Coping alone after hip replacement

Your teenage children will need to help. I had my wife & two daughters. They helped with putting on the surgical stockings, showering, making dinners, cups of tea, passing my crutches when I mislaid them, etc etc.........I would say it's very tough to do thud on your own Sue, I'm currently 6 weeks post op on a THR, but without the help from loved ones, well ?.............

Apart from passing you things, watching you up and down stairs and generally helping you really dont need an awful lot of help...you'll be on 2 crutches so make sure you have everything to hand. I didnt have stockings but just needed help pulling pants up! My partner just got in the way after the first few weeks!!

can you train the kids from now til then? you'll be doing them a service. read hope4cures list of preparation points and discuss with your children maybe....tell them your worries and watch them step up to the plate x

Hi Sue- help is always good to have. what about your teenage kids? i understand they may be at school or activities some of the time, but youve got to be able to depend on them for help. as you say you are fit, and with a bit of help from your kids (going to store, shopping, pickup prescriptions) I think you should be able to cope. even if they dont have their drivers license, you should be able to find a way. You shouldnt need a live-in assistant.

Good Luck!

Sue, I am 55 and I am 4 1/2 weeks post op.  I have been off my crutches for a week now.  I came home with one but was walking around the house without anything after 2 weeks.  You will need help for the first 10 days and then you will be fine.  Remember it is vital to do your physio everyday, no matter how you feel.  My elderly parents stayed with me for the first 5 days and then various girlfriends took me food shopping etc.  be positive, take rest and you will be fine.....

Thanks, all, for your helpful comments. I really don't want to cancel it. I have my pre-op assessment on Fri so will see what the surgeon has to say. Will start training the kids, too!

Don't despair, you will be OK. Your kids will have to help out. You probably won't want them helping with very personal stuff but they can help with everything else. I found I needed someone to lift my operated leg on to the bed with my first op but the second time I managed fine. Get plenty of food in the freezer. I didn't wear the stockings. Shock horror!  As I didn't keep still for long and there is no family history of thrombosis, I ditched them. I couldn't have gotten them on and as my husband is disabled, he couldn't have done it either.  As long as you remember to always obey the hip precautions that you will be told about. I did everything with the grabber tool they give you. As a resourceful and amazing woman, you will find ways to cope. Money helps. You could get a cleaner. It's OK people saying teenagers can help but they tend to be a bit self obsessed. Ask them for specific help and don't count on them seeing what needs to be done. Ask on here after the op for advice about any particular challenges. 

 

I came home totally alone, no help came in ever except PT during the day, 3 days actually. I guess I was doing very good considering and I was 72. I have always been a strong, athletic person so have done everything for myself.

I had the anterior approach, could be it's an easier recovery, that's what I hear anyway. Your children will help I hope.

Sue, first of all, how long are you going to be in hospital?  I am alone 6l with a l9 year old son with special needs (who can help me out somehwat - heat up a mircowave dinner for me, make and bring me a cup of tea, feed the dog,) so I'm sure too kids can kick in and help you out.  I would definately get a walker,a risen toilet seat and reacher.....as long as you have everything on waist level so you don't have to bend you should do good.  I was out after 2 days and only saw the physio for l5 mintue sto show me how to get my bad leg off and on the bed and how to get to the washroom and do the stairs, and I am doing very well to tell the truth...I also have a carry all attached to my walker so i can go room to room with the phone, books, cookie!!...I have what I call command centre and that is my couch in the living room - I have a coffee table set up beside me with water, pen, paper, books, laptop, and then I get up every hour to walk my leg, use the washroom, I eat at the kitchen table (my son warms me up a meal and covers it and I have it warm for lunch or you could get the kids to make you a sandwich), I do a few laps around the house and usually watch a little tv, but I find that couch too soft, oh I forgot the wedge pillow is somewhat good for soft chairs, so I can't sit in that room too long....believe it or not you get into a routine and every day you think of some way to do something better, now mind you I'm not in any pain at all whatsoever, a little discomfort when the leg swells by the end of the day so I'm better off than some...I do the stairs at night and then in morning and other than that Idon't use them...I go slow, ...I also do the exercies religiously...I don't know what you got, but you can vist a physio office or ask your doctors for some tht you can do at home before you start to see the therapist....You will pick up some helpful tips on this site, so keep reading daily...best of luck, Patricia from Toronto