5 Weeks Post-op

Last post I told a little fib, or rather that I intentionally left a couple of details out… Guess who has had their check-up and flown home to Abu Dhabi already…?

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

That’s right! My check-up was brought forward a week and I hopped on the next available flight after getting the green light. I planned to surprise a few friends in Abu Dhabi, hence the big secret, and I love it when a plan comes together…

…

While I was staying in Reading I received my appointment letter and I literally squealed when I realised it was Friday 17th April and not the 24th. I was Skyping Andrew at the time and we both screamed with excitement at the thought of seeing each other a week earlier than anticipated. It was immediately after this that we sneakily hatched our plan, and my focus shifted from keeping busy, to preparing to go home. I now had only eleven days so arrangements that I had made for what I thought was going to be my last week in the UK had to be brought forward where possible, and I was trying to squeeze in seeing as many family and friends one last time.

It may sound rather rushed, but obviously my main reason for coming home was to see Andrew, and secondly, I knew I could continue my hydrotherapy in our pool daily and therefore, (hopefully) I’d progress quicker. With my check-up now at five-and-a-half weeks post-op, I knew there was still a chance that it was too early to fly and so I made sure everything was in place, should I receive good news. According to Google, blood thinners and a flight upgrade decrease the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in post-op hip patients. Therefore, I logically saved a few of my heparin-filled needles and my British Airways Cabin Manager mother-in-law looked into flight loads and available upgrades for me. Now I just needed to ensure my hip was in a fit state and prove my progress to Bankesy.

After my week off hydro and having experienced new severe pain intermittently since Saturday, I was looking forward to getting back in the pool on Monday. I practiced my usual exercises with ease and even managed to walk multiple lengths of the pool completely unassisted. Throughout the session I had typical minor pains and aches until right at the end, when this sharp ‘nervy’ pain engulfed my thigh and it was verging on unbearable. It didn’t last too long, by which point it was time to be cranked out of the pool.

I was experiencing this same intolerable pain one or two times a day and I couldn’t quite work out the pattern of what could be causing it. Occasionally it would occur when walking, standing, or sitting so not only was it unavoidable but each time left me questioning whether there was any serious internal damage. I tried to reassure myself that it was to be expected, soft tissue pain, but I couldn’t recall being in this much pain during the previous recovery. Pain is easily forgotten, so I scoured through previous blog posts and came to the same conclusion; this was definitely a whole new type of pain and something could be wrong. Every time I regained positivity and shrugged it off as recovery pains, it would hit me again. I desperately hoped I would be getting on that aeroplane on Saturday, but I started to think it may not be possible.

…

In preparation for good news, I spent Thursday packing my belongings and finalising arrangements for every eventuality on Friday. After rush hour, Eli and I ventured up to London Bridge via train and headed straight for the X-ray department. After an hour, it was onto the Orthopaedics waiting area for Bankesy.

As you know, I snap a picture of every X-ray taken for personal tracking purposes. From memory I would estimate that of the fifteen X-rays I’ve had of my hips, only three radiographers have objected to pictures as it’s against hospital policy. However, thanks to a combination of emotional blackmail, puppy dog eyes and mentioning the blog, they cave in ;).

Whilst sitting in the waiting room, I begin to analyse my X-ray and I’m really worried by what I can see. It looks like a thin piece of floating vertical bone just inside the pelvis, level with the screws, and immediately I diagnose my recent pains as a hip fracture. “Bye bye flight home, hello more surgery” I feared.

Another hour passes and finally my name is called and I’m lead into Bankesy’s office. After a short while there’s a knock on the door and in walks Jonathon. No Bankesy today, but at least it was one of his minions that I knew. I first met Jonathon on surgery day, and he came by the ward every day so I wasn’t too disappointed to see him.

