DebbyK’s Hip Surgery_Day 1 Post Op

Hi Your Fit Day Friends

This is my Day 1 Post Op experience which I wrote on the 5th of October, Chennai time. I was pretty out of it so some I’m recollecting some from memory. Times may not be exact.

It was a very rough long night.  I didn’t anticipate I would be in so much discomfort. My leg feels like a ton of bricks, falls asleep, and burns. I doze in and out trying not to move or wake up so I don’t feel the pain.

I was pretty much hallucinating throughout the night. Upon checking in on the 3rd I was given an IV drip of fluids since my urea was high from all the travel. I was also given an oxygen mask due to a low saturation of about 80%. I actually found the oxygen mask helpful in helping me sleep, except for the dry mouth.

Sometime right after surgery, not sure when since it’s all really a blur to me, my arms got numb and were tingling. I think it was during a time they were doing a procedure on me like giving me a shot or taking BP. But it was a horrible feeling losing all feeling, on top of the pain I was feeling in my hip. The sisters massaged and needed my arms,  trying to get feeling back. It was scary. Eventually they called the PT and he adjusted me and put pillows under my elbows to raise my arms and that seemed to alleviate the problem. So now I  make sure I have a pillow under each elbow as arm rests.

Getting comfortable was the most difficult. One thing that saved me is that I brought 4 various sizes of memory foam pillows and had strategically placed them the night of the 3rd, before surgery. So for all of you who are pending surgery, travel or not, I highly recommend these pillows.

One is a small pillow which cradles the c curve in my neck. A must for lying back or working upright on the computer.

Another is a small square travel pillow that I put under my butt and relieves the pressure of the bed, since I start getting numb. It’s by Home Medics and I found it on Amazon.

The third is my thin, flat memory foam pillow that I sleep with at home. I got it at Costco and it also comes with a flat polly pillow, which I left at home. I’m so glad I brought memory part one with me.

The other pillow is the horseshoe shaped pillow that goes around your neck. It’s also a Home Medics memory foam pillow that I got on Amazon.  I found it helpful to place it behind my head during the recovery, giving some added neck support and comfort, especially when I’m stuck in bed in one position.

After waking up all through the night, it was morning of day one and really time to get up for physiotherapy. I’m not quite sure if I had eaten breakfast yet. Some things are just to hard to recall.  But I was able to stand for a short moment and put weight on my leg. Then I started to get dizzy and nauseous from the tramidol they gave me. And I started to break into a sweat so I knew it was not a good time to try and walk.

After having breakfast I felt better.  Even though I have no appetite I make sure I’m eating enough protein.

Dr. Bose came in to see at around 1030am. I can’t recall if it was before or after my breakfast and first attempt to walk.  He showed me  pictures of my cartilage and the BHR inside me. He used a size 44, for all of you hippy folks who know what that means. I’ll have a nice shot of the doc and those shots of my bone for you soon, so stay tuned!

So, Dr. Bose said that my OA was worse than on the xray and I had many many bone spurs and I was bone on bone. He was surprised that I was doing as much as I could and thought he’d see me in more of a crippled state based on what my current x-ray showed. Apparently over the past 10 months the OA had progressed. But he said the bones were very strong and I’ll be doing everything I was doing before in no time. Everyone is so encouraging.

He is really amazing. I feel blessed that I was able to come here.

My second attempt in the afternoon at standing went much better and I walked in a circle with the walker. It was very hard to stand straight up, my butt was throbbing and my thigh burning, and it felt like everything was just ripping apart. This is a far cry from what I’m used to doing on a daily basis. But it gives me the will power and motivation to get back to the top of my game.

I brought my flip video and it’s a  hit. As well as my new iphone. One of the sisters video taped my first walk with the walker. She loves being the camera person.

The staff is so attentive. Just the way Vicky and everyone at the www.hipresurfacingsite yahoo group said it would be. And Everything is ‘yes mam’! But I have to be careful when talking about pain because they think I want more pain meds, when I don’t! They are very liberal with their pain meds.

More ice is what I really need for the swelling. I forgot to bring my ice packets and all they have are the old fashion plastic ice bricks that fit into the mini freezer part of the fridge. A bit outdated but I make due.

I will continue to visualize walking at the Fisherman’s Cove Resort, where I will move to on the 10th of October to continue re hab on my own before I set off for one last check up on the 15th and home on the 17th.

I’ll be blogging and uploading videos to You Tube so keep checking back and subscribe to my channel ‘yourfitday’

And thank you everyone for helping me through this. I know I have a long way to go but with all your support I’ll get back to the top of my game and be there for you soon enough with some great workouts to help you get fit, lean and strong.

Have you had similar challenges or experiences? Leave your comments. I’m sure it will help others. I know it will help me…!

Love from India!

Make it Your Fit Day with DebbyK!