Tuesday will be 5 weeks since my surgery. So, I guess it’s time for an update.
The recovery is going pretty well, if perhaps a little slower than after the previous time. My left leg seemed shorter than my right before the surgery, but that was because the left hip socket had eroded more than the right. In the surgery the hip socket was in it’s proper location. This and the way the surgery made my toes point straight forward, means that all of the muscles and other tissues were stretched quite a bit. I think that the long muscles in my thigh may be stretched as much as 3 inches longer. This has resulted in some unforeseen pains.
My left knee has hurt since I came home from the hospital. It is getting better every day now, but I sometimes step wrong and the pain can be sharp enough that I cry out. As you can imagine, this discourages exercise. While I am doing my exercises, I am not working as hard as I did the first time. The pain keeps me up at night unless I take a couple Vicoden before bed. Then the Vicoden gives me strange dreams.
Anyway, I do have more range of motion than I have had in 20 years. When the weather isn’t terrible (which means not this week) I am able to walk over ¼ with the walker. The pain in my right hip is almost completely gone and the pain in the left hip is manageable. Both hips hurt less than before the surgery. Even my knee is feeling better every day. While I am pretty happy with my recovery, the Physical Terrorist disagrees. But that is their job.
So, I expect to be back on my feet in the next couple weeks, and able to handle stairs soon after that. I’ll just live with the knee until it gets better. When it is dry I can walk outside, that is worth getting a little chilly. I think I will try walking at the mall this week. I hope that the old people don’t run me over.
I’ll be back, better than ever, soon.