Part 2 Recovery from Hip Surgery-Helpful Tools

 If we were going to recommend any pre surgery tips, we'd say to do any exercises they suggest before surgery! You need to develop your arms for one thing. You're going to need strong arms to push yourself up out of your chair and to use a walker!  Eldy had trouble pushing himself up out of his chair using mostly his arms when he first started getting mobile again and he had sore arm muscles when he started using his walker.

If anybody wants to know what kinds of special equipment were needed for hip replacement, here is what worked for us: 

1. A walker with NO wheels. That way it can't slide away from you. For the first few days, you want something that you can pick up and plant firmly on the ground. When first recovering you want to pick it up and put it down, you really don't need wheels. You need total control of where that walker is going. It worked well even with the carpet on the living room floor and going across the lawn to the car. We got this one on Amazon, it is sturdy, and of good quality. It has adjustable legs as you want your arms to be slightly bent at the elbow when using it so it adjusts for different height users.

2. A toilet seat riser..our apartment toilet is a low 17" to the ground so we had to get the seat up higher to avoid bending at the hip to get down and up. (You have to avoid bending at the hip more than 90 degrees or you might pop the new ball joint out!) There are various models with and without legs. We got the Bemis 4.5" riser, again on Amazon for 76.99. It was also a very easy install and will fit round or elongated toilets. It requires more cleaning more frequently because it sits higher up and is not quite the same shape as the bowel, even though the hardware is designed for either type of bowl-elongated or round.  In hindsight, (see what Sparky did there? haha...) maybe one that was not quite as high would have sufficed. It's REALLY high up so that Sparky's feet can't quite touch the floor! (We only have one bathroom.) (Ok, Sparky, I think you've covered it, says a slightly embarrassed Eldo).

3. A cane....Lots of choices out there...take your pick.

4.  A sock assister--this helps Eldy pull on his socks and it works like a charm. First, Sparky thought this was a pretty silly invention, but after seeing the ease with which Eldy can get his own socks on, it's been a lifesaver and a great invention.

5. A long handled grabber--for odds and ends and dropped pills on the floor, haha--this is a great one and of good quality, not flimsy at all, and can pick up the tiniest of things-like pills. Wish we had had that one in the RV for when things fell behind the TV slot in the living room! Which they did, several times. One time Sparky used a yardstick taped with a bunch of doubled up duct tape to make a sticky trap and managed to recover the fallen items, but this would have been much easier!

6. A shower seat--our apartment tub is deep and has too much depth to get a leg over if you are hip impaired. We had little trouble with this particular seat as the old apartment tub has sloped sides and no matter how we adjusted the legs to the max on all the adjustments possible, the chair still sat at a very slight angle in the tub. You sit down sideways on the chair, then swing your legs over into the tub. Even though it was slightly off kilter, it still worked. Sparky had to take the nice shower curtain off and then cut a section of the plastic liner out for the shower seat to fit so the curtain could still keep the water inside. Eldy was not to shower for four days and to keep the bandage patch away from a direct water hit. One of the most useful tips Sparky found was how to cut a cheap shower curtain plastic liner to fit around the shower chair transfer bench. (That was AFTER she cut out a complete box for the chair to fit through and we had a flood on the bathroom floor! laughs Eldo). Don't do what Sparky did. Here is a link to how it's done: how to cut a shower curtain

7. A hand held shower head. We replaced the apartment shower head with a nice new one so Eldy can more easily shower with the hand held part. It fastens with a strong magnet to the main head. The apartment doesn't care if we change out the shower head, but we have to replace it back to the old clogged up one when we move. (!) The new one simply screwed onto the existing screw threads so that was an easy peasy install! This one is a Kohler from Lowe's and was 99.00. They had lots of choices!

toileting tool

8. A butt wiper, and that's all we will say about that...Angles are everything in hip replacement surgery. You might need one, you might 

not. Inventors sure think of just about everything these days! Sparky shouldn't have ended with that, butt--oh, well.... (Eldy is groaning in the background). In case you are wondering....(NO, they aren't! fusses E.) you stuff a little tissue in the slotted head, then wrap it around a time or two. 

