Tomorrow is the Big Day.
I hope that I don’t regret having my left hip surgically replaced. I could probably go another couple of years as is, but if I did that, I would not be able to hike in the mountains, golf, and do anything more strenuous than walking to the mailbox.
So, even though my left hip feels pretty good today, tomorrow will be “out with the old, in with the new!”
(BTW, if I don’t survive this surgery, I’m going to regret my decision, and Charlie will be very annoyed. But, I can honestly say that I’ve had a great life with a great wife and have nothing else to accomplish. I’ve been blessed.)
If the surgery works out fine, as expected, I will be able to stave off the inevitable geriatric state for maybe ten years, although the P.A. doing my recent surgery pre-op noted that my right hip joint was also “bone on bone”, and that I may be looking at right hip replacement surgery in a few years. So, I’ve at least got that to look forward to (and more health-related stories to tell among my geriatric friends)!
Tomorrow’s drama will take place at the Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah. It is a very impressive hospital, and my orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Scott Parry, has done many of these procedures. Supposedly, I will be walking with the aid of my new hip a few hours after I get back from the surgical recovery room, and I will be discharged after an overnight stay in the hospital.
Fingers crossed that it happens just like that.
I have a walker and a cane at the ready in my house. The plan, according to Dr. Parry, is for me to use the walker just as long as I have to, then shift to the cane, all the while increasing my walking to whatever I can bear. That is supposed to be my physical therapy: mucho walking.
(My doc is also in favor of biking, when the time comes. A neighborhood friend named Sandy has provided me with a bike I can use at the appropriate time. I can hardly wait.)
I am thinking that I will probably go to the Sun City Mesquite community center, which I’m already paying for in my H.O.A. dues, and do some serious work on the Eliptical device, which works out the legs, hip, and arms simultaneously…before I begin riding a bike. I’m hoping that I can start the gym workouts within three weeks to a month.
We’ll see.
My son Jonathan is here and will be helping Charlie cope with me and all of the daily chores that I normally take care of like house tidying, cooking of meals, walking the dogs, and cleaning up their poop in the backyard. Jon will be here to help out for two weeks, so my “vacation” won’t last too long.
My overall goal is to be hiking again with my three pals (Mac, John and Lloyd) by January 1st, and supplement my recovery with bike outings (with Mac).
Again, fingers crossed.