Update: It has been a while. Life has not been easy and there were a lot of post-op issues to deal with, while also coping with my left hip mirroring my right in terms of pain and immobility. I had thought once the TRHR was done, I would become more mobile. Sadly not.
I had the TRHR on 25/08/22, was up and out of bed as soon as I woke up after the op, walking down the ward corridor with a walker and up and down stairs with the aid of a crutch within an hour. Those first few steps hurt like a [disallowed expletive], but once I got going it was bearable. The x-ray afterwards was something else. I was taken down to x-ray in a wheelchair. Once in the x-ray suite, I was expected to get out of the chair, climb on the rock hard table and lie down on my right side, onto the fresh wound that had only just been stitched so they could x-ray me. Whoever thought that was a good idea needs to be smashed ‘a la Loki’ by the Hulk. There is absolutely no need to have that done lying down, it’s pure torture.! No instructions on how to get in/out of a car, so I figured that out ‘on the job’ when we left the hospital the same afternoon. That first night at home was a nightmare.! Everything was raised for me, which was great but they don’t prepare you for your body refusing to do a single thing you want it to. Don’t even think about trying to manoeuvre once you are in bed, which you will need a lot of help with. First you’ll need help to sit on the bed, then you’ll need support to shuffle back as gently as possible until you’re in a position to try to lie down, which you will also need help with. Once prone on the bed you will not be able to move. Your body will be in a state of shock that lasts for weeks so it will do nothing to help you find comfort. Pillow between the knees, so fricking uncomfortable. Pillow under the head, makes you feel like your neck is extended in a weird position, giving you a triple chin and gives you a headache. Every movement you do try makes you see stars and lying prone on your back hurts your hips, back, shoulders, neck etc, etc. Those first few days are awkward and deeply frustrating, for me because I am not good at being an invalid and not doing things for myself. I never sleep on my back and have never used a pillow anywhere but under my head, even when pregnant all those years ago. I didn’t sleep more than a couple of hours at night, mostly through exhaustion because of how deeply uncomfortable I was. I had muscle spasms and pins and needles down my right leg all night and then ‘dancing legs’ in my left because I was so tired. They don’t tell you this can happen. This is not for the faint-hearted. That first week I had three physio sessions of 15 minutes. Just a slow walk with the walker down to the front door and back and a few gentle leg stretches and foot wiggles. A week after my first surgery, my hip dislocated twice in the same afternoon while I was sitting down, the first time at home while eating lunch, the second in the Emergency room sat on the bed waiting to go home. I would rather have my fingernails pulled out than go through that again. My hip made a dull popping sound before pain exploded in my knee and my whole leg twisted to the right. I couldn’t put any pressure on it and once it had twisted, it would not go back straight again. My partner called the emergency doctor, who gave me a shot of morphine, which did nothing so she called for an ambulance. Over an hour later she gave me another shot of morphine, again it did nothing. Another half hour later the ambulance finally arrived and they shot me up with ketamine. I admit that I spent those two hours crying, howling and whimpering in agony. In the hospital they reset my hip, x-rayed it and took me back to the ER. Vitals checked, doctor signed me off and just as I was about to get down off the ER bed, it dislocated again. Thankfully they didn’t leave me too long but I still howled and yelled for a good twenty minutes in the ER before they knocked me out again and admitted me. I spent three days lying in a hospital bed with my legs hip width apart, having been told ‘do not move’ and had my second TRHR op on day four. Yeah, not fun. I have big bones apparently (thanks Dad) so the cup was not big enough and the ball was too big. So they re-did the cup. Two more days in hospital to make sure I could poop again before being set free to go home. In early September the nights are still hot, the mosquitoes still persistent and I could not move by myself. How I HATE summer. My right leg was now 4mm longer than my left, which was supposed to even out, but didn’t. The back pain was excruciating, especially at night.! After two weeks I just couldn’t bear it anymore and forced myself over onto my right side, enduring the pain of putting my weight on my hip, just for a few minutes. Yes, it hurt but it was a relief to take the pressure off my back. I might not have to deal with sciatica any more but chronic back pain is a thing. As is knee pain. Physio helps but it doesn’t cure.
Almost three years on and my mobility has not improved. My back hurts, my knee hurts, my scar itches like crazy especially in the heat, I can’t feel very much below the scar which is on the side of my leg and I still get muscle spasms in the early morning hours. I limp after 30 yards and stagger like a drunk after 100 because my legs are uneven and the pain is ridiculous. On top of all that, my left hip has been misbehaving for the past two years and my orthopaedic surgeon has refused to do anything about it because I’m too young, too heavy or just female, I forget which BS excuse is his current go to, BUT last month I saw a new surgeon. I guess the old one is sick of seeing my name on his patient list so palmed me off onto someone else, who looked over my newest x-ray, took into account my lack of mobility, poor quality of life and intense frustration at not being able to do something as simple as walk, while being fobbed off over and over again with rubbish excuses and agreed to do the surgery promising to take into account my uneven leg length. Hallelujah.!! I go through the usual pre-op checks in two weeks time and will be given a date by mail on the 28th of this month. We’ve agreed that the scar will be on the front of my hip this time to try to alleviate the muscle issues I had last time.