I graduated from the Reno Orthopaedic Clinic (ROC) this week. Unless I have a problem before, I will go back in a year for my annual checkup and xrays. This clinic has been my home away from home for the past two months. Fortunately it is just 5 minutes down the street, and ironically, catty-corner from St. Mary’s Hospital where I was born.

I saw my surgeon’s assistant, Davis on Thursday. I told him I was still walking with a limp and having trouble strengthening my gluteus medius (muscle on side of the hip that stabilizes you when you walk), also some pain around the incision and in the muscles. Davis looked at me quizzically, and said, “You are at 7 weeks, not 7 months.  We had to part your gluteus medius and then stretch it longer to fit over the implant and accommodate your new, longer leg length. It is going to have a big adjustment for awhile. Give it 7 – 12 months. Adjust your expectations and keep a positive attitude. Keep working on it. It will come.”

Just to give you a mental picture, Davis is a no-nonsense man with a handlebar mustache. He was dressed in a purple suit with bright red socks (he is always in something I’ve never seen before that is both snazzy & whimsical). I often think he dresses this way to take a little edge off his no-nonsense communication style and help you feel a little more comfortable with the fact that he is going help out with “cutting open your hip, sawing off the worn out parts and throwing them in the trash, drilling a new socket in your pelvis and then screwing and hammering metal implants into the socket and your femur.” (Yes, he actually said something a lot like this at my 2nd consultation in August. I remember asking what they would do if my femur cracked while they were hammering in the implant. He told me they would wire it together and it would be fine. Though it didn’t crack, they did end up wiring it together just like he said, and it seems to be fine.) By the way, Davis also did a lot of the stitching on my nicely healing incision. He is very skilled at what he does and I, for one, and Scott for two, very much appreciate his candid approach to communication and his unique fashion sense!

I showed him some of my flexibility like being able to touch my toes and bring foot up to my thigh cross-legged. I said, “This is really coming back faster than I expected.” He told me this was very unusual. Probably has to do with my yoga. He looked at my incision and was pleased with how it is healing. He then announced I no longer had any restrictions and they would see me in a year. I gave him the first draft of Rhonda’s Hip Tips (see the Resources page). I told him they could give it to other patients if they thought it would help them.

On the way out, I saw Dr. Shukla and shook his hand, thanking him and Davis both for their great work on my new hip. I touched my toes for him and told him I was just having some trouble with my gluteus medius and still limping. He said, “Yep, that’s going to fight you for awhile.” He gave me one of his shy, cherub smiles, the ones that make the nurses exclaim, “Isn’t he adorable?” You gotta love Dr. Shukla.

Then I went out for my final PT session with Lori. While I was standing in line to check in, Dr. Shukla came out calling my name. He rushed up to me with the Hip Tips in his hand and said, “This is great, can we use this?” Yes, that is what it is for, I told him. He said, “We could use something like this from the patient’s perspective. There is good information in here. Thank you for doing this.” I thought, “How sweet.” I really am lucky to have such a good doctor and team. Everyone here has been so good at what they do and wonderful to work with. I will definitely return to this clinic and hopefully, be able to have the same great surgical team, work on my left hip when its time comes.

Then I went in for my last PT session and Lori and her intern, James did my final range of motion and strength assessments for my discharge. My range of motion is pretty much even now in both of my hips, which they also remarked is unheard of. Lori said, “I’ve got to start practicing yoga.” My strength was good except on the side of my right leg where that gluteus medius is just not there yet. We went over all the exercises I can do at home to continue strengthening it. I am grateful to the PT team, including my assistant Jessie, who helped me get where I am at 7.5 weeks. My setbacks were always my own doing. Remember to listen to your body and tell your PT’s if an exercise is too much! They cannot know that if you don’t tell them.

So, I am officially graduated from the ROC and on my own. I know it is time and I’m confident I’ll find my way from here. I also know they are right down the street if I have a problem.

To celebrate, I bought a year membership at St. Mary’s Fitness Center across the street from the ROC. They have an amazing pool, jacuzzi and hot water therapy area which I intend to use regularly. I’m thinking my fitness routine is likely to become more water oriented now… I did go once last week and wow!!! I remember a fellow hip lady saying in her blog, “Get thee to a pool!” She was so right. I can still swim like a dolphin and I can walk in water (on water is still beyond me ;-). I haven’t done laps in 25 years and it was awesome to see that I can still do all my strokes and kicks. The PT’s told me that walking in the water can help to restore my normal gait because all the weight is lifted off the joint. I found this is true. It felt so good to walk with a complete stride, though I’m still pretty unsteady and need to hold the hand rail.

It feels like I have come to a completion now, at least of the most intensive first part of this adventure in hip replacement. I suspect I will post something about once a month at this point so my fellow hip people can see how it evolves from here. One thing I really want to stress, is that we are all unique. This is my journey. Yours will be different. While it is good to hear about other people’s experiences, and you can learn a lot of helpful information from that, remember to be true to yourself and your body.