My Progress Report

Hi Everyone!

I have not posted for a while because of the effects of my pain medication. I had no idea what meds I was on, but when I found out, I told them to discontinue it. My head is clearer now.

My progress is going well with physical therapy, rest and I do not have to cook my meals!

My most difficult restriction is no weight bearing on my surgery leg. So I use my walker and hop. Hop hop hop....often too much for my old un-hoppy body.

I have fallen in love with my grabber gadget! Except when I forget to place it near me....then I wish I had another grabber so I can reach my grabber! I realize this might only make sense to those on pain killers. 😜

My greatest accomplishment with the grabber is when I grabbed my razor and shaved my surgery leg. Awesome! I plan to buy three more grabbers for my messy granddaughters because the novelty of it might induce them to pick up their stuff up off the floor!

I arrived at this rehab facility on morphine, long lasting 12 hours, and oxycodone every four hours. I was seeing double and hallucinating, seeing people who were not there. That is the condition I was in when I fell trying to use the bathroom.

The leg of my walker caught on the leg of the raised toilet leg and the wheels on my walker began to move and I knew I as going to fall. Perhaps it was the drugs, but the moment I began to fall, it was all slow motion, and I was able to change my body around as I crashed into the bathroom door which luckily opened and my good hip and thigh landed on the walker which was also flying through the air with me.

I laid there half on the cold tiles of the bathroom and the other half of my body on the carpet outside the bathroom door. Someone said that I was not reacting as if I had fallen. All I could think about was How wonderful it was that I did not land on the surgery leg/hip. All I did was tell funny jokes about the incident. I sustained a very large bruise on my good leg that is bigger than my hand. It feels rock hard but slowly it is going away.

I have made this too long. Sorry. I hope to go home in 2 days. I would love to stay longer but a phone call from my granddaughter alerted me their welcome has worn thin with the people they are staying with, so I need to get home quickly.

I have not walked on my new hip yet, but I can tell that this surgery was a success. There was a lot of bone grafting done and even other people's bones were used. They had to install a larger cup and ball, but they did not have to alter the prostheses in my femoral bone. The surgery took 3 hours.

I should have known I had too much sedative because my first conscious words were, "Could I have some more of that?" Next I asked, "How long did it take?"

Then I saw a dog wandering around in the OR with a sign around its neck that said, WILL DONATE BONES FOR MORE SEDATION.

Ha!

I have more experiences to share, so i will post again. THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! You will never know just how much of a positive role all of you have been for me. When I found this website I had given up on life because of a bad THR. You gave me information, shared your stories, shared advice and helped me stop feeling like a victim.

Love,

❤ Dawn, USA

P.S. I am not proof reading this because I am on pain killers........foggy

Glad to hear you are on the mend . 

Mary x 

South Wales uk

Hello dawn I'm so sorry to hear of what happened to you but I'm glad to hear that you ate now finally on the mend and that your operated leg is good. Onwards and upwards. I hope to hear more of your stories, it is interesting.

Hello Dawn,

I am so sorry for all that you had to endure, but am glad you're paddling im the right direction now. Thank you for the update. You tell a hell of a story, made me chuckle

What part of the USA are you in? I'm in Portland Oregon, waiting to have my surgery hopefully in May.

Take good care and keep in touch.

Glenna

Hi Dawn

Good to hear from you and I'm glad although bruised and sore after your fall your operated leg is ok. You made me laugh about using your grabber to hold the razor to shave your legs. I bought a battery shaver with a long handle on Amazon as there was no way I would ask my husband to shave them! Enjoy your last couple of days in rehab facility but please don't do too much once you get home. Have you got anyone to help you?  Are your granddaughters old enough to help out around the house.

Take care

Linnet x

Glad to hear you are getting better.  Are you still in a rehab facility?  Or are you at your friends in Nashville?  At least the weather is getting better now.

Hope you continue to heal. 

Hi Dawn

Oxycodone every 4 hours - no wonder you were spaced out.

The box of 10mg I had says take every 12 hours - thats printed on it by the manufacturer not printed on the label by the pharmasist.

I got addicted to them in 10 days but got off with a bit of time streching to increase the 12 hours between doses.

Pete (Gloucestershire UK)

Hi good to hear your op went well. You do write a good description of your experience with humour thrown in. What an ordeal for you falling over, so lucky your hip stayed in place. I fell three times post op the first 7 weeks. Like you grateful to find my hip still where it should be! (My falls were result of Femoral nerve damage during op) Thankfully 16 months later my muscle are stronger and only get occasional leg wobble that not so severe.

Keep smiling it will help you get through and look forward to your future updates. Like you this sight has also helped me.

Well done Dawn, I am so pleased that this new hip feels so much better and you are at last out of pain.

Sorry you fell but thank goodness it was the opposite side and a large painful bruise.

I will go in for my knee in May and sincerely hope I see a dog with a large done sign at least for the first 24 hours

Sheila

Wow what a nightmare !so glad you are on the mend now -onwards and upwards xx

Glad to hear you are on the mend now with no more dogs with placards donating their bones. How on earth did you manage to shave your legs like that.  My hairs would have started growing again by the time I had finished!

Hi Dawn, great to hear your update. Sounds like you're adapting to your recovery like a pro, which of course you are 😉

Jennifer,UK