Hip Replacement: A New Adventure

[bearmum]

On Tuesday January 29th, the nice surgeons at Kaiser Oakland are going to build me a lovely new right hip joint. I can't say I am wildly enthusiastic about having more surgery (I thought I was done! Really!), but I am definitely enthusiastic at the prospect of being able to sit, stand up and walk again without hurting. Nine years ago I had

Comments

[lwood]

Kaiser Oakland? Great! dpaxson and I can visit you in the hospital--that's ridiculously easy from my house.

You can call for folks to come hang out with you and give you rides. However, what might be of more use to you is to see about going on short-term disability for this one, including paratransit.

I know a couple knee replacment people, but the only hip replacement I can think of off the top of my head is my father-in-law. Recuperation time is going to vary greatly from person to person, but one of the knee replacements I know of greatly overdid her exercises, which impressed the techs (yay) but made her convalescence longer (boo) and has kept her from making a full recovery, possibly permanently (YONKS!).

Both knee replacements I followed (hilarypoet and Dana the Short) had, after a few days of hospital monitoring and convalescence, to spend a few days in one of those "managed care facilities"--a patient warehouse less intense than a hospital, but more intense than a nursing home. This means there are a lot of people in the other beds who are just marking time--depressing, but livable. It does make sure the physical therapy folks are Right There, which is good.

I don't know how hip replacements compare to knee replacements, but this is a (rambly, pre-caffeinated) list of things to keep in mind.

-- Lorrie

[lwood]

Right! Two hip replacements, forgot about Kitty.

-- Lorrie

[bearmum]

Thank you! I will be going straight home, but the Physical Therapist will come to my house twice a week for the first 2-3 weeks, which beats hell out of being 'warehoused'. And I would love to have visitors while in the hospital -- hospitals are dreary places where you can be treated, but where you get no rest whatsoever. Visitors make it much more bearable.