Recovery hasn’t gone quite how I expected. I had my right total hip replacement on March 20th, and despite all the plans I had to keep myself occupied, I really did none of them.

I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 AM after not sleeping a wink overnight. I was incredibly nervous and genuinely just wanted to leave without the surgery. But my friend Sean came along to be my coach and drive me home, and he helped keep me a little more calm. I had planned to spend the night in the hospital, despite hip replacements typically being an outpatient procedure at the University of Iowa. As the surgical prep continued, they sorta talked me out of staying the night. I actually wanted to just go home and be comfortable in my own bed. After being scrubbed down with antiseptic surgical wipes, dressed in gowns, getting an IV started, and speaking with every individual in my surgical team, I was wheeled back into the OR. The confirmed my identity and procedure planned, and then I drifted off to sleep.

Since I didn’t consent to a spinal block, and only to general anesthesia, I woke up in agony. The surgery itself took less than 2 hours, and they told me I tolerated it well and everything went according to plan. But it was very difficult for them to get control of my pain in the first hour as I was coming out of anesthesia. I was given meds I didn’t even know where used in that situation, and after a while, that helped. By 2:00 PM they had gotten take-home prescriptions filled for me, given me lunch, had me walk the hall twice, helped me dress myself in my normal clothes, and had me in the car on my way home.

The first week of recovery is a blur. I was on a lot of medications. I had planned to watch some shows, play some video games, and enjoy my “break” from my normal routine and responsibilities. But really I was just in a drug and pain induced haze. I had to walk with a walker, bathe with a shower chair, and use a toilet riser so I could sit comfortably on the toilet. I was in bed most of the time, and when I did any more than walk to the bathroom and back, or to the living room and back, I was in more pain again.

In the second week the pain reduced, and I made the conscious decision to reduce my meds so I wasn’t such a zombie. On day 10, Felix returned home from being at his dad’s. That was challenging, but not impossible. Cass and Liz were still making meals and taking care of our home. But I developed a rash from the operative antiseptic wash that was sticky and wouldn’t scrub off of my skin. The rash was intense, from waist to ankle. It took several days for me to get any sort of answer or relief from the surgical team as to how to combat the itch. Eventually I was told to take Zyrtec and Benadryl (which didn’t work), and then I was prescribed oral steroids, which took nearly the entire 6-day course to work. Finally I was itch-free, and able to focus more on healing.

Just 2 days ago I hit my 3-week mark, and I’m feeling pretty good now. I have good days and bad days, but for the most part, I’m finally starting to feel the benefits. A couple days ago I walked in WalMart for the first time with a cart to lean on. And this morning I walked a couple laps around the parking lot of my apartment complex without support. The more I walk, the stronger I feel, and honestly the less it hurts now. I have one weaker prescription medication left for pain now that I only take once or twice per day. I expect to be off of that this week, if I keep the same momentum.

On this coming Wednesday, April 15th, I have my first post-op appointment with an x-ray. I am really hoping I get released to be able to drive again. I’ve been feeling really trapped at home lately, only being able to leave when it’s convenient for someone else to take me along somewhere.

Overall, I’ve had days I’ve deeply regretted the surgery because it has disrupted my life and kept me down so long. It’s been a difficult recovery. But I’m starting to have days, like today so far, that I’m glad I did it. It’s starting to feel better. During my walk this morning I experienced less pain walking than I have in years, and that is definitely a reason to be happy I went through with this. I look forward to continuing to improve as the weeks and months go on. Within a year I should be about 95% healed… and at 6 weeks I’m able to do most of my pre-op activities but more because the pain limited me so much pre-operatively. I’m starting to regain some normalcy at last!