6 Weeks In

So, it's time for an update. I have now had my new hip joint for more than 6 weeks. This particular, important landmark passed last Friday. Everyone who has had a hip replacement knows that 6 weeks is a time when most patients are pretty much back to a normal life. They can drive, they can go to work (if office-based) and they can resume sexual relations. Yippee! Please try not to think of a 10-year-old Anakin Skywalker, though.

Well I am driving, and tomorrow I venture further from the house than I have in months, with a trip to London with a view to getting back onto the hamster wheel of a 9 to 5 job. I can't wait to get back to work, actually. I am once more at a point of despair with sitting in the house watching daytime TV and playing pointless games on the internet. I want to interact with people and engage myself in something worthwhile. I feel slightly bad that I haven't been able to make more of my time off, but my motivation levels for such things have been quite low with everything that's gone on. Luckily, I have remained motivated to do the physio and get out and about whilst the weather was reasonably good.

I had an appointment with the physio a couple of weeks ago and he seemed happy with my progress. He manipulated my leg in some alarming and uncomfortable ways, but I now realise that my range of movement is so much better than it has been for my whole adult life, if not longer. He told me to try some more exercises and to do my existing ballet-style ones standing on the operated leg. This has caused some minor pain and discomfort, but it is making the leg stronger and stronger. I can now get about without any walking aid, although I take one stick with me for longer walks just to be safe. I can walk a mile quite comfortable now, and even broke into a trot at the weekend. My stance is straighter and I stand taller than I ever have. No longer can I say my height is 6'1" or 6'2" depending on which leg I stand on. The limp is much less pronounced and will hopefully be completely gone by the time 3 months is up....around Christmas time.

Within a week or two I hope to be able to start cycling on an exercise bike and then I can really concentrate on the most important part of all of this...losing the excess flab. I still take far too many medications and most of them are linked to my size. When I get down to a decent weight the blood pressure should normalise, the hiatus hernia should ease off and the risk of atrial fibrillation returning should diminish significantly. I can't wait. Further down the line, I am hoping I can get to a decent enough level of fitness to allow me to cycle long distance. Who knows, I might even start thinking about doing some charity bike rides. Who's up for John O'Groats to Land's End?