Mum is going for hip op in 2 weeks and has questions
Posted , 10 users are following.
Hello members of the Forum
My Mum is going for her hip op in two weeks time and she's not only scared but also worried about the practicalities that are very personal and it seems that these have not been addressed with her Consultant etc and so I'm asking for your help please.
1. After release from hospital how should she wash herself with her new hip?
2. What clothing should she wear to make it easy? She has always worn skirts and tights but has been told that this is not appropriate and she needs to wear trousers which she has never done.
3. She is very worried about personal hygeine and how she can manage this immediately after hospital - she does not have a shower and obviously a bath is out of the question.
4. And a basic question: after a hip op - how do you put on your own pants?
5.
0 likes, 18 replies
julia45280 haj5
Posted
2) Either a longish skirt /dress with no tights or socks or soft track suit type trousers. If she bleeds into the skin which can be quite common she will be very swollen around the buttock and upper thigh so the size may need to be larger than normal
3) sometimes ladies of a certain age have to get to the toilet to pee quite quickly and if crutches are still being used there can be a delay! In my opinion a dress/skirt/nightdress is far more practical and even consider a commode arrangement nearer the bed at night
4) I am 52 and quite fit and active and I couldnt manage trousers/socks/shoelaces for a couple of weeks after surgery but you can get little extender pincer things to get hold of the waist band to help you pull on soft trousers
5) I am English so pants mean underwear- dont even bother with those for a while but if you have to wear pads put the knickers on with one foot (the one on the non operated side), bend your knee to pull them up over the knee and hopefully you can grab them to pull them right up!
haj5
Posted
Thank you so much for sharing your personal experience - and the advice you have given.
And for giving me advice to pass on to Mum regarding underwear and as I think the youngsters call it "go commando".
I really appreciate that you and others have shared such intimate details to help Mum.
I've shared it with her this last weekend and your reply as well. It was mothering sunday - and she was just amazed that there are people like you and others who are willing to share with her what you have gone through personally.
Mum is not an internet user - so when I showed her this website and all that you and others have offered in terms of advice - she was very tearful - she didn't know that there was a community out there for women and that women would share such intimate details to help someone else get through a major operation.
You and all those who have replied to this thread are fantasttic in sharing what must have been rubbish moments.
I'm so hoping you are all on the road to recovery - Mum will be going down that path of having her operation in the next 8 weeks if not sooner - but now I have shared with her your experiences - she's now motivated to go through this op.
Before showing her this website - she thought she was on her own and at the mercy of the NHS - and she really doesn't understand how it works - it's now so complicated she finds it difficult to deal with.
But with you sharing Julia, and others like you - and I cannot thank you enough - it really does help.
It's like having a women's talk over coffee - we share initimate details - and yet you have all been willing to share over the internet so others can benefit.
Thank you again.