The last three months have been a physical and emotional rollercoaster for me. I had been on a waiting list for hip replacement surgery for what seemed like forever. But it was actually 20 months, a normal wait time here in Nova Scotia. Is that acceptable? Not when you are suffering pain everyday with everything you do. But that is the fact 20 to 24 months.
The good news...I finally got the phone call saying I was scheduled for surgery. The very first feeling was relief and then trepidation. What would be the outcome. Of course friends and business associates had all shared the horror stories of people that had chosen the operation only to have it fail miserably. But I knew that I could not continue as I was. In pain and slowly deteriorating, my physical activities decreasing and my attitude feeling the pain as well.
The operation way Sept 29th, a success, I was home on Oct 2nd. The next few weeks were a strain on my limited patience. I wanted to be out and about and doing and my body was demanding time to heal. Six weeks passed and I went to my appointment for the post op checkup. I was so proud of myself, getting around with only the use of a cane and feeling no pain.
I was very surprised to learn that the muscles on the outsides of my legs needed physiotherapy because they were so weak they were not supporting my hips properly.
Physiotherapy started five days later. I was very fortunate to get into our local hospital that quickly, often there are waiting periods of several weeks. And I have been getting up at 5:30 am to shower, dress and drive the 40 minutes to a 7:00 am appointment every Tuesday for the past four weeks. Am I improving? Yes! Am I improving at the rate I should be? Who knows, not me.
I will be visiting my surgeon again on Wed Dec 22nd and his assessment of my progress will be interesting...I am eager to hear what he has to say.
Oh, I am on another list. For a knee replacement. That will probably be in a little less than two years from now.
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