Two weeks is a long time ....

Firstly apologies for the lack of posts - I have to be honest been otherwise engaged :-)

Well, I have had the hip replacement; a event far less traumatic than I could have possibly has thought ("you have nothing to fear but fear itself") - considering the operation involved (want to try it for yourself? Have a go here ) and the fact that the amputation might well have delayed my return to mobility when compared with "normal" people.

The following is from memory - the days tended to meld somewhat .........

I went into hospital on the Thursday night, after a fraught day of trying to get the appointment confirmed ("Phone back later and we will see if the bed is available") and gathering up bits and pieces for the the stay. To be honest, by early evening my nerves were pretty shot - I was attempting to think of reasons as to why I shouldn't go in - ("it doesn't hurt THAT much") - but I gathered myself up and went up to the unit at about half seven clutching a comprehensive history library.

I went into a two bed side-ward where there was a man in the other bed calmly reading a paper.
I introduced myself and asked how he was. It turned out that he had had the operation only that very morning and was already wide awake.

"Nil By Mouth" duly appeared and I attempted - partially successfully - to get some sleep.

Mercifully I was first on the list on Friday, so a thorough scrub in the shower started the day. The anaesthetist appeared, a South African lady whose hair seemed to be about as multi-coloured as that country's flag, and we discussed the options, which effectively came down to one: a spinal block. One of the fears I had had was of being awake - or at least sentient - during the procedure but I didn't want the long term after-effects of a general but I was reassured that I wouldn't know anything.

The surgeon arrived, and after marking the affected limb with a broad nibbed felt tip, he paused looking at the book ("Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era") I had upside down on the bed. I commented that I felt it was a extremely good book. The surgeon agreed saying that he had bought the same book in the States only two weeks before and that the last place he expected to see it was on the bed of one of his patients!

Not much later at around half eight the trolley arrived and I was wheeled around to the prep room where the anaesthetist and a delightful, thoroughly English anaesthetics nurse awaited (Thanks Rose). For some reason we ended up discussing Oscar Wilde ("To wreck one leg, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to wreck both looks like carelessness") which certainly passed the time.

The next thing I clearly remember is leaving the theatre having literally woken up from the sedative (That was one of the bizarre things - there was none of the gradual coming round that one gets from a general but a literal waking up and I was wondering where 2 hours of my life had gone - the clock showed 11 ) and feeling completely pain free. Admittedly the effects of the block were still there - I had no feeling below my waist - and I was slightly euphoric from the morphine but I was pain free!

Wheeled back to a new ward from a brief sojourn in the recovery room, the only memory of which was listening to some child crying, and parked in the room that was to be my home for the next few days.

I was a four bed side room and I was attached to a Hartmann's I.V. on one side and a pressure cuff on the other, which every 15 minutes inflated.

I felt FINE!

Inevitable I suppose, the block wore off, and some pain kicked but it was far less than I feared - easily controllable by pain killers.

There were four of us in the ward - two men and two ladies (mixed wards are only used post-op)and I struck up a conversation with David, who was on my left, during a fitful night's sleep (watching BBC news at 04:00 was typical) and we both were amazed how easy things had gone. David had had his operation the day before mine and was well on the way to recover.

Later on the Saturday, the physios arrived to get me out of bed. This was something I was dreading . Most OA patients have a leg that can take some (or all if the second leg is not afflicted with the disease ) weight but in my case we weren't sure how things would pan out.

I was able to swing my leg out of the bed, slip my prosthesis on and then I got stuck. Whatever happened the prosthesis slipped off and I had to use the grab above the bed to take some of my weight through my upper body before I was able to stand. The physios turned me round and I was lowered into the chair that was by the bed.

It was then that the problems started. However I tried to put weight onto the prosthesis it slipped off again and again. Weight was put on my operated leg and it bloody well hurt! Eventually we gave up with standing and I was eased back to bed followed by some oramorph.

An hours sleep ensured after which I felt better.

The two ladies left the ward, to be replaced by two men - William and Michael who were due to be operated upon the following day.

At about 3 AM I heard William having exactly the same blues I had had the day before my operation - the same doubts, the same worries about the future , the same concerns about coping afterwards. Later in the day, David and I talked to him, attempting to put his mind at rest since by then virtually all of the pain had faded - leaving only tugging from the staples and a certain amount of muscular twinges from where they were cut - and he went through with it.

The four of us bonded well for the next couple of days - providing support for those moments when we all felt rotten, which did occur (I nearly fainted in the shower for instance) and the support that I received from those wonderful gentlemen was touching and heartwarming.

The rest of the time was really just getting confidence to get out of bed, work out a method for coping with my prosthesis (which actually came far more easily than I could have imagined, the first day not withstanding - the use of my prosthesis following the operation was the one thing that really worried me - but I seem now to have sorted it out).

It is now over a week since the operation and I can now walk with just a stick - I don't want to over-stress things so crutches are still used as a backup - for short distances (I can actually walk for even shorter distances without any support!) and the awful, debilitating, crippling arthritic pain has gone. Its now just time for recovery which is coming along fine .....

There are too many people to thank: The surgeon (KOD), the staff on the ward (all of you - you were brilliant) the physios (you failed - it didn't hurt THAT much!), Michael, William and David plus everyone else who looked after me in hospital .....