Character Development

After 30 yrs of marriage, 2 children, 1 grandchild and 25 days of providing postop care for a Norwegian hip replacement, let's just say I've become quite a character.  

#hipsurgery #postop #brokenhipster #norwegian # lovemyhusband #laughter

The Boss is Primed

The Boss is primed and ready to return to work Monday. He got an A+ from his doctor today, so get ready world, countdown to re-entry has now offocially begun!

(Doctor did caution him that he will likely find himself tiring sooner than he would like. Maybe there needs to be warning bells installed on the stairs at the office so that on his first day back he doesnt climb those 11 flights!)

Walk in the Park - Overcast, But Beautiful

Walk in the Park - even an overcast day can be beautiful. PostOp follow up with surgeon this afternoon. Will share the doctor's assessment of Tim's progress later today. #brokenhipster #gettingstronger #fitness #postop #franklin

Walk in the Park - Three Wks PostOp

The weather has been nothing short of incredible. 

As we walked today, I thought about how fortunate we have been to have this warm winter weather. As many of you know, we live in a rather hilly neighborhood, with a painfully steep driveway. One of my concerns about Tim's convelescence was whether I would be able to keep our driveway passable if we had any bad winter weather.  

I couldn't be more thankful. Not only have road conditions not been an issue, we have been able to have a daily Walk in the Park instead of joining senior citizens in walking laps at the mall.

This guy was perched on the barn the entire time we were walking.

Inspiring. Motivating. Recovering.

One of the best things about Tim's prescribed physical therapy is that it directly involves me. Because he isn't allowed to drive yet and still has to pace his workouts - walk, don't run - I can join him on his journey.

I admire him. His strength and stamina through his recovery has been most impressive. Throughout his life, he has consistently invested himself in both cardio exercise and weight training. Seriously, and at times obsessively, invested.  

To keep the prescribed walks interesting, he decided on day 1 we would visit local parks, something we had not taken time to do since we moved to the Nashville area. He has a list of parks and one by one, we are checking them off the list. While I have vetoed unpaved and steep trails (for the time being),  Franklin and Brentwood have miles and miles of safe, paved trails. Several of Franklin's trails are located on historic sites so not only do we walk, but we also learn about our town's history. Double benefit.

For now, he is "officially" limited to 2 miles at a time. Some days are better for him than others. Yesterday was the first day he walked without the cane and also attempted it without any pain medication.  Yesterday wasn't the best day. Today was better.

He is improving. And because I'm along for the ride, I'm improving too. 

  

Picking up the Pace

Every day, Tim chooses a different park for us to go to for his walks. His physical therapist told him that he shouldn't walk more than two miles a day. Hard for him to limit himself when it comes to exercise - but that's nothing new.

I enjoy stopping during our walks for a photo or two and up until today, I've had no problem catching up with him when I stop and he doesn't.  Until today. Today, I had to work  to catch him. He has definitely picked up the pace. (and he definitely pays the price for over exertion) 

It's a Walk in the Park - Literally

Every day, Tim is choosing a different park for us to walk. Biggest problem with exploring our local parks has been limiting ourselves to the recommended distance. Yesterday, his physical therapist confirmed that 5 miles in one day is too much. (She has officially set a 2 mile-a-day limit. We'll see how long that lasts ;) 

PT will be working with him on range of motion.  It seems that the muscles that were moved aside during surgery are bruised and have some swelling. That is normal and will resolve over time.

Best news of all is that he is totally pleased with the results of the surgery. 

His Gain is No Pain.

Thankful for each of you, your thoughts and prayers offered on his behalf.  We are blessed, truly blessed, to have you in our lives.   #brokenhipster #surgery #fitness #strength

13 Days Post Op (and Counting)

Tim began PT this morning. Strength is not an issue - range of motion is.  Range of motion and a strong man's tendency to overdo his physical activity in an attempt to hasten recovery.  In this case, sometimes too many steps forward yield several steps back.

No Cane, No Gain

It's a cane. It's a pointer. It is finding a wide variety of uses. If only it could be retrofitted w/ some kind of wild west weaponry.

Cane (Candy?)

I’ve had a hard time finding a cane Tim is comfortable using. Do you suppose he will like this one? 😉

Reality Check

For my patient: Reality sets in. Anesthesia has a residual effect. It ends. Surgery creates wounds. Pain meds are helpful. Rest is good. Healing takes time. {many thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers, for your texts and phone calls. It is so helpful knowing you have our backs. Last night was the first time Tim had been able to read your comments, first time he saw all your “likes”. You made him smile - a lot}

No Place Like Home

Home. The {not always so} patient is home. After a short nap, he fixed himself a green smoothie and is now doing laps. Yes. He truly is.

Get out of "Jail"

Going home today! With a cane. :D

Titanium

Here’s what a Titanium Hip looks like…….in case you were curious.

Sunrise of a New "Week"

Sunrise. The “week using a walker” ended @ 8am. He has walked the halls through the night, been up and down a set of stairs, and has otherwise impressed everyone here with his progress. The only glitch in his personal recovery plan (challenge) is that there is still too much drainage from the wound to be able to go home. But it’s still early in the day, hoping drainage situation improves.

Seriously?? Pushups???

And now he wants to know how soon he can do push ups and squats.

Competetive Breathing

Who knew a breathing thingy would become a competition? “I want to get it to 4000”, he said. (life’s a competition)

Get Walking

Tim is out of recovery and is now in his room. About the first thing he said was, “Let’s get up, get walking, and get home.” (how am I gonna keep this good man down?!?!???)

Muscle Man

Just spoke with doctor. All went well. Old hip out - new titanium hip in. Doctor said the only difficulty was that Tim is so muscular, it was slow going trying to get past the muscle without injury. Once he’s out of recovery, Tim’s going to love that part of the story.

Game Ready

So even though the doctor said the procedure would take 1.5 hours, the nurse said 200 minutes. Apparently doctors “forget” to include time with the anesthesiologist, etc. The 200 minutes are scheduled to start at 7:30am. Let the games begin!