I arrived early Monday morning at St John’s Hospital for my Hip Resurfacing surgery. After filling out the mandatory forms, I was taken to the pre-op room where the nurses prepared me for surgery. The anesthesiologist asked if I preferred a spinal or general anesthetic. General anesthetic is when they put you to sleep entirely, spinal is when they numb you from the waist down and sedate you in what they call a “twilight sleep.” Since it is less risky and there are fewer side effects after you wake up, I chose the spinal.
I woke up in the recovery room and soon after was taken to my hospital room. That evening, the hospital Physical Therapist got me out of bed and had me stand–I was in too much pain to walk yet. It was payback for all the poor souls I had dragged out of bed after a difficult surgery! I spent the next day in the hospital, got up twice with the therapist and walked (with difficulty) using crutches, and practiced some simple exercises. The next day I went home, but with a lot of help–there is no way I could have been on my own and taken care of myself. I needed quite a bit of help for a week or two before I became more independent.
The experience of recovery, being dependent on others for my care, was difficult for me. Like most men, I consider myself as being strong and independent. To be totally reliant on others was hard for me. Not only that, being unable to work or do much of anything gave me this feeling of worthlessness. I experienced a lot of depression during my recovery, which after doing some reading, I learned was a very normal reaction. I also drove my caretakers crazy!
Over the next several weeks I continued to progress with my walking and my exercises. The pain was lessening and I became able to do more and more although my endurance was low. Now, approximately three months down the road, I am swimming, biking, using light weights and the treadmill. In my next and final article in this series, I will share some personal thoughts on the experience and what it’s taught me.
Sierra Canyon Physical Therapy is located at 27225 Camp Plenty Road, Suite 6 in Canyon Country. For more information, please call 661-298-0140.