Post Recovery Moments, Day 0 The real story.

Monday December 17th

They wheeled me out of surgery in my bed. The bed could be admired as a four poster bed with very elaborate cross bars and with circus accessories. I was on my back and between my legs was a large pink "adductor" splint. Translation, a huge hunk of pink foam that keeps my legs apart lest I awake and feel the need to pop out of bed and begin to resume my life as a Rockett. I was also attached to a machine that pumped air around my calves. It tightened every few minutes. While sleeping had no need to worry that blood was pooling and forming evil blood clots. I was also bundled up in lovely white stockings. (Latex free)

You are poked and prodded a bit and then allowed to sleep. They want to make sure you are still alive and well and breathing and the usual.

Then the indoctrination about the "RULE OF 90" begins. No putting your hip in a 90 degree angle for 90 days. 90 days. 90 days of no sitting in normal chairs, on couches, cars buses, beaches. No bending down to pick up anything from the floor. No........ NO BENDING 90 DEGREES.........................

M-E choose to stay on Monday. I came in and out trying to connect with the out side world. I was just amazed at how little pain I was in. No pain. No source of pain.

Around 7:00 p.m. an ittie bitty perky person came in. She bounced and smiled and exuded enthusiasm.

"How are you Doing?"
Lets see, they took me to a cold and green tiled room full of power tools, disjointed my hip ripped apart the joint and all the good things that held it together, cut the top of the femur off and jammed a flag pole down into the bone marrow. Then they reamed out the old socket and stuck a new one back. Put it all together, sewed me up and sent me on my merry way and have imposed the RULE OF 90. I seem to be doing fine.

How is your pain? I have no pain. I just punch this button when it hurts and then I drift off like a junkie in an opium den. No problem, let me try and focus on what your are asking. It doesn't seem too be a problem......

Can you look at the smilie face chart and let me know which face most explains your level of pain? Oh goody a chart, it is rainbow, blue to green to sunny yellow to orange to angry very unhappy red. Oh, I am not to wonder what color to paint my room, I am to look at the happy to unhappy faces and figure out which one best represents me at this moment in time, oh, I think I will visit my little button friend.... Okay, concentrate. Okay, which one is me...... I think that is me......

Okay, now do you know you can help relieve that with just a little push of a button? Oh trust me, I have it down pat. See if I press the button and hear the beep, I go to sleepy land and cannot answer your questions. I am well acquainted, oh, I didn't realize that big brother was gathering the data and deciding what my "acceptable Pain Management method" should be.



Now, let's go for a walk. Now remember your your PTHP's (Posterior Total Hip Precautions) Let me read them to you..... Hit the button, oh, yes, there is the sleepy medicine........



So first off with the covers. Reveal of the firsts layer. Second layer two puffy wraps that keep inflating that are attached to what looks like an astronauts back pack. They are unpeeled, held together with Velcro. Then the Adductor splint is removed from between my legs. I see my calves encased in white tubes they are the nightmare stockings from hell. TEDS.



So... let's get up. Okay, let's..... Grabbing button. Okay.



Little Ms. Perky very carefully and gently put her strong cheerful hands under "involved" leg and I moved my other leg. One worked and the other did not. Little by little, I was able to sit on the side of the bed. NO PAIN IN THE HIP........ NONE, IT IS GONE....

The walker and I were introduced and before I had a chance to process the activity, I was standing. NO PAIN......... I then was able to take a step and then another and before I knew it, I had walked 25 feet. Less then 12 hours after my leg was pulled apart and put back together I was walking.

Back to bed, another bit of hit from my friend and then we were off and running(figuratively) on the old exercises.

Not bad for a day of major surgery. Day 0