THR Phyical Therapy Begins

The right hip was replaced on Monday the 20th of Sept. On Wed the 23rd we had our first PT visit with David Newman. David measured muscle strengths, depts of angles, etc. He wrote them all down then said we were to return starting Sept 25th for twice a week to work with Kevin.


Here is Kevin. He greeted us with a big smile, a new haircut and several pounds lighter. You go Kevin!

Kevin checks the list to be certain I did all of the required exercises. No homework as of yet. The staples come out on Tuesday. I have a feeling the real work will begin then.

Here it is Monday and back at PT. Staples come out tomorrow. This snapshot shows Kevin waiting patiently for someone to finish their exercises. He has a bag of ice all prepared to apply once exercises are completed.

With a smile that reminds me of a Cheshire cat - this once again is Dave. The fella who loves to see you progress in your treatment. He is talking to another patient. I think Dave will measure me for progress next week. We'll see.

Total Hip Replacement - fait de' compli

Monday, September 20, 2010. 10:30 a.m. The adventure began. Into the operating room for a new right hip - total hip replacement (THR). I can only compare it to the feelings I would have early Christmas morning when I was 8. (And that was a long time ago!)

Dr. Cass Nakasone is my orthopedic surgeon. Prior to choosing a surgeon we researched a number of areas: surgical approaches, physicians' educational background, patient comments, artificial hip device brands and component parts, metal/ceramic vs metal/metal, recalls, the National Joint Registry of England and Wales, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) new American Joint Replacement Registry, etc.
We also found a video of Dr. Nakasone performing a total hip replacement using an anterior approach. The 90 minute video demonstrated several things to us. This surgery is generally about one hour. During the surgery video Dr. Nakasone answered questions from a narrating physician. Dr. Nakasone is a born teacher with a practiced technique. All surgeries involve risk. But when it is necessary, we go in with as much knowledge as possible. Dr. Nakasone definitely filled the bill for us.

My guess is we probably asked more questions of him than any previous patient for a total hip replacement (THR). Each person we dealt with was informative and patient with this patient.


This is Dr. Nakasone. I took this photo while he was answering a question. He almost always has a smile on his face. I will try and get a better one during our 6 week check up. His smile matches the quiet, pleasant, good natured atmosphere we have experienced with him.


Although this photo is not of the best quality we wanted to capture the team of which Dr. Nakasone is the lead. Each member plays an important part in the surgery as well as my recovery.


This is Rhiarose. She is one of two physicians assistance's on the team. She graceously agreed to stand still long enough to take this snapshot.



Around 4 pm I was back in my room. My legs had a thigh high compression stockings. There was also an air compression wrap on each calf. A small electric pump inflated each wrap in turn. These are tools to avoid deep vein thrombosis (DVT) . After a good dinner we had a quiet night with John at my side. Note the orchid on the dinner tray. I wasn't in the hospital long enough for flower delivery but this orchid did the trick.



Tuesday began with breakfast followed by a visit from Molly our occupational therapist. Could I get to and from the bathroom? Use the potty? Enter and leave the shower? After demonstrating the ability to complete of each of these daily tasks, we received the OT stamp of approval.



The last team member, but certainly not the least, was Tammy. She is the physical therapist. A stroll down the hall and back with Tammy got us the OK to head for home. Our hospital stay added up to about 29 hours. We were given several exercises to perform at home until we begin our formal PT program. The most important exercise is to walk, walk, walk but not to overdo. So that is what we are doing.

The scar two days old. It measures about 5 inches. Will post updates on scar progress.

Friends and Godchildren

During the second half of our travels we had the opportunity to see and visit with a few of our favorite people. We would be remiss if we did not share their photos with their families and friends.

