Our holidays are different this year. After years of suffering with an aching leg, I finally broke down and admitted I need a hip replacement. It could have been done in October but there were some things on the calendar I wanted to do in November. So I pushed the surgery off until November 21.
The day came and I went into the OR at 7:30 in the morning. The next thing I knew it was 8:30 and I was in the recovery room. Everything went well and about 1 p.m. I was out of bed walking down the hall. The next day I was discharged and went home.
Our daughter, Cheryl, came from Ohio to stay for a week and be my caregiver. Thanksgiving came during that week. Cheryl brought a smoked turkey with her and invited all of her brothers who had no other plans to come for dinner. As far as anyone knows, she has not been here for Thanksgiving since she was married more than thirty years ago. We set the table with my china dishes to add to the special occasion. There was eleven of us at the table.
The aching pain in my leg that had plagued me for so long was gone but there was a different sort of pain from surgery. One surprising benefit was how much straighter I am able to stand since I have a solid post in that leg. I thought my scoliosis was getting worse but the reason I was bent over so far was from a crumbled framework.
I am going for therapy three times per week and my mobility is slowly increasing, but building up the strength in that weak leg will take time. Our children took charge of Christmas and said I am excused from cooking this year. We are also having it in a school where there are no stairs instead of our basement. I hope to be back to normal in January.
My grandma needed a knee replacement. She would say, "If I could only get a new knee," but that was just wishful thinking in her lifetime. I am thankful replacements are possible today and wish I had not procrastinated so many years. A longer recovery is the price I must pay for procrastination.
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