This is a guest post series on Must Hike Must Eat. To learn more and submit your first time story, read You Never Forget Your First Time. Warning: this post shares a post surgery incision photo.
Website: Pamela Jessen
Two Sentence Bio About You: Pamela Jessen lives in Langford, BC, just outside of Victoria. She is happily married to her amazing husband Ray and they are proud parents of 2 grown kids and three wonderful grandsons. She was formerly employed as an Administrative Specialist and is also a Certified Event Planner. With her career behind her and now being on Long Term Disability, she is a blogger who writes about Chronic Pain, Chronic Fatigue and Invisible Illness.
My First Hip Surgery
The Beginning
In Feb 2017, I became the proud owner of a brand new hip. This has been needed since 2010, because of arthritis and because of something called Femoral Acetabular Impingement. The link takes you to some great information about why I’m having this surgery done – one of the other things I experience besides pain is the constant noise of my hip snapping, popping, clicking, etc. when I walk or move. You wouldn’t think it would be a big deal, but when you have to listen to it 24/7 for years, trust me…it’s a BIG DEAL!.
Pre-Op
I was up at 4am on Feb. 7th, so I could have my second shower with my super scrubbing brush and get all the last minute stuff done before we left for the hospital. We arrived at the Royal Jubilee Hospital at approximately 5:30am – half an hour earlier than our scheduled time. There’s a Tim Horton’s coffee shop right beside Admitting so Ray grabbed a coffee, and then we sat in front of Admitting until they opened. We chatted quietly, and then suddenly, we were being met by the greeting committee of one – Georgie the Cat.
Now, Georgie is a handsome boy who lives across the street from the Royal Jubilee Hospital. His frustrated parents have given up on trying to stop him from coming over here – he’s an indoor/outdoor cat and when he’s outdoors, he treks over here to visit, supervise, observe and greet. He’s polite and friendly, but very busy and he doesn’t always have time to spend with you – there’s much to be done for this busy boy. Once the metal security gate around the Admitting Desk is open, he trots in behind there to the offices where he’s greeted and loved up and then gets on with his day.
Ray and I were so surprised to see him, especially thinking the Hospital would take issue with it, but Georgie seems to have proven himself to be quite the character, and most people who are greeted by him seem to calm down, feel less stress and anxiety and be more talkative, instead of pulling into their shells because of fear. So…it’s a good relationship for everyone!
Alright…so after getting all the paperwork done, Ray and I headed to the 3rd Floor to Day Surgery, where all surgical patients start out. It’s only after your surgery that you’re separated after recovery – either back to Day Surgery if you’re going home that day, or to your Floor if you’re staying as an In-Patient. As one of the first people booked for surgery that morning, it was fairly quiet when we got to 3rd and the nurses were just opening the doors.
I was directed to a change room with a bag for my clothes and given in return two gowns (one to wear open at the back, one to use as a housecoat) a pair of booties and a hat. Ray took my stuff and then it was time to say goodbye. He had to leave for a meeting involving a volunteer program he was involved in at the hospital regarding prostate examinations, and I would be going through the lengthy check-in process with my nurse Amanda. We had a quick hug and kiss, he took my glasses as well as my clothes (I WISH there was a way to keep the glasses!!!) and away we both went.
Amanda got me tucked into bed, brought me one of those wonderful warm blankets and then we went through my health history. I asked her who would be starting the IV and she said probably her, so I told her about my crappy veins. I suggested we might want to put some heat on my arm now to try and plump them up and she agreed, so we got that started, then continued with the questions. We talked about previous surgeries, outcomes, all my various health conditions, medications, all the various tests I’ve had done, my Diabetes and blood testing, plus my Insulin usage…you name it, we discussed it. Then she went and grabbed the IV kit and we got going on that.
I’ll give her tons of credit…she listened to me when I described my veins and what they would probably do – how they would act and react and what she could and couldn’t do if she didn’t get a stick the first time. And because she listened to me, she got that big bore needle in my arm the very first time, with only a small amount of having to probe around for the vein. She said after, she’s learned to listen to people because we know our bodies. We know what will happen and we’re right, so as a nurse, why should she pretend to know more than us? She was an excellent nurse…just the right amount of professionalism and personality!!
Once all this was done, there was nothing to do except rest, until it was time to be moved over to the Pre-op area. Dr. Burnett came in to say hi, and to initial the hip, making sure it was the correct side that we were operating on, and then before I knew it, I was being moved over to the Pre-Op Holding Area. I met with the Anesthesiologist there, who confirmed my choice of Spinal Anesthesia along with IV Sedation, and he explained to me how that would work. Once I was in the operating room and on the table, he would give me a sedative through the IV and then a needle would be placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the spinal cord, numbing me completely from the bottom of my ribs down. I wouldn’t even know it was done.
We chatted about a couple of other things and then he told me they would be ready for me in about 10 minutes. And sure enough…in about 10 minutes, they came to move me into the Operating room. I was introduced to everyone there, they slid me from my bed to the table and started doing lots of things around me. I asked if I could say a quick prayer as they kept busy and then just prayed for God to be with everyone in the room, guiding them to do their best work and preventing any problems from coming up. I also asked the Lord to be with all of the medical people and all the other patients having surgery that day as well, as it was a very busy surgical day. Once I was done, the Anesthesiologist let me know he was going to give me the sedative. I thanked everyone and told them how much I appreciated their hard work, and then off to sleep I went.
Post-Op
The next thing I remember is “waking up” partway through the surgery and saying hello to the Anesthesiologist. He smiled at me, asked how I was doing and then gave me more sedative and off to sleep I drifted. I couldn’t feel a thing and I desperately wanted to stay awake, but no – it was back to the Land of Nod for me. When I came to again, I was in the recovery room feeling no pain.
