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!
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 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
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