Lois! I think she may be embarrassed to acknowledge we first met in 1982. I guess about that time she must have been maybe 18? Lois taught our two girls to play violin via the Suzuki Method. We held various volunteer positions with the Suzuki Group over the years and the titular head was always Lois. Ask me and I will tell you this is the photo of a lady made of pure patience, love and acceptance of all children regardless of their abilities. She became a semi-member of our family and we still love her!

Jennifer. Here again is the photo of a lady who has helped us in too many ways to list. She perserveres with a level head and coolness but always with wamth and affection. We have grown to treasure dear Jennifer.

This is Bill. We have known each other and worked together for about 20 years. Dinner with him is always an adventure so this one was no exception. He can be best described as a gentle giant with an intellect to be respected. Each time we visit the Southeast Bill is on our list of people to see.


This Bill is the husband of my faithful friend and companion Loretta.

This is Loretta. If I could choose a sister or daughter -- Loretta would top that list. We were a working team. Most of the time Loretta was at the helm guiding me through. Boy oh boy, she put up with me for almost 10 years.

Golfing buddy and friend. Here is Will. Will had a total hip replacement (THR) and has encouraged me in my upcoming THR. John would see Will about twice each week at his favorite golf course - Applewood.

Our second golfing buddy and friend, Norman. Norman is a perpetual bachelor. I would often ride along in the cart when John played golf and spent some of the time trying to do some match making for Norm. No luck. He seems to have a steady stream of ladies. That is because he is so darn cute!

These are two of our six godchildren, Georgie and June. We were fortunate to have time to visit with the entire family over lunch. Wow can they pack away pancakes. Jacob and John (twins 18) lead the pack in that competition.



Rather than a bunch of photos - we took a video of our six godchildren. John and Jacob are both off to college. Georgie is now a junior in high school (Oh how the time flies.) The triplets, James, Josh and June are in elementary school.

Busy Summer Part II - The SE

Miss Louise allowed us to join her class. We ate lunch with the class then stayed a little while to watch. It was delightful.

Lunch with Little K. And I got to sit next to him. Fun!

Sitting in the circle while Miss Louise talks. When we arrived the class was making banana bread. Students taking turns reading the recipe while others had a turn at breaking eggs or stirring. The class smelled delicious.

Our last night in Atlanta and our youngest came straight from work to say goodbye. And she was wearing one of her Hawaiian scrub tops. Sweet girl. It is always great to see the kids - in the summer while it is still warm.

Using the newest capability on the iPhone. Caleb and Tanner share earphones while talking "face to face" with their NYC Uncle and his family. A good time was had by all.

It is nice to see Jeff so happy to be getting one year older. Gad zooks, that means I am a year older too.

We had a great birthday dinner with Dad, Tanner and Caleb. Oh those ribs were so good.

This piece was made by a young NYC artist, Pedro Ramerez Jr. Purchased this piece as a gift so got to visit it too. She is as pretty as I remembered so had to snap a photo of her.

Ginger isn't so sure Sandy wants to be friends.

Ginger came to visit and meet Sandy.

The newest member of the family is Sandy the cat.

After a nice visit in NYC we hopped a plane to see even more family. Looks like maybe they were happy to see us. We certainly were glad to see them.

Busy Summer Part I NYC

Once done, Nick had created a lovely Monarch butterfly.

One other must do when in the Big Apple is a visit to Nick. Nick is an artist. Here he is hard at work.

A must see/do while in the city is a visit and ride on the giant ferris wheel inside of Toys R Us. I guess the age of 4 and 3/4 isn't too old as yet to want to ride it. The question being answered here is "How many times have we gone around?" Maybe next year her little sister will want to join us. Fun!

Can't take John to the Big Apple and not see the Yankees. We have attended games via the bus, subway and the Yankee Clipper (boat). This time it was the Clipper and it was as much fun going and coming back as seeing the game. This time the Yankees won. I have intimated to John he may be a jinx for his beloved team due to our past experiences but they won!

Here we are continuing our youngest granddaughter's technological awareness. Sitting enthralled in front of her parents' Mac and loving every minute of it.

