Bob's New Hip

Some may have noticed my limping a bit a QZ last spring -- and complaining of my hips. Last fall I had had them examined by a Kaiser hip/knee surgeon. As he reviewed the x-ray images with me, he explained the concept of "bone on bone".   Yes, for spurs and no, for cartilage in my case <sigh>.

I talked to a number of folk that had it done -- some with bad reports, but most with glowing reports. I also did research on the newest techniques and looked in detail at exactly what would be involved. There is a newer technique referred to as resurfacing vs. THR (total hip replacement). Jimmy Connors (of tennis fame) had this done - and the outfit that did it put up a web site, "jimmysnewhip.com" that explained it in detail. Unfortunately, one must be 50 or younger to qualify. Kaiser has a few doctors that will do resurfacing, whereas they lean toward the traditional method of THR mainly because it is (1) tried and proven to last up to 20 years or more and (2) has been improved upon to it's present form over many years and thousands and thousands of cases.

The basic difference is that resurfacing simply resurfaces both the ball and socket and places a new surface on each - and leaves everything else as is. THR removes the ball by removing the top of the femur an inch or so below the ball -- then replaces it with a new metal ball held in place by wedging the other end down into the remaining femur. The socket in the hip bone is essentially resurfaced in both processes.

The good news for THR is that it is solid and will last for 20 or more years. The bad news is that recovery takes longer, and range of movement is less than resurfacing. Jimmy is playing tennis again, whereas Bob will go for long walks.  Total recovery takes from 6 months to a year -- but the walker, cane, and "pain" are gone within a few months.

My surgery was September 6th -- so last Thursday was the end of my 6th week. I met with my surgeon w/new x-rays on that anniversary. My report was good in that it is healing OK. I went from walker to cane about a week or so ago -- and started driving my Jeep soon after that. CA DMV has given me a temporary Handicap Placard that will be good for 6 months from the date of the operation. Certain times during the day when the stiffness is gone (tough just after standing after sitting awhile), I can walk OK w/o the cane for short distances.

Now that it is over, I can say I am very pleased that I did this. It is very nice to walk on that hip and feel aching at times from the tissue healing -- but "no" pain from the metal on plastic vs. what I was feeling before with bone on bone. The first week or 2 of recovery are tough -- but the results make it all worthwhile.

My plan is to have the other hip done around the March/April time frame. Some are now calling me Bionic Bob.

Thanks Bionic Bob for sharing the details.  We are glad you are doind so well.  Sam & I wish  you the very best recovery.

ALRIGHT BOB!!!  ;D

So glad to hear it came out OK, I have some friends that have had the same done and some took over a year to completely heal but most were walking with no help after 3 to 4 months. So keep up the good work and heal fast so you can jump out of the way of the embers from the bon fire at Q/Z. 

Jerry Ray

Congratulations on the new hip.  Helaine will have to give you special dispensation this year to her bionic buddy.  g

Take care and hope the healing continues well.

Congrats Bob

Glad it all turned out so well for you.  Looking forward to seeing you in January, if I can keep up

Bob:

Good show. Hope the cane is gone by January, Helaine will be jealous. ;D

Bionic Bob,

Glad to hear the recovery is going well.  That Handicap Placard should help you get one of the two prime campsites next to the RV Forum Campfire at QZ in January in case others beat you to it.  Of course, if you're there as early as you were last year, there won't be that many competing for the sites.  ;D

Howdy, Bionic Bob. 

Thanks for sharing your story. We are very glad to hear that you are doing so well.  ;D  ;D

Regards,
Jack and Liz Pearce

Hi Bionic Bob,

Glad you had a successful surgery. Getting rid of constant pain due to bad joints is wonderful. I know I feel much better since my rotator cuffs were done! Hope your second operation turns out as well.

Bob,

As I only met you today online I never knew your old hip but I would like to express my deepest condolences for its passing.

I suppose it's not unlike turning an old trailer or motorhome out to pasture. You have wonderful memories you can carry with you forever but at some point the old chassis or hitch ball just can't handle the load anymore.

Work out the bugs in your new hip and keep on rollin'.

Dave

So when all the surgery and recovery is done you will once again be able to kick...... Footballs (or soccer balls)

Good for you.  Glad to hear you are improviing.  May the recovery continue and may you forget you have new hips

Way to go, Hipster!

Or is that "Hippie"?

Or is maybe "Hippee"?

