Recovery Continues

Again TMI for my readers, but it is good for us to remember this weeks-long process.

 Last night was the first night in a week that I did not call Jim to the guest bedroom to get me a cool pack for my intense hip pain.  It has been happening anytime from 3 am to 6 am.  I eventually go back to sleep after using the cool pack and taking Tylenol but it was quite painful.  I hope that this means whatever was happening is healed and will not happen night after night.

I am trying to walk in the apartment without the walker or a cane—and getting back to normalcy as Shilpa, my home PT, suggested.  But I am very uneasy after a year of using the cane and several weeks with the walker.  Shilpa pointed out that I had walked 78 years without assistance and it was time to go back to that.  She even had me walking outside—going down our 17 steps normally too—not one at a time.  Shilpa is tough!   But I can see after these five sessions with her that she had a plan of each time gradually getting me to stop using my aids and moving on my own.  I do wonder however if my skipping exercises yesterday was the reason I had no pain last night.  I will give myself today too—Sunday—as a day of rest and see if it is another pain free night

Then back to Jennifer, my PT at the outpatient facility,  on Monday.  It will be interesting to see what she has me do.  I wonder if I will be able to do the bicycle that I absolutely could not do pre-surgery.  

I just looked over the long list of medication printouts that were in the Meds to Beds bag we were sent home with from the hospital.  There are so many possible side effects but I have had none.  We are supposed to get rid of the OxyContin in a safe way—I am glad I avoided using it.  They charged Jim $38 for the whole bag of drugs—reasonable enough and very convenient to avoid having to make trips to CVS right away.  

Yesterday Jim dropped me off at the entrance to the library, parked the car in the parking deck, and joined me to help me find several books on the shelves along with the requested book they had for me.  He had previously said that if that was enough of an outing, he would bring me home and get groceries on his own.  It was enough!  I was glad to go home and rest.  It is a process of re-entering the world from the confines of a hospital room and then our lovely apartment.  

May 19. I am home after my outpatient physical therapy visit with Jennifer.  I am pleased that I was able to do the bicycle for the five minutes set on the timer so that is progress.  I had trouble getting my left foot even on the pedal pre-surgery.  However, Jennifer said my gait is much better with the walker and that once you develop a limp, it is hard to get rid of it.  So.. back to the walker.  And no assigned exercises because my early morning pain was non-existent when I gave myself Saturday and Sunday off from the exercises and longer walks.  She said I needed to give my body more time to heal.  Fine with me if I can avoid that early morning pain and any opioids. Right now I am very tired from the effort of getting to physical therapy and doing what she suggested.  

We got a statement from the cardiologist’s yesterday.  We owed $40 co-pay but the entire bill was $7884!  Between insurance coverage and adjustments that was all we owed.  I hope the surgeon’s bill, the hospital bill, and the anaesthesia  bills are similar.

May 20. Jim reminded me that Dr. Culp said recovery from surgery takes three months.  I am not even one month into that yet.  Most of the pills are for 33 days so I have 13 days to go there and will be very glad to not be taking so many each day and recording them.  I did not wake up with early morning pain—for the three days now so that is very good. Even though I used the bike and did some exercises at PT yesterday.   I can be patient about using the walker.  Eventually I will walk without aid and if not, so be it!