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To make people feel better

Posted , 14 users are following.

bini31328
bini31328

just thought i would contribute how things were when i started nursing 35 + years ago .i remember being a student nurse on an orthopaedic ward - hip replacement patients spent 10 days minimum  flat on their backs in bed with a large triangle of foam called a charnley  wedge between them. You had to be rolled in that position to go on a bed pan , have sheets changed etc . You were utterly dependent on nursing staff for eveything , plus no tv in hospital other than the day room which you couldnt get to . Hospital food ( yuk) , very limited visiting hours . Plus a catheter for 10 days was standard . After the 10-14 days you got up for half an hour each am and pm and at about 3 weeks you went home . Its amazing how far everything has moved on since then , most of us are up the day of surgery , home in a few days etc etc im not saying we are lucky needing hip surgery but im very glad to be a patient now and not then ! 

9 likes, 40 replies

40 Replies

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  • AnnieK
    AnnieK bini31328

    Posted

    That would have been torture, all of it. And I imagine that they had lots of problems with deep vein thrombosis and maybe even bed sores with people on their backs for that long. 
    • bini31328
      bini31328 AnnieK

      Posted

      We did Annie , bed sores much more common in those days , before they introduced air mattresses/ hoists/ etc - hardly ever get them now 

      DVT,s also and the treatment for them was an iv infusion , with dose change hourly etc etc for about two weeks ! 

      on the plus side , patients were in so much longer we got to know them , their families etc really well. Dont get that now in hospitals . Its Why i like working in a nursing home as its back to basic nursing care and knowing your patient and their family really well 

    • bini31328
      bini31328

      Posted

      Plus my back doesnt get the punishment it used to get ! 
    • AnnieK
      AnnieK bini31328

      Posted

      Just the fact that most of us are up and standing on surgery day, and moving around every day after that would prevent bed sores and DVTs, nevermind the air mattresses and hoists. Those are only really necessary if you are flat on your back in bed for extended periods of time, right? Most of us are up and down all the time very soon post-op.

      I had a more difficult time for the first few days after THR than most people have, don't know why. So a few more days in the hospital would be fine with me. For my next surgery I will be non-weight bearing or toe-touch only for a number of weeks, so I will have a much more difficult time post-op. I plan on going to a rehab center aferwards for a couple of weeks, until I am comfortable with mobility.

    • bini31328
      bini31328 AnnieK

      Posted

      I think thats a really good idea , Annie - and yes the early mobility is a major factor in reducing the risks these days xxxx
    • lynn66084
      lynn66084 AnnieK

      Posted

      Oh, I started with bed sores on my heels in the hospital, still need to use a pillow to prevent them. Pleased I wasn't around then, might of been covered lol
    • sue1957Geo
      sue1957Geo lynn66084

      Posted

      I wore sox all the time, slipper sox provided in hospital on when I woke up stayed on the 4 days I was in, then wore them at home
    • lynn66084
      lynn66084 sue1957Geo

      Posted

      I couldn't get away with slipper sox, had some inflatable things in the hospital. Last night was the first time I have got away without using a pillow, I moved from op side to back, so that must be why. It's only taken nearly 11 weeks lol
  • suzie56
    suzie56 bini31328

    Posted

    Gosh I cannot even imagine it, just think they didn't have the support of Internet  and a forum like this either, I am bored now and I've got every conceivable type of tv programme at my finger tips, tablet to play games on and read from and the freedom to walk about from day 2. 
  • sue1957Geo
    sue1957Geo bini31328

    Posted

    Wow things have come on, I was in on the Friday had op, up on the Saturday out on the Monday, some one was telling me their fathers first hip op, in hospital for 6 weeks, second las year in for 4 days, we all have to be very grateful for how far this fantastic operation has come.

    suexx

  • HollyHop9
    HollyHop9 bini31328

    Posted

    Wow! Amazing how things have changed. My husband had his posterior approach surgery early on a Fri morning, by lunchtime he got off the trolley bringing him from the recovery room and walked to his bed with PT using crutches. He came home the next day (Sat). Can't imagine how long it took people to recover back in the day. All that time in bed would have been so miserable and left folk really deconditioned.
  • Soos2016
    Soos2016 bini31328