I think she may be more savvy with Apple devices than she is with books right now.

Eating New York Sicilian style pizza while practicing her Hawaiian shaka. And she is doing pretty well. Just have to keep an eye on that one pinkie!

Plumeria in her hair. Getting ready for a visit to the islands.

Total Hip Replacement Update

Hooray, hooray
we heard today
a bionic hip is on its way
on September 20th we will see
how this new hip will work for me!

Royal Jelly Comes To Oahu

Tonight we (Cris and I) attended a Jafra Royal Jelly Spa party. Being an adventurous kind of person, I accepted the invitation not knowing (a) what is royal jelly and (b) whatever it is what do you do with it. The word "spa" was a hint so off we went.
I learned that royal jelly is the special food produced to feed the queen bee in a hive. The supply of royal jelly is nowhere near that of honey. Royal jelly is the key ingredient in many products.


One example of royal jelly being put to use is in a multi-purose vitamin.

Here is a snapshot of our hostess, Chris. She is a good example of the success in the use of the Jafa Royal Jelly line. Her skin was really pretty (luminous). She also uses Jafa products for her hair.

Everyone began by soaking our feet in a combination of water, a Jafa product and sea salt. We experienced a "mini" massage by having marbles in each container and rolling them around with our feet. It felt nice.

Cris (with a flower in her hair - as usual) is relaxing with her feet in a pan of warm water. We could all hear the sound of the marbles being rolled around in each pan.

You can tell by the smiles everyone was enjoying the experience!



After soaking our feet we each did an exfoliating exercise using scented sea salt. Next came a foot massage. We were to massage our own foot but two of the ladies thought it might be more fun if they tried a massage on the other. It looks as thought they enjoyed it.

Another photo of some of the large variety of items in the line. Kind of like another line of ladies' products (I will not name) but a nicer, more subtle choice of fragrances (at least for me). What kind of things you ask? Well, shampoo, conditioner, facial masks and moisturizers, exfoliants, lotions, soap, sunscreen among others. A nice evening was had by all.

Cris - The Spirit of Aloha

Today we met Cris for lunch. We are Harts. Cris is a lady who is all heart. She is a dedicated mother, professional and wife. She is indeed the model for me of what Aloha means.

When I whipped out my iPhone to snap this photo she said "Oh, give me a minute to arrange the flower in my hair." Each time we see her, no matter where or when, she has a flower in her hair, a smile on her lips and a kind word.

Here is Cris on the phone with the love of her life. His name is Ken. His calls do not go unanswered. Oh, it is my husband she says with a smile and picks up her phone.

In an attempt to reflect some of the Aloha we have received from Cris I donned a flower behind my ear before going to meet her. I am told this is a small orchid. The plant is from a local store and happily grows in a pot on our lanai (balcony).

Hip Replacement Update

We had an appointment with our physical therapist - Dave. He checked on the progress of the total knee replacement (TKR). Measured the angle of bend achieved, evaluated the muscle strength - some muscles were either stretched or severed and put back together. We were released from going to PT at the hospital. However, we received instructions on what to continue doing in order to improve the TKR left knee as well as strengthening the right side for a total hip replacement (THR). Am expecting to become totally bionic before this is all over. My goal is to climb the steps to the top of Diamond Head (about 400 steps) then to hike in our protected forest reserves.


Here is Dave thinking about the list he is about to give us for exercises to do at our local gym 3 times a week.


Thinking accomplished, Dave moved to the whiteboard to make a list for us. And what a list - wow! Warm up bike, hip abductor/adductor machine, leg press, lat pull machine, seated calf machine, knee extension machine, compound row. And John is doing all of these too as well as more. The knee will be measured monthly until Dave is satisfied with results. Then hopefully the exercises will have accomplished enough for the THR to go forward. Fingers crossed.


At our local gym working on hip adduction. Wouldn't it be great if it could get rid of some of that arm fat?