How ironic that the task of being the editor of our special section on Health, Sports and Fitness should arrive as the process of collecting necessary materials hits high gear in my preparation for hip replacement surgery.
So my hip mentor, Charley Rosen (who writes in this issue about his last comeback — part 1 —on the basketball court, with his own new one implanted) has provided me with pertinent hardware, to wit, a walker (I challenged my 92 year old mother in law to a race, even though she’s got wheels on hers), a cane, and a raised toilet seat (you can’t crouch low enough without it after the operation, for a while.) The other stuff? Still need crutches (the Woodstock Rescue Squad Loan Closet will help); a shoehorn with a long handle, because you won’t be able to bend down to tie your shoes for a few weeks; one of those long grabbing tools to reach for things; slip on shoes, etc.
Astonishingly, I’m told that the surgery lasts only an hour, with the good Dr. Lombardo of Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County presiding (the operating room is only booked for an hour and a half); it’s followed by three days in the hospital (surgery on a Tuesday, home by Friday), with a gradual emergence from medicated haze taking place as a slowly evolving rehab schedule gets under way.
I’ll be getting a Zimmer hip, with a ball and a socket, to replace parts long worn out.