery

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on December 17, 2015:

Day 4 Post Hip Replacement Surgery:

I have a good track from our bedroom to the kitchen island and around for me to do my laps with my walker. Joe B has told me to slow down twice as I went speeding down the hallway. I don’t think I’m going very fast, but I do slow down when he tells me to.

I have 21 staples in my hip, and the incision is 14 centimeters long. Joe B can change the dressing like a pro. The home health nurse was impressed with my surgeon, said the healing incision was perfect. No bruising, no redness or swelling, etc.

It feels so good to be home. I crashed out for a nap soon after arriving home yesterday. Joe B is running the household and the Swirlies are so helpful. I think we all slept good last night for the first time since the weekend.

We’ve had some wonderful meals delivered by Leona Azure, A’sha Pruitt, Melissa & Isaiah Stewart, and Shelby’s GS Troop. Fresh food and delicious recipes…everything is very much appreciated.

I am doing my sets of exercises for PT on my own. Made Joe B a little nervous when I told him I was going to practice walking stairs. 2 trips up and down and I had enough. He was pleased that I’m not pushing myself, that for now I am taking things slowly.

Some of my nutty friends (and I have several…), were saying that I would be able to tell the ethnicity of my blood donor by my food cravings after my transfusion. If I craved spicy food, curry, Italian food, etc., Lol.

I must have received blood from a health nut donor….or a vegan. Because all I’ve been craving are fresh veggies and fruits and water. Hahahaha….Joe B just said, “Oh Noooooooo….”

Joe B and Shelby picked out a grabbity-grabber tool for me. It’s awesome. No more calling someone to pick up the end of my phone charger, I can reach a remote control on the TV stand from my bed, and I can pick up one of my pill bottles.

And now Shelby is trying to over on my grabbity-grabber 3000 and demonstrating how she could wrangle snakes with it…the demo is complete with her using one of her stuffed cobras.