First things first, I drew his attention to the ‘floaty’ bone on the X-ray and eagerly awaited his response. He confirmed that it was a floaty bone fragment and that it has somehow gotten dislodged inside my pelvis. “Nothing to worry about as it’ll disintegrate in due course,” he said confidently. Okay, good to know I thought, now let’s discuss the pain. Jonathon asked me a number of questions, and examined my hip’s range of movement and strength and in his professional opinion; “the pain is most likely soft tissue (muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons) repairing itself.” He then asked if I was seeing a physiotherapist, to which I hesitatingly told him no and that I was rehabbing myself. Jonathon replied that it was obviously working and to continue as he’d never seen someone progress this quickly post-PAO surgery and that my range of movement was incredible. Obviously this was music to my ears, as well as an ego boost, and next on the agenda was my scar. As you know I’m petrified of another wound infection and I figured the best way to ensure this was to keep it covered by reapplying dressings. I was down to my final waterproof dressing and thought I could replenish stock at my appointment; however Jonathon politely declined to give me any. He commented that the wound had completely healed and very nicely too, and that dressings were unnecessary. I begged for a few dressings, just to be on the safe side as I required them for hydro and to protect the wound from waistbands on clothes. He explained that the wound had completely healed so how could an infection arise. I agreed it seemed improbable, although I mentioned that my scar looked identical to this last time and I still caught an infection at five weeks post-op. In the end, puppy dog eyes had no bearing on the outcome and I had no option but to trust Jonathon.

Finally, all that remained me to ask was whether I could fly. Obviously you know the end result, but Jonathon was a little sceptical of the flight duration. It wasn’t until I revealed that I’d kept some blood-thinning injections that he thought it was tremendously clever of me and that he couldn’t see a reason why I shouldn’t fly. YIPPEE!

Within the hour: my flight was booked; Eli and I were on the train back to Reigate; and my dad was also en route to Reigate, to collect me and my clobber for a final night in Reading before heading to Heathrow early doors. I could not wipe the smile off my face and couldn’t believe I would see Andy in approximately 30-hours’ time.

Eli and Kevin did a fabulous job of looking after/putting up with me for so many weeks and I’ll always be grateful. Having been in the UK for two months it had felt like home again and as much as I was looking forward to seeing Andy, I was sad to be leaving everyone behind again.

…

It wouldn’t be me without a little bit of drama and a potential set-back before the flight and so last minute anxiety and general flapping ensued…

Between the hours of midday and 18:30 I no longer had a dressing covering the wound, but for the entire time I could feel these superficial sharp twinges. I ignored them to begin with and thought it was probably nothing. Then, after a few hours and whilst in the car from Reigate to Reading, I began checking the wound every time it hurt. I couldn’t see anything but did start to worry. Once home, I continued to check every few minutes and I noticed a small red patch near the bottom of the scar which appeared to have a large lump beneath. Despite family and friends visiting to say goodbye, my mum quickly arranged an emergency Doctor’s appointment in an attempt to secure some antibiotics and put my mind at ease.

The Doc prescribed me antibiotics and luckily I think we caught it early enough. Phew!

The airport staff were great in Heathrow and Abu Dhabi as they wheeled me to and from the aircraft.

The BA crew were equally as great during the flight and I made sure to stretch my legs with regular aisle walks, as well as stretch out my legs in my comfy bed :).

Champers all the way!

I didn’t quite manage to walk into Andrew’s arms in Abu Dhabi airport as predicted. More like I flooded the place with happy tears as I was wheeled into his arms in front of hordes of people. Very emosh times.

On Sunday morning, Andy helped me into our pool and I had a great hydro session.

Then made me breakfast, prepared my lunch, and got me set up on the sofa before going off to work.

Sunday evening was part one of the surprise celebrations as Andy arranged for the girls to come over for dinner. Each time the doorbell rang; I hid behind the arm of our sofa and popped up like meerkat. I literally got rugby tackled and almost strangled with hugs.

It didn’t take long to feel like home again

Surprise two is on Tuesday evening and other plans for the week include hydro every morning, organising our honeymoon album, continuing with House of Cards, 'katching' up with the Kardashians, seeing friends, and of course, spending quality time with my gorgeous man.

4 Weeks Post-Op

Easter Monday we had a girl’s day out. My mum, sister and niece collected me from Reigate and we enjoyed a leisurely drive back through Windsor en route to Reading, stopping for some Italian grub and an Appletiser.

This week I was having a break from hydrotherapy as I had a very special occasion to get back to Reading for… my little brother’s 18th Birthday. My mum had organised a surprise dinner with all the family so I was thankful that luck or fate brought me to the UK so I could share this special day. He was thoroughly surprised when he walked into the restaurant and saw his brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, nan and granddad and we had a lovely evening reminiscing, catching up and attempting food challenges, not to mention admiring this amazing rugby cake:

Tuesday was the first day that I’ve been left to fend for myself as everyone was at work. On request, my dad left two pints of water in the lounge for me and I was confident I could eat breakfast and lunch whilst standing in the kitchen. The day was a success, and for the rest of the week, my sister took the role of chief carer in her stride and was amazing. This past week I’ve enjoyed spending quality time with my gorgeous niece, Phoebe, seeing my beautiful nephews, Jacob and Joseph, and finally getting around to our wedding album.