Update: Eldy didn't like this one, so he bought a different one that look just like tongs with long handles.

We hope that this is helpful for anyone who has this type of surgery on their minds. Eldy did his usual research, watching TONS of videos on Youtube on how the procedure was actually done, and watching videos of people documenting their recoveries, so he was a well prepared patient. Now that he is on the mend....(After two weeks he is using a cane and is off all pain meds and doing well in physical therapy).

                                    Until next time.....

What's Up, or Down Eldo? Part 1

Warning: This post is an old fart's post separate from travel experiences, but memorable to us all the same...Here is the week of Eldy's hip replacement surgery and recovery.....It's a LONG post so Sparky has split it into two parts.

Day 1- Tuesday, March 19...Eldy, 75, had his hip replacement done today, by Dr. Craig W. Erekson, a well known orthopedic surgeon (in Elkhart, IN) for this type of surgery. Eldy did really well. The actual procedure was done in less than 1.5 hours, as far as Sparky could tell. The doctor came out and let Sparky know after Eldy was in recovery that the procedure had gone well, and that he was doing well. She asked once the doctor was into the operation, if the hip was as bad as Eldy was thinking, and he answered yes, that the hip was basically "gone"...yikes! No wonder Eldy had been having a lot of trouble walking for quite some time! Eldy had been dealing with pain of all kinds, from a pinched nerve in his back, to neuropathy in his feet, not knowing what was to blame other than thinking old age. Not until he started having X-rays of this and that did the result come out that the hip needed replacing. The procedure was done as a one day, out patient surgery at the new Beacon Health System and Orthopedic & Sports and Medicine Center on Beacon Parkway in Mishawaka, IN. 

It's a beautiful, new center.  It has four operating rooms, one procedure room and twenty pre and post-operative recovery bays, each one separated from another, with room for expansion for more. Beautifully decorated, peaceful colors inside, with a very relaxing atmosphere. We loved it that you have your own room for pre and post surgery procedures and talking with the doctors and nurses. Orthopedic surgeries are shifting away from hospital settings to outpatient ambulatory settings. That makes sense keeping those type of injuries and surgeries away from the myriad of other health problems and germs contained in a hospital! 

Eldy had a posterior lateral full hip replacement. No robotics. The doctor has done MANY of these procedures and he prefers this method over others. There are three possible methods: 1.Anterior--an incision from the front, which is a less invasive with a smaller incision--3-4 inches, with less muscle damage and shorter healing time, 2.) Posterior-an incision from the back going towards the front, the most comonly used one in this country today. The incision can be up to 12 inches, and the chances of dislocation of the hip joint are a little higher with this method than with the anterior.  3. lateral--incision from the side. Each has its own pros and cons and the choice also might depend on how much arthritis is present. As the nurse told Eldy, HOW the procedure is done is not as important as WHO is doing it. Dr. Erekson is one of the best is what everyone says in this area. But there are new methods and materials for the hip replacement coming on the market all the time, so lots of research and questions need to be asked if this is something in your near future.

The staff was exceptional in taking care of Eldy. He was pretty goofy coming out of anesthesia, flirting with the nurses (I did NOT! says he.) He did, and it was cute to see a different side of him. They had him up and walking about 40 minutes after he was coming more alert. He was HUNGRY and thought a pizza for supper sounded good. NOT! said the nurse, unless you want to puke your guts out. So he settled for grilled cheese sandwich once we got home. Here is Eldy, making his way up to the apartment door same day surgery....Pretty amazing you can expect to walk on the SAME day with a major hip replacement!

He settled into his recliner and promptly fell asleep for awhile. The first independent trip to the bathroom was a learning experience, with negotiating the walker, (loose drawstring pajama or flannel pants with elastic cuffs best idea for now), and feeling lightheaded so taking his time. The nurse said to back up to a chair or the toilet till you feel the back of your legs against it, then stretch out your surgical leg slightly before sitting down, which were very helpful tips. You try to keep your back straighter as you sit or stand up to avoid bending that hip more than 90 degrees. That is hard for Eldy, as he has been walking quite bent over from pain for some time now. Time to retrain those back muscles and hip muscles! 