    Posted

    Mahalo for sharing that Bini - sure puts things into perspective. 
  • brenda92532
    brenda92532 bini31328

    Posted

    Hi bini

    Its always nice to hear about times gone by.  It's nearly 15 weeks since my hip op and I'm walking without crutches. I have a slight limp because my foot is still swollen, doctors say it's plantar fasciitis but I'm going to a private physio and he thinks it's most likely from my back.

    when you was in the nursing profession where abouts did you work? It always fascinates me speaking to nurses but I know times have changed. I don't want to bore you but 54 years ago I was knocked down by a motorbike. I was in a critical state loosing my spleen and my kidney, fracturing my right femur and my left tibia and fibula. I was unconscious for about 5 weeks and while unconscious pneumonia set in. When I regained consciousness I was paralysed down my left side. The doctors and nurses were wonderful but there was no such thing as counselling in those days and it still stays with me not knowing what and how this happened to me.

    On a more pleasant note I have managed to re-educate myself, married my then boyfriend and had a son and a daughter. I always wanted to be a nurse after that but different things stopped me so I settled for accounts works and later nursery nursing in a school.

    I don't feel I'm improving as I should but the physio says I'm doing well.  I have a friend who is a nurse and she says I'm not a patient patient.  

    Well Im 70 this year so I must have done something right.  I hope I haven't gone on too much.

    Love Brenda X 

     

    • bini31328
      bini31328 brenda92532

      Posted

      Hi Brenda 

      and no of course you havent gone on too much . Your accident in your teens sounds horrendous and you have done so well since - youre an impressive lady! I hope your foot thing  gets sorted out / sorts itself out but well done for giving up on the crutches - i think your physio is right and that you are doing well , she must deal with a lot of hip patients so knows what shes talking about! No one likes being an invalid so its not surprising most og us are pretty impatient with the whole process 😀i have loved my job since the day i started in 1983 - ive worked on a gynae ward , , A&E for 10 years , as trust complaints manager , in orthopaedics and for the last 6 years I was there I was a Matron , the final 2 years as Matron for older people . I was made redundant when they cut the number of matrons along with a couple of colleagues and moved into nursing home work- been doing that for the last 4 years - its a big 80 bedded home  so it keeps me busy ! I do love it . I went back to work at six weeks post op, i,m eight weeks now , although im taking it a bit easy for the first few months - my staff are very supportive and wont let me do too much xxxx

    • brenda92532
      brenda92532 bini31328

      Posted

      Hi bini

      Your story seems to be the same as a friend of mine.  She was  nursing sister and when things changed moved to a nursing home.  Unfortunately she is now crippled with arthritis and lives in a sheltered housing complex. I'm hoping to go and see her now I'm driving.

      Thank you for your words of encouragement and I'll keep you informed of any changes.

      I hope you are feeling well and keep up the good work in your job.  I have friends in their 90's who I visit. One is in a nursing home, she is a lady and still does her crossword each day at the age of 96. She has lost her husband 

      Another friend lives with her husband and they are 92. She is crippled with arthritis and in her 60's had both her hips replaced. She has since had one re-done at 83, the other is now going but she isn't fit enough to have it done. Her husband is now getting weak and keeps falling. They are still at home and she is finding it difficult to cope with him.

      Keep in touch with your progress.

      Love Brenda X 

    • hope4cure
      hope4cure brenda92532

      Posted

      Amazing encouraging stories. Enjoyed reading the many inspirational stories. confused

      Thank you all for sharing!

       

    • brenda92532
      brenda92532 hope4cure

      Posted

      Hi. I'm glad you feel inspired with all the stories you have read.  They give hope and encouragement to many people.  It's always nice to be able to put feelings on paper and know you are not boring people with the same story.

      Keep reading and sharing

      Thank you Brenda

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