Getting married and moving abroad occurred in quick succession, so we always planned for me to complete our album when I had my next hip op. We wanted a traditional, long-lasting, aesthetic album filled with large prints of our special day. We needed to showcase the talents of our award-winning wedding photographer and I think our finished album does her work justice. Andrew and I stringently narrowed 700 stunning photos down to our favourite 175 over Skype, and I spent my entire Sunday carefully arranging and sticking them into our beautiful leather album.

Here's a sneak peak for you

Also this week I’ve spent a couple of evenings in the pub with friends, and on Saturday I reconvened with Kevin and Eli for a day in Winchester at my brother-in-law’s with some of the Stass family. David and Rachel cooked and served a scrumptious meal, which was followed by a long walk around Winchester... Cue the wheelchair.

Without Andrew to wheel me around, David kindly nominated himself and thankfully he was a suitable replacement. It requires a lot of trust to be pushed around as you’re entirely in their hands as they navigate around obstacles and people. The one thing that I still dread is kerbs. When there is no dropped kerb and you have no choice but to be wheeled backwards off the kerb, with all your trust in the person behind you, it’s petrifying. Granted, it gets easier and/or you get used to it the more times you experience it, but I always prepare myself for the worst.

My six week check-up is fast approaching and with that in mind I decided to increase the weight-bearing further. My pain has been low and more than manageable, and although I’ve progressed my exercises on land and in the pool, I needed to test my hip to see where I’m at. All being well at the check-up, Banksey will request that I attempt to walk without the crutches, or at least reduce to one. With that in mind, I wanted to assess my hip on one crutch…

It was Saturday and therefore almost five weeks to the day post-up. I held one crutch in my right hand and attempted to take a step with my left leg. It felt incredibly weak but no surge of intense pain, nor did my hip give way. I took another step onto my right foot and there were no immediate “after-pains” in my operated hip. After a little wait, I took another step on my left and it still felt bearable. I repeated this a couple more times as after all this was for experimental purposes. After the final step on my left side I did experience a rush of “after-pain” and knew it was time to stop.

That evening, I could feel I’d worked my hip and so I gently massaged my thigh and outer hip region. It almost felt more aggravated afterwards and the following morning, however I think and hope it’s just a sign of necessary soft tissue progress. This PAO recovery definitely feels like an easier ride compared to the previous one so maybe it was about time I upped the ante. Given the new pains though, I will take it easy for the next few days; reverting to over-the-counter painkillers before upping my weight-bearing again. I’m really looking forward to getting back into the hydro pool this week and I’m interested to see if I can make more progress with walking in water.

Fingers crossed I haven’t done any damage :)

3 Weeks Post-Op

Without sounding like I’m showing off, this past week has flown by due to the amount of visitors and outings I’ve had. On Sunday, Kevin and Eli had their other daughter-in-law, Rachel, to stay, so we roped her into our dinner, board game, and House of Cards regime. Monday I enjoyed afternoon tea with Andrew’s mum. Wednesday I was shipped off to bother Derek and Tina for the afternoon. Thursday morning I spent with the lovely Lucy and her handsome baby boy. Friday I ventured over to Andy’s friends’ house to see their gorgeous baby girl. I’d forgotten it was a bank holiday and most people were off work, so I accidentally found myself in the pub with all of Andrew’s school friends. Saturday I went for dinner with my beautiful bridesmaids and my brother from another mother, Bobbie. Then finally, Easter Sunday was fabulous with all of Eli’s family over for some yummy food, Easter egg hunts, football in the park, and charades. And yes, yes I did play football on my crutches and I even scored a penalty; a good one at that. We took the wheelchair to the park just in case, but it turned out everyone had a go in it except me.

This week marked the half-way point between the op and the six week check-up. At six weeks I’ll have another X-ray to determine the success of the op (i.e. has my bone grown enough and is my pelvis reconnected). If Banksey is satisfied, then I have to work towards walking unaided again. I’m anticipating an initial need to remain on one crutch, until I have the ability to walk without limping. With all this in mind, and being self-appointed chief physio, I figured that if at six weeks I can fully weight-bear, then at three weeks I could attempt 50% weight-bearing. As the hydrotherapy pool is waist high and therefore the equivalent of 50% WB, I thought I’d give it a go this week and monitor the pain.