Day 2--Wednesday, March 20...Last night, Eldy slept in his lazy boy recliner. He used a pee bottle (purchased at Meijer) for nocturnal needs so he wouldn't have to negotiate getting up at night. He slept pretty well, off and on, and Sparky checked on him a couple of times during the night. He was snoring peacefully each time for awhile, then he would wake up, but not because of pain, he said. Partly because a bout of hiccups started. Today, Eldy is supposed to practice his breathing and building his lung capacity daily to help prevent pneumonia. It's a little breathing tube where you try to inhale and keep the little floater ball in the happy face range for a few seconds to strengthen your lungs. He does really great with that except when the hiccups attack. Eldy is in very little pain except for when pressure is put on the foot while walking and is not having to rely on big medication much so far. But he's taking his meds when he is supposed to so the pain is being managed very well. He is icing his hip off and on all day long for about a half hour each time. He bought a special strap on ice pack but that is too much bother. We don't even strap it on but just place it where it needs to be. Regular gel ice packs from the physical therapy place or surgical center work great and hold the cool for some time or you can also make some of your own with ice, rubbing alcohol and zip lock bags if you wanted to. We like the gel pack that was given us for easy freezing and no dripping anywhere.  He still has pain medication in his body from surgery (it's supposed to last 48-72 hours) so we are sure that is helping. He is supposed to take little short walks around the apartment when he is up to it. That will gradually increase in the next day or so. He says his biggest complaint is his very dry throat from having the anesthesia tube for surgery and his hiccups. They come and go. They improve when he is standing. They are so annoying, of course and we tried all the usual ways to get them to go away. None of them worked. 

Day 3--Thursday...March 21...Eldy still has the hiccups. Sparky did a little research. Post operative hiccups are not uncommon and usually subside within a day to a few days. Amazingly, he can sleep while hiccuping, but then they wake him up if they continue. He is exhausted and sleeping a LOT during the day, but we don't know if that's the hiccups or the strong pain meds, probably a little bit of both. He is drinking lots of water so getting lots of practice walking with the walker to the bathroom! When he first started hiccuping, it sounded like a barking dog. Sparky thought the apartment neighbors had gotten a dog. Oh, no! Nah, it was Eldy hiccuping. The medical staff is just kind of shrugging their shoulders and saying they don't really have a relief nor do they know exactly what is causing the hiccups so he should just ride it out. Eldy is not having much pain at all. He has stayed on his pain medication on schedule, and sets an alarm to take it at the correct times, even waking himself up in the middle of the night. He is doing so well with pain management, that he started weaning himself off the strong opioid (Oxycodone) almost right away, stretching out the time frame more and more. Instead of every 4-6 hours, he now waits about 7 hours to take one.

Day 4--Friday, March 22....The hiccups continued through last night. They seem to subside when he gets up and walks around a bit. Sparky called the doctor and the doctor said...."No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" (He didn't say that, that's an old kiddy rhyme Sparky just could not resist throwing in there.) Actually, the doctor's office staff said there really wasn't anything they could do about that and that they probably would subside. Sparky was surprised at that. There are medications out there that can be administered but the medical team seems to be on the really conservative side and is saying for now he just has to deal with it. Sparky is concerned about the length of time that this has been going on (three full days) and Eldy's recovery and rest being affected by persistent hiccups. There are probably some crazy hiccup remedies we haven't tried, so if anybody wants to chime in, we are ears....Eldy says his mother swore by sipping water through a WHITE handkerchief held over a glass and it had to be white. We don't have a white handkerchief, but we are about ready to try anything! We will try to be patient for a couple more days....

Eldy had his first physical therapy appointment today. He walked a bit with his walker, trying to remember to "roll" his right foot (operation side) as in normal walking instead of just plopping it straight up and down. He got some exercises to strengthen his muscles around his knees and some leg lifts. The therapist measured the angles of flexibility in his knees and how much he is able to straighten them out and bend them. 75% on the operation side, and 91% on the "good" hip side. Amazingly, the hiccups stayed away but came back when he got back home and back in his rocker. Some articles say that the hiccups are related to the interference with the gastrointestinal system and that the anesthesia irritates some nerves related to that and the diaphragm. So far we are just guessing and trying different things to stop them, but to no avail.