;D ;D ;D

Thank you everyone -- I really enjoyed your responses and appreciate the thoughts you send. As with so many here that have had stuff go wrong with their health at times, the framily is a nice place to go to feel that others care about how we are doing. Some we have met in person, some only via notes on the forum. But either way -- RVers care about each other.

Thank you again so much . . . and am looking forward to seeing most of you at QZ in January if all continues to go well with the new left hip. 

We do care Bob so please keep us updated on how the rehab is coming along.

Bob,

When I had my first shoulder done my personal masochist (physical therapist) told me that usually men cannot handle the pain of therapy as well as women. Naturally I made a mental note that I would not cry out no matter how bad it hurt. One time I did ask her if my arm was really supposed to bend that far! ;D Near the end of my therapy I reminded her of what she had said and that I was determined not to let the pain get to me. Her response was "yeh, they all say that." Guess she got me good!!

Hope your therapy is as pain free as possible. If you do the exercises as instructed it's amazing how quickly you progress. My second time through she just told me which exercise to do and said "you know what's expected". Four weeks later she kicked me out. ;D ;D

Jim Dick said:

Hope your therapy is as pain free as possible.

Click to expand...

Thank you, Jim. Can imagine how difficult it must have been for you. My Niece's MIL had that done recently (she is 89), and was in Skilled Nursing Facility for over a month. When someone decides to go full time, they probably should also consider health issues such as recovery -- as I discovered during my THR.

My care did pose some problems for Kaiser in terms of recovery and therapy. When the surgeon first discovered that I was a solo full time RVer and planned to return to my MH after the typical three days in the hospital following the surgery, he just shook his head and said there is "no way" he would allow that. The Kaiser rule is that the patient can return home after the surgery assuming someone is there to assist them. If they are not medically ready to return home, they authorize SNF care. But SNF is not authorized if the problem is logistical. Then on the second day of my hospital stay, the surgeon told me I was "progressing too fast".

He further explained that if was "not" doing so well he could send me to a SNF, but as it was, he had to send me home -- which he didn't want to do because I was a solo full time RVer. Anyway, I convinced him I would be OK so that is what they did. Kaiser "does" give free Home Care twice a week for three weeks. When the "Nurse Gillespie" (but otherwise nice lady) lead physical therapist arrived and discovered I was alone in an RV, she went ballistic.   After about a 20 minute rant, she settled down and began working with me on how to overcome the obstacles I faced.

During the 1st two and sometimes three weeks after THR, the patient is pretty much flat on their back 85% of the time - and the rest of the time pushing a walker and doing mild exercises. Getting from flat on their back to standing behind the walker is a bit of a chore as the surgery leg must be moved very carefully. So safety was her initial biggest concern -- in that in an emergency, how quickly could I get outside of the RV. I had not thought of using a walker to get down the 5 steps of my rig -- and they will not let you do that with a cane or crutches on a THR leg. So I had a set of wooden steps built over the top of the retractable RV steps that would accommodate a walker. She also had the fire extinguisher moved to just beside my bed.

They also had an occupational therapist come in twice a week to assist. She supplied me with a THR kit -- that had tools to grab things from the floor or wherever, put my socks on, put my pants on, plus elastic shoe laces and 3 foot shoe horn to easily slide into my shoes. She also went thru every item of daily chores that I would encounter in the RV and how to handle them. I "did" do a double take the AM she came in and told me we were going to take a shower together. ??? It turned out to be a dry run to show me how to do it on my own after my staples were removed.

And you can imagine the problems posed by an RV bathroom when recovering from THR. The john must be at least 18" from the deck, and risers will seldom fit around them in an RV. Fortunately, mine was high enough without them. The angle between the upper torso and the surgery leg can never be less than 90 degrees and the knees can never be closer to each other than 4 inches or the width of ones fist - no matter what the chore encountered.

Anyway, they left shaking their heads after the third week -- but did insist that when I have the other hip done that I request that they return to help me -- as not many on their staff have ever dealt with THR recovery in an RV by a solo RVer.

Interesting post on the obstacles you faced living full time in an RV.  Glad it all is working for you.  Good information to for anybody else that may face the same experience.

Glad the surgery went well.  I'm sure you will heal in record time.  With all the electonics around you, I'd prefer to call you the Bionic-electronic man.  (haha)  Any chance you will make it to Quartzsite?

RV bathroom when recovering from THR.

Click to expand...

I hope Pete never has to have this operation.  I doubt that his toilet-use description would  be so antiseptic