Hip, hip hooray!







Earl and I had to face it.  We were in the seventyish–ish group when our parts start complaining *.  Having Ataxia for a while, I had become accustomed to dealing with 'body malfunctions'.  Not that I always take things in stride, but I usually accept a certain level of inevitability.  When Earl began having pain in his hip, it was a totally new experience to him.  As the progressive discomfort started impinging on a lifelong active lifestyle, he was open to a corrective intervention.  X–rays predictably confirmed that one hip needed replacement surgery.  Anticipated, but somewhat complicated by his caregiving responsibilities.   He was going to be temporarily out of commission and not available to me.  Of course, it is all about me.
In and out 14 hours 

Fortunately, he had surgery and went home later that day.  Jason was the designated caregiver.  Where was I?  Granted, having a disability and being wheelchair–bound made me less useful, but Earl's surgery also happened to conflict with a 'Girls Trip' to Tucson**.  I had lamely offered to cancel (he didn't buy that) and he responded that he and Jason would bravely soldier on without me (I didn't buy that)***.  We both knew that one person with limited mobility in the house at a time was enough.  So, off I went to Arizona.

The gym/rehab center
One thing I can take credit for is our house (well, not all the credit, but some)****.  All the modifications that we made to accommodate my Ataxia also made the house ideal for post operative rehabilitation.  Being on one level, hardwood floors, grab bars by the toilet, bedside rail assist made it as good as most hospitals.  The week before, the village had shoved the bed toward my side, transferred the bedside rail assist, and brought our recumbent cycle downstairs.  He was ready.  Having me out of the house was just an extra bonus.

I came home five days after surgery–just in time for rehabilitation.  We had stayed in daily FaceTime contact, but it was good to get home.  I had missed his 'aroundness'.  Earl was relatively pain free, eating and pooping well, and diligent about doing his exercises.  Life was good and he surprised everyone by not over–doing (he's prone to that).

Earl and new hip
Earl learned that there were many separate steps, prior thought and planning to bathing and dressing.  He hadn't ever needed to think about that.  I was tempted (wicked witch nature) , but managed not to say, "Really? That never occurred to me." (zip it, Tam)  I was actually some help, tying his shoe on the leg with limited flexibility.  He had fired me from helping him with the compression stocking, but once again, our 'village' came through with the coordination and upper body strength required.  Up to this point, our village had only been family.  Now friends joined in with walks, visits, food and check ins.  Now that Earl is approaching full functionality (shopping, cooking, driving, caregiving), his goal of a long bicycle ride in August entered into the feasible category.  We'll see... 

The lesson:  It takes a freakin' village.  Get it ready before the wheels fall off.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 30, 2018 at 4:24 PM

    "over–doing (he's prone to that)" (3rd paragraph). Yeah no kidding

    ReplyDelete

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