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Embarking on a New Life After Getting a Hip Replacement

Posted on: Monday, 31 October 2005, 12:01 CST

HIGH POINT -- It was a special graduation dinner. The menu was impressive with choices that included salmon with a dill sauce and boneless chicken breast with a champagne cream sauce. Each graduate was allowed one guest to help celebrate the occasion.

Some of the graduates wore gowns, but they did not feature a cap and mortarboard. The gowns they donned were hospital gowns. Each had just successfully undergone a life-changing experience. They were graduates of High Point Regional Health Systems Piedmont Joint Replacement Center and had undergone either total knee or total hip replacement surgery.

My husband, Stanley, was one of those graduates, and I was his guest for that graduation dinner. He would soon be embarking on a new life ... one that would enable him to walk. It was a special dinner for both of us.

Our story is not unlike others. Stanleys leg pain began more than three years ago. It started not long after his successful treatment for prostate cancer. He knew he had arthritis. He also had bulging disks, pinched nerves and bone spurs on his spine. Hed been through a lot. But nothing helped the increasing pain in his leg. The pain was excruciating, and he could not walk.

Because of previous conditions and surgeries involving his spine, it was thought by his neurosurgeon that his debilitating pain was nerve-related. Test after test failed to determine a cause for his mysterious pain.

As time passed, Stanley, who at one time would often walk five miles a day while living in New York, could barely walk a few steps without terrible pain. My heart had been broken months before when he looked at me as I scurried around the house and said, I am beginning to panic. I am not sure that I will ever be able to walk again. Although I reassured him at the time, I, too, was becoming worried that he would never walk again.

Fortunately, we were referred to High Point Orthapaedic and Sports Medicine. The X-rays immediately showed the reason for his mysterious pain. He had no cartilage left in his hip and there were pockets of cysts around what was left of his hip joint. Deterioration was severe, but we were elated because we finally had a diagnosis. With that diagnosis came hope.

The relief that both Stanley and I had was remarkable. Was it possible that Stanley would walk again? By the time of surgery, his hip joint was badly deteriorated with multiple fractures and abscess. Now we had hope, but still had to wait about six more weeks until the surgery could be scheduled.

Stanley, similar to others in need of a knee or hip replacement, was looking forward to going into the hospital. But as we found out, this hospital stay would be like no other. We were going to Joint Camp. Both of us would be going to camp, he as the camper and me as the caregiver.

Joint Camp is more officially known as the Piedmont Joint Replacement Center. It is on the eighth floor at High Point Regional Health System and is dedicated only to joint replacement patients.

Typically, the patient will undergo surgery on Monday or Tuesday and will remain in the hospital four days. The graduation dinner is served on the third evening.

Susan Welch is the coordinator for the center, which officially opened in September 2002. She had been instrumental in spearheading the efforts for the Piedmont Joint Replacement Center. It had been her observation when she was an orthopaedic nurse that joint replacement patients had specific needs that were different from the general hospital population.

At that time, joint replacement patients were scattered throughout the hospital. They could be with pneumonia patients or stroke patients. The center focuses only on those with joint replacements. It has made a difference in the lives of countless patients who have graduated from the center, including my husband.

While we were looking forward to Stanleys upcoming operation, there were preparations. Stanley would be needing home health care during his recuperation, so Jim Reilly of Advanced Home Care visited us about two weeks before the surgery to explain the physical therapy that would become routine for a successful recovery.

Then we attended mandatory total joint teaching class before entering the hospital. Thats when we first met Norma Dennis and her husband, Burley. She was in the lobby of the hospital walking slowly with the aid of her cane. Her pain was evident as she gingerly stepped on the elevator. Norma would have knee replacement surgery on the same day that Stanley had his hip replacement. They would be camp mates. Norma and I would become friends.

The class was led by Welch. She was so enthusiastic as she explained the camp activities and educated both the knee and replacement campers on exactly what to expect during and after their surgery and hospitalization.

Although both Stanley and I were looking forward to the surgery, there still was apprehension, but those fears fortunately were unfounded. Stanleys surgery by Dr. Mark Warburton lasted more than three hours, which is considered long for hip replacement. That first night, Stanley was allowed to rest and even control his own pain management. Day two would be different.

The second day began with early blood work about 5:30 a.m. It is important to regulate the blood thinner Coumadin, which is needed because of potential blood clots. His hospital team of nurses, especially Amy Tow, who worked several double shifts, nursing assistants, physical therapists and doctors, checked on him frequently.

Dr. Edward Weller was often seen in his scrubs visiting patients.

This joint center has been great for the patients and also a great thing for the hospital, Weller said. We see patients back in one to two months and they all refer back and say that they had such a good experience. Everything is directed at getting the total joint patients quality therapy and getting them out of the hospital quickly.

And it was true. There was not much time for rest before the parade of the recliners began to attend the first group physical therapy session. One by one the campers, seated in their recliners, were pushed by medical personnel into the exercise room. It was quite a sight.

Physical therapy is a major part of their recovery process. On that Wednesday, there were eight patients and eight recliners in the small room. As the patients fill the room they share stories of their progress. Telephone numbers will be exchanged. Friends will be made.

Candace Riedl conducts the physical therapy sessions. We try to make it fun for the patients, Riedl said. We play the Oldies radio station while they work out. Its a great way to socialize because they have gone through similar surgeries and they can share stories.

Stanley was one of the first patients in the exercise room. The camper across the room had his hip surgery the day before Stanleys. Stanley saw this man in shorts and walking down the hall using his walker followed by a nurses aide pushing his recliner. Stanley knew he would be walking the next day albeit with the aid of the walker, which would be required for the next 5-6 weeks. The despair that Stanley had felt for so long was slowly turning to hope. He also was happy to win a hip keychain that he won playing Putt-Putt. Joint replacement Jeopardy soon followed.

Wednesdays were a special day for the campers. After their afternoon physical therapy class, a chaplain from pastoral care dimmed the lights and took the patients on a guided imagery tour, which is a relaxation session. Afterward, each returned to their room and were treated with a massage. This was a special treat that was incorporated into the joint camp. Stanley especially enjoyed that.

Everyone was happy with Stanleys progress as he prepared to be released from the hospital on day four. Unlike other areas in the hospital, the joint center is only open from Monday to Friday. This camp was over, and a new one would start the following week.

Stanley was fortunate to go home since I would act as his primary caregiver during his recuperation. Others either are discharged to other areas of the hospital or a rehab facility or nursing home.

Stanley now is recovering at home and has received continuing care from his physical therapist, Chris Vetrone, and his nurse, Michelle Barford, of Advance Home Healthcare. Soon he will discard his walker in favor of a cane, and a few weeks after that he will no longer need his cane. He has no pain.

Now as he turns to me, he says, I know now that I will be able to walk again. As he says that, he adds, I want to get a dog and I can take him for a walk. Yes, Stanley, and I will get that dog. And yes, Stanley will be able to take that dog for a walk.

We are both pleased and thankful to everyone at the Piedmont Joint Replacement Center.

Mary Bogest is an artist who lives in north High Point. If you have news of an upcoming event in the High Point area, send e-mail to her at msbogest@aol.com.

Source: Greensboro News Record

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