Glad my hip replacement surgery is over

My left hip was replaced on Dec 9, rehab well underway

By Mark Schadenberg 

LONDON -- Titanium, cobalt and plastic.

There may have been a few other metal alloys and bionic products in the recipe list I heard this past Monday from my London surgeon, a lucky 13 days since my left hip was replaced at University Hospital here.

 

I must first thank my wife Nicole for the extra care I have received as I was requested to be part of a research study group which has its main basis in sending patients home on the same day as a full anesthetic hip replacement operation.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9, I arrived at the hospital at 6 a.m. for admitting, was on a gurney before 7 and rolled into the operating room before 8. I do remember someone writing on my left hip with a permanent marker so they knew they had the right side (actually the left side. Who’s On First ?). I also recall talking to the anesthesiologist assigned to my case, and have faint memory of someone putting an oxygen mask over my nose. I do not have a recollection of counting backwards from 99 as I was already out.

By 10:15 a.m., Dr Brent Lanting (Remember that name in case any of your friends and/or relatives requires a new hip) was already talking to my wife about how successful the surgery had went.

By 1 p.m., I was alert (and looking for the apples I brought for this day trip as I had fasted for over 18 hours by this point) and Lanting was also describing to me how the procedure was ‘text book’. This text book of his is about a 6-inch wound, which he had stapled close. Those 30 or so staples were removed this past Monday.

In the meantime, I’m home on the day of my operation in time to watch (one of my daily staples) the 6 p.m. news.

Before departing the hospital, the research study included a video camera showing how I was able to walk with crutches less than 6 hours after the surgery. I was also required to fill out a questionnaire, walk up and down a hallway so I could be timed and for my gait to be monitored, but beyond that, instead of a two or three day stay in hospital, I was home with my meds, extra dressing for my scar, an exercise pamphlet, and lots of encouragement from kids Maeghan and Spencer, and the wonderful Nicole.

 

The only setback I had in those first 13 days was the difficult task of not letting my left leg and foot swell up. As they say it’s ‘elevate, elevate and elevate.’

I’m juggling – not really. It’s also finding the happy / content medium between over-exerting myself and on the opposite end of the scale being too seditary.

The good news / bad news item about the timing of this significant medical hip replacement, is that I am unable to drive a car for about four more weeks – despite the fact the operation was on my left side and not my right. No last minute solo Christmas shopping excursions were on my itinerary, but I did ride on a city bus the other day for the first time in more than a decade.

I say thanks to the Lanting team. Also, a thanks for the genuine concern I have received from everyone because of the horrid limp I have had for almost two years, and also to their words of encouragement, sometimes anecdotes and personal stories I have received from people I don’t really know who asked how I was coping, or wanted to tell me about their similar situation.

I send out gratitude to everyone who has assisted in some way, even though I have yet to receive cabbage rolls. As another example, there is one usher at Budweiser Gardens who would run and get the elevator for me when he saw me saunter down the hallway from the press box.

Hopefully, the agony I went through of pushing a lawnmower on a bad hip are done, and maybe I can go on a bike ride with kids in the spring.

If you read this and you’re a real estate client of mine past, present or future, by all means give me a call. I have four different Realtors assisting me from our office. With Christmas holidays as a factor, along with me wanting to find the best personality match, I have talked to a few co-workers about backing me for showings and listings, etc. Or, you can pick me up at my house and we can travel together for showings as I do need a cane still, but I’m most certainly getting around.

In the meantime, our family wishes all the best of the holiday season to you and your family, and of course a healthy and happy 2015.

Mark Schadenberg, sales representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

(519) 537-1553

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland