House mods post hip replacement

Trademark

Hi All,
Apologies to Mod or whoever if this is posted in the wrong place, my mother had a bad fall a few weeks ago and had a hip replacement. Care of it seems pretty long term as far as I can see, but I can't find a thread for similar things.

My query is, my mother had her hip replaced last week, healing ok so we know.

From reading through the leaflet at her hospital bed, there's things mentioned like keeping the knee below the hip when seated, avoiding bending over to a certain degree or bending down to pick up things.

Just wondering has anybody got previous experience they care to share or advise. I know the knee below the hip thing will mean a mammy-seat in the sitting room, probably with a movable shelf for the laptop/paddypower/facebook snoopin access etc.

She's incredibly independent so I'm trying to think of all areas, keeping the dogs feed nuts up at waist level, little waste grabber thing for things at ground level, building high raised beds in the garden for her gardening/slug killing escapades etc

Any ideas or thoughts appreciated.

Edit: mod feel free to redirect to a more suitable place if there is one.

lonestargirl

Have you spoken with anyone in the hospital yet? My great aunt broke her hip a few years ago and they sent an OT out to assess her house. They then organised a new chair as well as adding rails on the steps down to her house.

huskerdu

Have you asked the relevant physio / OT / nurses how long these restrictions will be for.

When my mother had her hip replaced, the movement restrictions were only for the 3 month recovery time. Of course your mothers situation may be different.

I would agree that you should talk to the OT or physio before making permanent changes to the house.

She wont feel like gardening for a good while anyway.

One thing that we were told to be very careful about was the position of the toilet roll. One dangerous situation is to be sitting on the loo and twsit back to get the roll that is on the cistern.

On a more general note, while the early recovery was tough, I was really impressed how much the hip replacement improved my mothers life.

I wish your mother a good recovery and it will be worth it.

neemish

Hi OP,

My mom had a knee replacement last year (slightly different I know!)

We knew it was coming and she had the bath taken out beforehand and put in a shower. Made life much easier.

The first few days take a lot of care and TLC. For us, it involved a lot of personal care which we were surprised at given Mom's independence. It's a slow process, much slower than we had thought. Someone was always in the house, and her daughters were around for shower and dressing time.
The OT and physio will have given your mom exercises so encourage her to do them as much as possible.
The other thing she found difficult was managing pain. Write down all the names of her tablets and keep a record of when she takes them. This will make it easier to see a pattern, and anyway you/she will not remember what she took and when after a few doses! It also helps when she goes back to the doctor to be able to say " well, I took x no of tablets on Tuesday, and y on Wednesday".

Her doctor gave her a website to look up, and all the family read it and got something from it. That was the most helpful because we got tips on what to do. There was also a guide on wound care etc. I'd say ask the physio/nursing staff what sites woule be best.

Good luck! and a speedy recovery to your mother

Larianne

OP, speak to the Physio and OT about it. The Physio will make sure your mother understands the importance of the hip precautions. The OT will point you in the direction of modifications for the house.