I spent today doing last minute shopping to get ready for the surgery, and I've also been working on getting the house set up. The medics at Joint Camp told me to remove or secure all rugs, so I don't trip over them with my crutches when I come home from the hospital. I took care of that with some carpet tape which I hope will hold.
My biggest problem in all the preparations has been seating. After hip replacement, you're not allowed to sit in any kind of low, sinky chair. We're short on chairs in this house to begin with, but the chairs we do have are, of course, low and sinky. I asked the insurance company if they could provide me with a Hip Chair, but they declined. They did offer an adjustable hospital bed, something they for some reason were willing to provide free of charge. But the doctor recommended against the special bed. THR patients are encouraged to get into the swing of normal life as soon as possible, and most people don't have the luxury of an adjustable bed at home. So I'll be going up and down stairs on the crutches from day one, and getting in and out of a regular bed. But back to chairs. I was hoping to have a comfortable armchair to recover in, but didn't have the resources to go out and buy one just for this purpose. I was told a wingback chair would be the best, since it would be tall and stiff, and the seat would not be too deep. Nancy spent the day trying to borrow such a chair on my behalf, but once she did find one, I had to turn it down out of fear our cat would destroy the upholstery with her claws. So I'm still without a good chair. After the surgery, I'll have to keep my hip at an angle no smaller than 90 degrees, and keep both feet on the floor, with my knees lower than my hips, whenever I am sitting. I will not be allowed to cross my legs or ankles. The correct chair is a critical piece of equipment if I'm to be comfortable. Seems like I should have arranged all this weeks ago rather than procrastinate and think it would all work itself out. The chair situation is one of my major stressors at the moment.
Other major stress involves the kids, but I'm telling myself it will all be fine. My sister-in-law is coming tomorrow to stay for a few days, and that will be a life saver. She'll be taking care of the kids while Lee is with me at the hospital, and I believe she's going to stick around until the day I come home. If my mother were alive, she'd have come to spend the whole summer with me. We would have driven each other crazy, but it would have been wonderful. Although I don't have family support in the area, I do have good friends. Nancy has been organizing everybody, and arranging volunteers to deliver meals to us, help with grocery shopping, and generally just be there. She's been critical. In fact, she's on her way over right now, bringing two chairs for my seating pleasure.
