Road to recovery
I am writing this entry on February 15th, nearly 9 months after my bike accident and full left hip replacement surgery.
I wanted to briefly describe my recovery process to date. There are two different avenues a surgeon can use to replace a hip, posterior (go in from the rear) or anterior (go in from the front). Both methods yield the same results once fully recovered but anterior has become more popular due to a shorter recovery period. Given the traumatic nature of my injury, my surgeon, Dr. Shelby out of the University of Kentucky Medical Center, used a posterior approach. This meant cutting completely through my glute (butt muscle) to install the prosthetic.
The metal shaft inserted into my thigh is made from titanium with the ball and socket made from zirconium which is heat treated so the surface become zirconium oxide; the highest strength and toughness at room temperature of all the advanced ceramic materials.
Once I arrived home, I sat for 6 weeks watching my muscles atrophy before I could start physical therapy. I started physical therapy on July 6th and could barely lift my leg an inch and still needed crutches to walk. I had two sessions of PT each week and performed stretching and strengthening exercises at home in between. This lasted for 4 months ending just before Thanksgiving 2023. I still walked with a bit of a limp but made a lot of progress. Since I was nowhere near 100% I decided to start working with a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through University of Rochester Medical Center (thanks Sydnee). Weight training including squats, lunges, bench press, and lots of other strength training and stretching ensued for the next 3.5 months.
I returned to spin classes at the end of October starting out in the seat at a leisurely 60 RPM pace and can now get out of seat spinning up to 90-100 RPM. I took my first two outdoor rode rides of 15 miles in February and felt great. Once the weather gets better in April the next step is to increase mileage from 15 up to 50+ miles and elevation gain from 500 feet to 3000+ feet.
I do not want anyone to think my recovery was easy. It was the most difficult thing I have ever done. Months and months of hard work, depression coming and going, lots of tears, and small triumphs characterized my recovery. My orthopedic surgeon as well as my physical therapist told me it would take a year to make a full recovery. They are correct, I hope to be at 100% in May
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 7 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 3 |
9 months ago
Did you send your medical bills to the dog owner?
9 months ago
9 months ago