Thursday, May 27, 2021

Hip Replacement and Caregiving


Two weeks ago, Aloma had her second hip replacement.  I was a wreck, partly because her femur was shattered when her other hip was replaced, and she had no weight-bearing for two months and suffered excruciating pain.  I couldn’t bear the thought of something going wrong again.   I took her to the hospital at 6:00 a.m. but I was told that I couldn’t stay.  I didn’t see her until after 2:00 p.m.  That was hard. 

The good news is that the surgery went well, and while she has had a lot of pain, she is doing very well, already walking with just a cane.

Her caregiver started off tired.  I blame it on the second COVID injection rather than old age.  With a lot of duties, during the day and during the night, and watching her suffer, I was barely able to function.  But I started regaining my energy the second week, and I now feel better. 

I laugh at myself when I think of one thing that I did before the surgery.  I wrote a note for the surgeon and asked Aloma to give it to him.  I explained about her femur shattering during her first replacement and asked him to drill a big enough hole this time in the femur for the stem of the device to fit.  I thought he would be offended and ask to see my medical diploma.  But he told me he could not drill a larger hole because of the size of her bones, but he did use a device with a smaller stem.  That must have worked.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

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