Week 1 Post Surgery

First full week out of hospital was a learning curve for Andy, my Dad and I. On Tuesday my Dad drove us back to our flat in Kingston to see how we’d all cope under one small roof and after a few days we were pleasantly surprised that it was working nicely. My Dad has been an absolute star throughout the day, Monday to Friday, and Andrew has been nothing less of amazing on the weekend shift. Without these two, I really don’t know how I would cope because although I can wash and dress myself now, I can’t easily move around holding things whilst on crutches. Certain tasks such as getting a drink or preparing food I would struggle to get from the kitchen to the dining room table to consume. Not only that, but standing on my left leg for too long becomes difficult because I still have hip dysplasia in the left hip so pain begins to set in if I over-use it. I’m generally not in too much pain and the recovery is way better (and easier) than I imagined prior to surgery, so I actually feel that my Dad and Andy have a harder job right now. I can’t appreciate either of them any more than I do right now and will be forever grateful.

Despite not feeling too much pain, my body obviously is feeling it because my biggest problem since discharge is sleeping. I’ve slept through the night once since last Friday and it’s definitely starting to catch up with me. For anyone who is lying in bed wide awake and not able to fall asleep it’s a frustrating problem. I’ve always been a great sleeper so it has been a bit of a hurdle this week. Another issue that cropped up is something I’ve mildly suffered with previously... Sciatica. Sciatica is caused when the sciatic nerve in your back is pinched and can cause horrendous pains in your buttocks and legs. Due to the way I sit, ‘walk’, and move at the moment, my nerve is pinched more than ever and I’m experiencing a horrendous pain in the arse! Literally! It is definitely worse than the hip pain and what’s frustrating is when I ‘walk’ how the physios want me to (getting real hip extension through my right leg), it intensifies the pain. Bit of a catch 22 at times.

Back to Tuesday: We drove back to Kingston because I had my first hydrotherapy session booked. The physios at the hospital completed the referral form that I took in, and faxed it off to Wimbledon Parkside so I could commence water treatment. When arranging the appointment, the receptionist told me that the hydro-physio would assess my wound and dressing to ensure I was able to enter the pool (for obvious hygiene reasons). I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case the session didn’t happen, so when I arrived and got the all clear, I was ecstatic to ‘jump’ in. I used a zimmer to the side of the pool, and used the rails to descend into the water. There were two levels to the pool: the first - water just above waist height; the second – water around shoulder height. My physio is called Deborah, and she was/is as amazing as Caroline and Kate. She got me into the deeper end and proceeded to tell me that I was 20% weight bearing (80% lifted by the water), and therefore I could walk/stand on my right leg and my hip would be fine. So the first exercise was simply walking. Not ‘walking’ but actually walking! It felt amazing to put equal pressure through my right and left leg and to know it wasn’t damaging my hip joint.

I had the biggest smile on my face throughout the session due to not only being allowed in the pool, but because I could do all of my land-based exercises in the water with ease. Exercises included glute squeezes, hip extensions, hip flexion, hamstring curls, and one that I couldn’t do on land; side-stepping (abduction and adduction). Towards the end of my half an hour session, Debroah tied a float around my head, I lied back (with a ‘noodle’ under my hips, facing the ceiling) and had to do scissor kicks, a cycling exercise with my legs, and then more abduction and adduction movements. It was definitely the best 30 minutes of my life (since the penguin enclosure at the London Zoo).

To top Tuesday off, Andy and I went straight from hydrotherapy to see my hip twin at Westfield!! Natalia and her Husband Tom met us for some drinks and nibbles. They had been there the day before and discovered you could rent (for free) a mobility scooter during your visit. So there we were, 8 days after first meeting each other, having scooter races around the shopping mall and waiting for the boys to catch up.

It was great to see her before she flew back to Gibraltar on Saturday, and to exchange stories on how we were coping away from hospital. It was a lovely evening and I even came home with a penguin J - Natalia had bought me the soft-toy because she saw it in a shop and it reminded her of me. Thank you again!

 

Andrew returned to work Wednesday which was sad, but it was still a lovely day as Andrew’s Step-Mum, Eli, came to visit and brought me some Lunaria annua, also known as an ‘honesty’ plant. I love to peel the outer leaves off as it’s very therapeutic and makes a beautiful decoration. I also visited my surgery to have the dressing changed and I took this lovely pic…

Thursday was also a great day as my Brother, Sister-in-Law, Sophie, and my little Nephew Jacob came to visit! It was great to see them again after Jakey’s christening and I had my second hydro session late afternoon.

I should mention that my Dad now regards himself as a culinary connoisseur, and is cooking a different meal every evening from the ‘Hairy Dieters’ cook book. So every evening, the three of us have something to look forward to and we haven’t had a bad meal yet. It keeps my Dad busy too with an average preparation and cook time of 2-3 hours. Haha, good work Papa Smurf!

No visitors Friday, which coincided with the first day of a little boredom. Hint hint people ;) So it was just me, the sofa, and a special man… good old Jermey Kyle! I knew it would happen at some point and I gave in after just one week post discharge. I’m glad to report it was a one-off though and I’ve made sure that I’m busy so a relapse doesn't occur!

Saturday morning, I managed a proper shower all by myself! We had a little fold-up stool which Andy put in our shower cubicle and I managed the rest. (I’d had sponge baths up until this point, except for after hydro where they had disabled facilities for me to shower). The pair of us ventured into town to do some Christmas shopping for the afternoon, and Andrew surprised me with a “I’m proud of you” present. He really is adorable and treated me to a lovely new watch that I’d asked Santa for. *Happiest girl in the World*

Sunday was a chilled out day and Andrew’s Mum, Sue, took us out for lunch. Week one complete and minor the Jeremy Kyle hiccup, it was a success and I didn’t go insane. My goal for week two is to refrain from using the TV remote and start my arts and crafts activities. Learning to knit, drawing and painting is on my to do list.

I can report that sticking this into my tummy every morning is still a challenge! You'll be able to draw a 'dot to dot' soon with all the little bruises.