Day 5- Saturday, March 23...The hiccups are continuing. Eldy is not able to transition to a bed yet, so we can't test out the theory of the recliner vs. the bed as far as improving the hiccups. He is able to recline way back in the recliner so he is almost all the way stretched out and somehow manages to get some sleep while hiccuping, but it's a very fitful sleep of about an hour or two at the most. We're not sure that the bed is going to help much. He has to be completely vertical for the hiccups to go away. As the day went on, the hiccups seemed to slow down and actually stopped for about three hours, enough to give Eldy time to get some restful sleep. Yay! Here's hoping that continues to improve....One of the hardest things about surgery recovery time is regaining full use of your bathroom habits and that is really lagging behind right now. It's a problem for just about everybody. Hope we get that resolved really soon! 

Day 6-Sunday, March 24th...The hiccups are gone! Woo-hoo! We came up with another theory that may explain the hiccups. As Eldy started his recovery, he was requesting nice and thick strawberry milkshakes from a local ice cream shop. He was drinking them through a large straw but sucking up a lot of air trying to get the shake up through the straw. He had them three days straight. We think sucking the air through the straw might have aggravated his diaphragm. Who knows?

Day 7-Monday, March 25th..Eldy's lower legs are swelling...too much sitting in the chair maybe, even though he is up walking to the bathroom frequently. The doctor told him to elevate his feet higher than his heart and to ice above the knee on the one that is swollen the most. In the next few hours, the swelling improved. We will keep an eye on that. He says he was using his cane a lot today. So here we go! No holding this guy back! He is using his cane now for walking instead of the walker most of the time in the apartment. But no outside walking yet. We are going to try that tomorrow...

So here we are, at the end of seven days. Eldy is really moving around well. So going to say by for now, and if you are contemplating hip replacement surgery, check out part 2 of the blog for all the paraphernalia we bought in preparedness for the surgery. Thanks for following along! 

                                           

                                        Sparky and Eldo

SOLD!! The Pinnacle Has New Owners!

It didn't take as long as we thought it would. Our 40 foot Pinnacle was sold last week to a couple that is interested in traveling more and in more style and room than what they had.

We were so grateful to Allegiant RV Repair Service in Middlebury, IN, who not only repaired our RV after the accident, but did such an amazing job that it looked brand new when finished! The owner, Tony, is a wonderful and ethical person to work with. RV repairs are top notch. Service is top notch. If you EVER need repairs in the Elkhart area, we HIGHLY recommend Allegiant RV Repairs and Sales. On a whim, we asked him if they ever do consignments, and they do! We cleaned it and got it ready for sale, they posted it online in a number of places, put it out front on their lot which gets a lot of local transporter traffic, handled all inquiries and paperwork and  at the first break of warm weather in late February, we had a buyer. Not only did the first people who looked at it decided to buy it, but the same day, another couple was ready to sign a check to purchase it if the first sale didn't go through. We were blessed in that we bought it just before the pandemic hit in 2000, and sold it in the middle of current pricing where RV prices are just now starting to come down. We came out a little bit ahead and we are thrilled and relieved.

When we bought it in 2020

It's bittersweet to not have the rig any more, but it was time for us. It's going to be even more bittersweet going back through our blogs and photos as we reminisce. What a time we had! What amazing experiences and beautiful scenery we got to see! Sparky is really glad she was diligent about recording all our travels and adventures. It was quite the life!

Eldy is going to be 76, Sparky is going to be 74 this summer. We hope to travel again some day in a much smaller rig, but we shall see. Eldy is going to have hip surgery in a couple of weeks, Sparky is subbing a lot for now....

Sparky is busy crafting on non-subbing days, which aren't very many! Here are some things she has made in the past month or so....She's really into making zippered pouches, totes and rope bowls right now. Next month, it will probably be something else. If you ever want to see how A.D.D and random Sparky is in her craft endeavors, check out her Etsy shop here: JeanBeanGifts

Our next "adventure" is Eldy's hip replacement surgery on March 19th. If anybody has any advice of any kind about recuperating, please let us know! And thank you in advance....

Bye for now.....   Sparky and Eldo