I had my right hip replaced with a titanium one on December 28. I’m writing this after almost six weeks of recovery. It hasn’t been as smooth or as fast as I hoped. And it disrupted my life far more than I expected!

Two-and-a-half weeks after the surgery, there was a juicy out-of-town promotion I really wanted to go to. Bonnie and my doctor were strongly opposed to me going. Finally, I acceded and stayed home — probably the right move. But giving up on a good promotion really goes against the grain.

I’ve shared before that I belong to the Las Vegas Improvisational Players (www.lvimprov.com) and perform in a showcase once a month. The leader of the group wanted me to sit out the January performance — figuring I was still a bit wobbly. Improv does include some physicality, and you never know what’s coming because the suggestions come from the audience. He figured it would be easy to accidentally exceed my physical limitations in the heat of the moment. While I figured that I could still perform, I yielded reasonably gracefully. But I’ll be in the February 17 showcase, and all the future ones when I’m in town. For the next few months, though, I’ll be cast in skits with little potential for physicality. 

Three-times-a-week physical therapy (PT) works well if you apply yourself. They tell you to do 30 repetitions and then let you decide how many to really do — and whether you lift your leg all the way or halfway. Basically, their business plan is to collect $100 a session (or whatever the amount is) from the insurance companies. If you take six months instead of three months to recover, so much the better as far as the PT company is concerned.

PT also works better if you do the exercises at home between sessions. I knew this but was not as diligent as I could have been. I probably averaged two sessions a week at home (rather than the recommended four) on the days I didn’t go to PT.

The exercises, though, were only geared for my right leg — because that’s the side where my new hip is. I decided early on, though, to do the exercises on both sides. Even though the exercises were way too easy for my left leg, I felt it made no sense to only exercise one side of my body. My hour-long PT session got extended by twenty minutes or so. The PT staff had to notice this, but so far haven’t said a word about this.

I was cautioned not to bend over too far too soon after the surgery, and not to cross my legs. If the hip pops out of socket, needless to say, it’s not a good thing. So, for the first four weeks or so after the operation, I needed Bonnie to help me with the compression hose they recommended and tying my shoelaces. I couldn’t bend over enough to put on pants of any sort without help. One month out, I could dress myself unassisted.

I have a player-friend who drove me to casinos periodically after about three weeks. I’d take my walker and take frequent rests. He’d drop me off at the front door of casinos and then go park the car. I wouldn’t do my full slot-scouting run at first, but each time was a little bit further.

I was told not to drive for six weeks after surgery. This is a longer period of time for the right hip than the left simply because driving in this country uses the right leg more than the left. After four weeks of using Lyft, though, there came a day when Bonnie and I had six places we needed to go to back-to-back — none of them more than three miles from the last. After one around-the-block test drive, I decided I could do it.  

For the next two days, though, my right leg and knee really ached. Whatever muscles are used in driving had deteriorated. I drove every other day for short periods of time, and about a week later could drive for an hour straight without discomfort. 

My first out-of-town casino trip came at about the four-week mark. It was tougher than I expected. The nicer rooms they assigned us were far away from the hotel elevators. Had I thought about it, I would have requested a regular room close to the elevators — but I didn’t think of it until afterwards.

I only played four hours a day, but I had to split that into two sessions. I knew about how much walking would be required at this casino — we’ve been there before — but taking that many steps turned out to be more difficult than knowing how many steps it was going to be. I was pretty wiped out when I returned home four days later. Although it was a losing trip this time, I’m pretty sure that was just normal variance and not due to my infirmity. But I can’t be sure.

As I write the first draft of this blog, I haven’t had my six-week post-operation medical visit yet. I expect I’ll be told I can now submerge into a bath (if there are handicap bars to help me get out — which there are in our home) if I want. I’m now taking an aspirin tablet twice a day to avoid blood clots. Whether that routine is changed — or whether I’ll still be told to wear compression stockings — I’ll find out. Other than not doing my exercises as much as requested, I’ve been a pretty good patient. And I’ll continue to do so.

My next casino trip is in another three weeks. I’ll take my walker with me — in case. The walking distances there will be considerably longer than the ones on my last trip. They have motorized scooters available if necessary — but I’m assuming/hoping I won’t need one. We’ll see.

When I last saw my surgeon, two weeks afterwards, he said it was normal to be thinking “Oh God! What have I done?” And to be sure, there was a little of that. He also said that after six weeks I’ll be saying, “This is the best thing that ever happened to me! I should have done it years ago!” 

Well, it’s almost six weeks, and I’m still recovering. But I’m a lot closer to being really happy I did this than I was a month ago.