Three Week Anniversary

It was three weeks ago today that I got my hip replaced. The good news:

• Walking. The crutches and the walker are pretty much out of the picture. I get around everywhere on a cane, and even occasionally walk from room to room in my house without a cane or any other support.


• Muscle strength. Physical therapy is going well, I seem to be making good progress.


• No apparent unwelcome side effects. No signs of dislocation or infection, the two main drawbacks in this type of surgery.


• Pretty independent at this point. There is very little that I need help with right now, besides driving (see below).

A few things that I'm still waiting for:

• Ability to Drive. This is the biggest drawback of hip replacement surgery. I really want to be able to drive my car. I tried to drive around a few of my back streets over the weekend, but my hip started to hurt so I quit. I'll try again this coming weekend.


• Greater Energy Level. I'd like more energy. After doing almost nothing physical all day, I still seem to need a mid-afternoon nap, which is probably a combination of the exhaustion of moving myself around on a bad leg, combined with the aftereffects of the anesthesia and painkillers.


• No Limping. I'd like to walk without limping. My physical therapist is working with me on the fact that I tend to "drop my hip" (i.e., "limp") when I walk with or without the cane.

Still, good progress for the first three weeks. And it sure beats the pre-surgery pains that were clearly getting progressively worse.