The long road to recovery

My new commode, Zimmer frame and Grab rail

On reflection getting home was the easy bit- then the hard work started with 4 one hour Physio sessions a day. With a hip replacement the key is to keep the blood circulation going in the leg , to build strength in the leg muscles, and to slowly increase flexibility but without allowing the hip replacement to dislocate. The Surgeon, and people who had previously had the operation kept telling me that post surgery , the biggest risk is dislocation.

According to one website:

"Dislocation. Certain positions can cause the ball of your new joint to come out of the socket, particularly in the first few months after surgery. If the hip dislocates, your doctor might fit you with a brace to keep the hip in the correct position. If your hip keeps dislocating, surgery is often required to stabilize it."

Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hip-replacement/about/pac-20385042 ( accessed 12.8.2020)

My medication and the spreadsheet Julz used to ensure everything was on time

I therefore decided, before the operation, that as I lived alone in Bahrain I needed someone to look after me full time as I recovered. The problem was finding someone who had the right skill set, and was available 24/7 for six weeks. By chance I spoke to a Filipino , working in Bahrain, who had lost his job due to COV 19, and had a nursing qualification. We met for a day two weeks before the operation and I showed him around my house and taught him how to cook some of my favourite dishes. The following weekend he returned for 2 days and met up with my existing Pinoy Houseboys who showed him where to find everything in the house and we did more cooking together.

As Julz was from Bohol and Corleen was from Mindanao they both spoke the same dialect, Bisaya, and got on really well. I had returned my hire car to the car hire company the day of my operation and so I gave 20 bd to Corleen and 20 bd to a Pinoy friend of Jake's, Ronald , to act as my drivers ( Julz does not drive) .

On the way to Physio at Awali Hospital, with my driver, Ronald

On the Sunday I came out of hospital Corleen collected Julz and delivered him to my house. Before I went into hospital Julz borrowed some of my recipe books and decided what he felt he could cook to meet the needs of the diet I have to follow ( fish and chicken, no red meat) . He gave me a list of the ingredients he needed, On the Friday I was in Hospital I gave Corleen my credit card and he went and got the food. The hospital also informed me that I would need a commode as I could not bend down to sit on the toilet, and a Zimmer frame to walk with, so I emailed Corleen who purchased the necessary items.

Then Julz suggested a tray table so I could sit in bed and eat or use my laptop. We were not sure where to get this so I put a picture on Facebook and asked if anyone knew where we could find it. Former Awali resident, Jeanine, now in South Africa and old friend Becky in UK suggested IKEA and so Corleen went there to get the item.

Julz soon took control of the house , setting up a schedule for each day, downloading videos of exercises and how to get in and out of a car from "You Tube" .

How to get out of a car after a hip operation

He cooked confidently and welcomed all my visitors with a smile and announced them - "Mr. Coco from Adilya" like a butler! He even sent Neil Gilbert away saying I was asleep and should not be disturbed! Sorry Neil ( I only found out when I woke up that you had been!)

Each dish was beautifully presented , garnished with parsley or some other herb, and I could see he was very proud of his achievements! Especially from all the photos on Facebook and Instagram. I was telling a work colleague , Crystal, one day that Julz was like an angel sent form Heaven, and how lucky I was to have him. She emailed back to say

"You always taking care of people so you reaping the rewards of good seeds sown."

And so the days slipped by- me waking at 2 am and shouting to Julz to help me get out of bed to go to the toilet. Then he would clean up and go back to sleep while I chatted to friends in the Philippines on line ( 7 am there) and wrote my blogs, checked emails etc. At 6 am he would get up and make and serve breakfast, then give me all the tablets I had to take, and help me with my first set of exercises for the day. After a rest for me , while he washed up etc., he would help me get dressed and then at 8 am Ronald would come to drive me to Awali Hospital for Physiotherapy with Aravelle. We returned home at 10 am for more rest on the bed and more tablets , exercises and food at lunch time.

In the afternoon I would usually sleep for a couple of hours and then check my emails and so on while Julz started making dinner, served at 6 pm when he had to give me an injection, and more tablets after dinner. Finally after he washed up I had another round of exercises to do for 30 mins at 8 pm and lights were turned out at 9pm.

To break the monotony I had a variety of Visitors including Neil G, Andrea, Mike and Nea, Alpesh, and on Friday Corleen took Julz home for a days rest and stayed overnight.

So, to anyone reading this, who is about to have a similar operation, think carefully about your recovery and do as much as you can to make it as smooth as possible before you go into hospital. We had to move furniture around to make it easier to get around with the Zimmer frame, and to get in and out of bed etc. Then you need to arrange reliable helpers to fetch and deliver post, food, take you to and from hospital etc. You need someone to cook for you and help you with your exercises. Please do not forget the day to day unpleasantness like using the toilet which become much harder when its hard to walk and you cannot sit down properly!