During Monday afternoon’s session, I did my usual exercises and stretches, and for my grand finale I attempted to walk along the length of the pool with my right arm holding the edge. I took my first step and there was no pain. Then a second step:  still no pain.

I'm walking in waterrrr, woaahhh

After four short steps on each leg I’d reached the end of the pool, and I’d done so without any severe pain in the joint. What a success! I was focusing on walking properly with good posture and fully extending my hip, and those four steps felt great.

I turned around and held the edge with my left hand and attempted to walk… I couldn’t. It was a little painful and my leg buckled under the weight. I could not walk without my right arm supporting me. It’s the same as when I eventually go down to one crutch. I will need to hold it in my right hand so I don’t over exert my left hip. It’s just a weird feeling when I can walk around the inside of the pool when I hold the railing with my right hand, yet I can’t take a single step when I hold it with my left. I’m not complaining; it’s just the oddest feeling. I’m incredibly happy with my hydro progress this week though and I’ll be patient and keep practicing my water walking during every remaining session.

With success in the hydro department, I’ve also had success with the medication, or lack of. I think the last time I took some morphine was Sunday morning so you know what that means? I’ve enjoyed a couple of glasses of vino this week :). Morphine and alcohol is a no go, so at least I could join in with the Easter festivities.

This week I also upped the resistance on the stationary bike and although I could feel the difference in my hip (like it was working harder), it wasn’t painful so that’s more progress.

My scar looks incredible. Having looked back through the blog after my right PAO surgery, it appears my wound was neat and thin until the week 4 mark and then I got the infection which ballooned the scar. For this reason, I'm going to wear the waterproof dressings for as long as possible and hopefully history won't repeat itself.

I’m still waiting to hear from the hospital as to when my check-up is, but I’m anticipating the last Friday in April so I’ll continue with my daily rehab and progressing it weekly whilst working towards that date.

After craving coffee cake for two weeks, Eli whipped this beauty up

2 Weeks Post-Op

When I woke on Saturday morning, the realisation of Andy’s absence struck me. Six weeks is a long time and that will only feel quick if I keep busy. Once again there were many visitors throughout the week to keep me occupied, and then there were Eli’s visitors, who inadvertently kept me occupied. Time flies whilst you’re talking and I can talk for England, so I’ll never say no to visitors.

Andy’s step-brother arrived for the weekend and we all enjoyed a pub lunch. I’d lost my appetite again which was most upsetting having ventured out of the house for the first time in while. This was due to the morphine or the multiple glasses of Appletiser that I guzzled. Either way it was nice to get some fresh air.

Andrew’s father, Kevin, had very kindly offered to drive us to Reading on Sunday to see my family. My aunt and uncle were detouring via my dad’s house on their back up North to Durham so the house filled as my family assembled for a chinwag and everyone relished playing pass-the-parcel with my nephew Baby Joseph. It was a lovely morning and after everyone had departed, we even squeezed in a quick catch-up with our neighbours and family friends, Bill and Michele. Everyone has experienced one of those “small World” moments, and had it not bizarrely come to light during conversation a few years prior, Kevin, and my ‘second-mother’, Michele, would have been suspiciously familiar of each other at our wedding. Would you believe that Kevin, his brothers and Michele grew up together playing in the street of their shared residential close. Naturally when this was discovered, we arranged a reunion between the two families and my own, and we enjoyed a delightful day of reminiscing and story sharing.

It was also my mum’s Birthday on Sunday, so the whistle-stop tour continued to Reading Rugby Club to watch my younger brother’s match and see the Birthday girl herself. It was a lovely sunny Spring day so we all congregated around the picnic benches adjacent to the pitch. We armed ourselves with a few pints, bags of chips, hotdogs, and of course an Appletiser for me. I’d taken morphine to combat the impending pain brought on from the day’s events, but the more medication I take, the more ill I usually feel. The half-eaten bag of fries proved it as I reluctantly had to offer them around. Obviously it was still a great day, but now my aim for the week was to reduce the meds to pursue a consistent appetite and state of wellness.

...

Andy’s uncle and aunt, Derek and Tina, kept me company on Monday after hydrotherapy. They kindly brought some yummy chocolate biscuits which should have been rationed to last two weeks, but I could only just make them stretch until Friday. Tina had remembered that after the last PAO I’d enjoyed drawing and sketching to pass some time, so she very kindly bought me some pastel supplies to produce some masterpieces.

