15 Months Post Op

Hello Everyone,

It’s now 15 months since I had my THR in October 2020, and I thought it was time to let you know how I’m doing. Here’s my 1-minute back story: I broke my hip in a bicycle accident in 2019. It was repaired with screws, and for a time it seemed to be fine. But I got avascular necrosis in less than a year and needed a hip replacement. I have a dual mobility hip, posterior, uncemented.

I went back to PT last summer, 7 months post op, because I still couldn’t run, and my operated leg was weaker than my normal leg. It was time and money well spent; I made a lot of progress. I started a run/walk program about a year after surgery. On Thanksgiving Day, I walked and ran the Manchester Road Race. I ran 11 minutes (in segments) and walked the rest. I was thrilled, because it was the first time since I broke my hip that I was able to do any running at all in race. I continue to progress slowly with the run/walk program. My PT told me that it would take longer than I ever dreamed to regain full strength, and he was right. I am content with the slow pace. My surgeon told me firmly that I’d have to stop running, so any amount of running I can do feels like a gift. I am looking at a Quarter Marathon in April. The event organizers have told me that the course will be open until the last person finishes. I don’t expect to be able to run all of it; whatever combination of running and walking I am able to do at that time will be fine.

I wish I knew why recovery is taking so long. Is it because I had 2 surgeries on the same site a year apart? Is it because of my huge 8-inch incision? Is it because this is a big surgery? Or is it just that I’m 62 and not a natural athlete? My strengths are self-discipline and tenacity, not talent. Whatever, the cause, I continue to press on.

-Hoppie