Editor’s note: This is part two of a three-part series with Roger Knox, and his journey through surgery
Cheryl Witter
For The Morning Star
Remember Roger? We introduced him to you on Feb. 15 in a ‘meet and greet’ article about his pending total hip joint replacement surgery.
He’s that hardworking Morning Star multi-media journalist that spends his weekends traveling to beautiful places working as a wedding officiant. Well, he got that new hip! And the report is in. All went well!
Roger is getting his dance playlist ready! He’s not dancing yet. But his spirit sure is.
Let’s catch up with Roger now and learn what the initial post op month been like for him.
Cheryl: Congratulations Roger on owning your first new hip! Give me three words to how you are feeling now.
Roger: Elated! Emotional. Excited!
CW: The first thing everyone will want to know is…was the surgery painful?
RK: I never felt a thing, was out cold! Whole thing was over in less than 90 minutes.
CW: The second thing everyone will want to know is…is your original hip pain gone now?
RK: Yes it is! The difference between now and when we first chatted is amazing! Very minimal post-op pain now.
CW: How long were you in the hospital? And how was that stay ?
RK: From check in to discharge was just over 24 hours. Can’t say enough great things about the care I received, Cheryl! It was first class and pure professionalism from every department involved!
CW: How soon were you walking after? And what’s your favourrite walking aide?
RK: They had me going for a short stroll out of my room and onto the ward about four to five hours after I woke up in recovery. I’ve been using my two-wheel walker and crutches the most.
CW: What are you most surprised at?
RK: The lack of chronic pain that I lived with for years.
CW: How big is your incision? Where is it?
RK: It’s about three to four inches on my right buttocks.
CW: What are you supposed to avoid in the early stage of recovery?
RK: Driving. Can’t go swimming yet, and I really miss my pool group! And overdoing things. I was feeling great and confident that I did about an hour of exercise and physio. Later that night, the area around the incision started to swell and it hurt a lot when I walked or laid down. I went to emergency and was diagnosed with a seroma, a build-up of fluid around a surgical area. So it’s a minor setback but it’s starting to heal. Physio and surgeon are still really happy with my progress, as am I!
CW: What’s the most frustrating thing about your post-op recovery?
RK: Getting in and out of my shower. I’m all for walk-in showers now!
CW: If you could time travel backwards when would you have ideally liked to have this surgery?
RK: Wow, great question! Somewhere pre-COVID, 2017, 2018-ish??
CW: We are still time traveling…would you have done anything differently leading up to this point in time where you needed a new hip?
RK: I’d have pushed for more opinions. I knew something still wasn’t right, but I just accepted it instead of pursuing other options.
CW: When do you start physiotherapy?
RK: Started March 7 at VJH. Physio liked what she was seeing in terms of my mobility.
CW: How is your relationship with Netflix?
RK: Great! My son recommended the documentary golf series Full Swing, and a friend recommended a hilarious series called Loudermilk. And, of course, I’ve been watching spring training baseball!
CW: What song do you crank up when you are doing your home exercises?
RK: Feeling Stronger Everyday, Chicago; Mama Let That Boy (play some rock ‘n’ roll), Jerry Doucette; Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd; Eye of the Tiger, Survivor;
Cheryl Witter is a physiotherapist, owner of North End Spine and Sport Physical Therapy and Massage Therapy in Vernon
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