It’s the strangest feeling to have no feeling in your legs. You see yourself touching them, but there is no sensation and it just doesn’t compute in the brain. I was fascinated by this and kept poking at my thighs to try and “wake them up” but it took many hours before the feeling actually returned completely, and I was already in my private room when it finally did.
Once I was settled in my room, I asked the nurse if there was any chance of finding some food. I was starving, having not eaten in over 24 hours. She was worried about me becoming ill from eating, but managed to find me a half of a roast beef sandwich and some cheese and crackers and boy did they ever taste good!! Soon after I drifted off to a night of restless sleep. I wasn’t in much pain and willingly agreed to all pain medication offered, in order to stay on top of the pain. I take opioid medication daily as it is, so the nurses were great about working with my current medication schedule.
After a night of basically no sleep, I “woke up” to experience my first attempt to get out of bed. Wowzers was that ever a challenge!!! I don’t have a ton of strength in my arms, but in order to get in and out of bed, you need to use them for balance, and strength and pushing, etc. The nurses were all fantastic at helping if I wanted it, but I’m also so stubborn, I want to do everything myself. So, using the instructions of the nurse, I was able to sit on the edge of the bed and “dangle”. That’s what they call it – dangling – and it’s important to do that first, to make sure you’re not dizzy and aren’t going to collapse on the floor when you stand for the first time.
After I assured them I was okay, they helped me put my Crocs on – easy footwear to slip on and off – and then using my walker, I stood slowly for the first time. I won’t say it was painful, but it felt really weird – maybe because the motion was smoother, since everything fits together properly now. Most of the pain was in the upper thigh and groin area, not the hip, so that was a bit strange. At any rate…I was standing…and all this effort so I could use the portable commode beside my bed, instead of a bedpan!!! Yes, that’s what this was all about – peeing!
Of course, once you get out of bed, you have to get back into it again. And that too has challenges…because of the 90º restriction, you can’t just bend and twist as you might normally. In this case, you have to back up to the bed, and then using your arms and good leg, swivel yourself into the bed and then scootching over bit by bit. It’s exhausting!!! And this is what it looks like when you successfully make it back to bed:
During this day, I was up for most of my meals, instead of having them in bed. Sitting in a chair is basically the same procedure in that you back up to the chair, then put your operated leg out while using the arms of the chair to help you ease down into the seat. It’s tricky at first, but I got the hang of it quickly and found it much nicer than just laying in bed. It made eating a lot easier too, having the tray right there in front of me.
The rest of that day was pretty basic, with the exception of having the Physical Therapy aide come to teach me some movements to encourage healing. I was told I would be able to go home the next day, and I was so happy! It’s nice to be taken care of in the hospital (and I was cared for VERY well!), but there’s truly “no place like home”! And after another night of little sleep, that’s exactly where I went…home, to my hubby and my cat Dorie and my own bed!!!
At Home
And as promised, I was released the next morning. I managed to get into the car without too much pain but was relieved to be home. I spent the majority of the first week home sleeping in bed or resting in my chair. I had purchased a cryotherapy unit for icing the hip to keep the swelling down, so Ray was in charge of getting that set up for me each time – adding the ice and water, etc. If you ever need ice therapy for an extended time, I HIGHLY recommend using a machine like this…so much better than ice bags or bags of veggies from your freezer!!
Getting ready to shower…this is after taking the bandage off for the first time. Look at how beautiful that incision is…my scar is going to be almost invisible! Great work!
In the two months after surgery (March and April), I made a great recovery. I had one x-ray, just prior to seeing Dr. Burnett for my first post-surgical visit, and everything seemed to be settling in well. I had the staples removed at that point as well – all 53 of them! Everything was healing beautifully and the scar looked so thin, it’s going to fade into nothingness with no problems at all. Dr. Burnett truly did a masterpiece of work when he put me back together!! I had been to Physiotherapy twice at that point to learn exercises to do at home between appointments (every three weeks) and they are designed to get you back to full mobility as quickly as possible.
So…if I had to do this all over, would I? Absolutely!!! For the first time in I can’t remember how long, I no longer had the feeling that my hips were being crushed between a vise. Sure, there is still some pain and discomfort, but it’s NOTHING like what I felt before. I’m hoping I can actually decrease the dosage of my OxyNeo Slow Release oxycontin med for pain relief – there’s been that much of a reduction in my overall pain levels. I do still have the pain from my various other problems, but having this hip replaced has helped to diminish a huge part of the pain equation. I’d do surgery again in a heartbeat to get this relief!!
Eighteen Months Later
In the 18 months since my surgery was done, I continue to experience wonderful results from this surgery. My pain relief has been immense from the start and has continued to this day. The scar has diminished significantly and will continue to fade, and I’ve had no complications at all.
I wasn’t able to reduce my Opioid medication, due to other physical ailments I live with, but the reduction in pain I experienced through this surgery was amazing on it’s own and has made living with my other chronic pain issues much easier to deal with. I’ve been able to do more attend more meetings in my volunteer work because I’ve been more mobile, and I’ve also been able to take advantage of some travel and educational opportunities that have been offered to me as well. I will be meeting with my Orthopedic surgeon sometime in the New Year to discuss the timing for my left hip to be replaced and I expect that will take place within the next 18 months or so. I welcome it being done, as I know the outcome will produce the excellent results I’ve had with the first.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story. I encourage anyone who is considering this surgery to consult with their doctor to decide if it’s the right course of action, and if it is, to go for it. I wish you the very best and may your results be as life changing as mine.
Website: https://pamelajessen.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pamelarosejessen
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/pamjessen
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Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelajessen
This is a guest post series on Must Hike Must Eat. To learn more and submit your first time story, read You Never Forget Your First Time. You do not have to have a blog to participate and any topic is welcome!
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