I spent Tuesday drawing these beautiful flowers from friends in Abu Dhabi

Eli’s mum kept me company on Wednesday afternoon and then in the evening, Kevin Eli and I continued to watch the series House of Cards. We’ve fallen into a routine each evening of dinner, a board game, House of Cards, and a Horlicks. I say ‘fallen into’ but maybe the creature of habit that I am has forced them. Either way, I look forward to the evenings :)

The Stass family love a game of Rummikub!

That evening was my first cold turkey attempt regarding the modified-release morphine. I had successfully reduced my day meds and could bear the pain so I figured I needed to test the night time routine... It was my roughest night to date post-op and I was wide awake from between 3:00am and 5:00am. I could not get comfortable on my back, so I endeavoured to try on my side. There was no initial discomfort, but gradually I could feel a stretching pain and deep ache in the joint. As it wasn’t horrendously uncomfortable, and just nice not to be lying on my back, I stuck it out. Eventually though, I caved in and resorted to knocking back some morphine, just so I could get some shuteye. This crappy night’s sleep could well have psychologically manifested by not taking my usual meds, hence why I was determined to persevere the following evening. I know that I would sleep better taking the medication, but I can’t do that forever and need to wean myself off sooner than later.

Possibly due to the dodgy evening, and the limited meds, Thursday was one of my most painful days. I decided to take some fast-relief morphine, especially with hydro in the afternoon. The first 20-minutes in the pool and I was struggling pain-wise with every attempted exercise. After varying it up, and persevering, the pain disappeared completely and I accomplished heaps regarding strength and range of movement.

Thursday evening was a better night’s kip, but I did wake for a couple of ten minute stints. I drifted off easily enough and experienced less pain when lying on my side in comparison to the previous night. Since then I’ve been fine too and have slept right through. Two disrupted nights but eventually, mission accomplished.

Friday evening I had a long Skype with Andrew, who was fulfilling his babysitting duties for friends in Abu. Little Sheridan was wiped out following an evening of cuddles and Peppa Pig, so we were able to have a long catch-up.  Then Jenny arrived for the night with sushi supplies and Gone Girl for us to watch. Despite the House of Cards episodes in the evening, and the ITV playings of TOWIE that I watch on my phone in bed, and the remaining five episodes of the Pretty Little Liars series, I haven’t actually watched much TV since the op. So in my typical addictive ways, I treated myself to the whole two series of Sherlock between Thursday and Saturday. I’m overdosing on Netflix and I don’t care.

Back to the hip, seeing as that is what this blog is about. Most days the pain is bearable and I’m only taking medication when it’s not. There are different types of pain to contend with too: Wound pain; Inner thigh pain, which I feel when I attempt to sit down or stand up and believe to be tendon pain; Deep joint achey pain; Deep joint sharp pain; and a nervous sharp pain along my thigh when the nerves are knitting together.

Hydrotherapy is amazing and I’m progressing every session. In Thursday’s session I even discovered that I can achieve minimal weight-bearing ‘walking’ if I go onto my knees in the pool. The water comes up to my neck and it’s as close to walking as I can get for now which is good for motor skill development.

My appetite is back and I’m scoffing my face with chocolate and cake (it’s Easter after all…).

My dressing changes occur every five days and the last time I checked, my wound was looking ace:

From this

To this

In terms of progress, I would say I’m currently ahead of schedule and this week I did a few miles on the stationary bike: even managing 40-minutes on Saturday; which was sort of by accident as I’d got carried away whilst on the phone.

Lastly, and I’m not sure if other PAO patients would agree, but once you’re over the first couple of weeks and everything else is generally getting better or easier, the one thing that irritates me most, and it will last the longest in the recovery is the numbness of the thigh. I can’t really explain why but it’s the most uncomfortable feeling when the entire front of your thigh is numb. When objects brush passed it and you can see it yet not feel it touching your skin; or sitting with something on your lap and you can feel it on one leg and not the other; or when you’re shaving or moisturising the area. It’s so unpleasant. To touch it feels disgustingly weird as you can’t feel the superficial layers of skin, but I’d still feel a prod or a stab deep into the thigh. It took two years for my right thigh to improve to where it is now, which is slight numbness on the top, outer side of my thigh, about the size of a rounded beer mat. It’s obviously a slow process for the nerves to reunite and I should see a steady improvement on a monthly basis. There’s no guarantee the feeling will come back but I’m remaining optimistic that my left will recover as good as my right.

I thought I'd leave you with a comparison of my screwed up hips and my floaty pubis ;)