DEH369. My heart breaks for you, I pray you will get through your mums funeral and your days after will be of memories that make you smile about the good times. Be kind to yourself and forgive yourself.
I Thankyou for your information, my mum is in hospital still recovering from the operation so I will heed your advice.
God bless.x

Robynhome the cracks are what caused mom's second surgery. Have you seen the X-ray? My moms new hip now has "zip ties" around the bone to keep cracks from occurring. When is the next xray?

Also make sure doctor specializes in hips. # 1 doctor did not but second one was a "problem hip" doctor.
If they are not up standing on day after surgery make a stink. Also make sure the surgeon - not just PA does follow up in hospital.

Make sure they take an X-ray after the surgery and before going to rehab place. They did not with my mom and then she was not up right away. They said it was because she was 89 ... But at rehAb place day one when she stood up it broke again and then they did therapy for a week before finally an X-ray showed hip was broken again and new surgery was needed.
Second. Do not let anyone near your hip patient with a transfer board. After surgery #2 she was not allowed to put weight on new hip for 6 weeks. Rehab folks insisted on board tranfer method... Reopened incision (92 staples long by this time) and eventually became infected requiring surgery#3 and 2 months I.V antibiotics. Plus oral ones and 6 more weeks of no weight bearing.
Mom's other leg got trashed because of all added stress and now has severely limited mobility. But her left hip is great!

I suggest using the "Raised & Easy Access Toilet Seat" sold on amazon. Allows individuals with limited motion the ability to function independently on the toilet.
Also help prevent falls and Urinary Tract Infections.
Great for the elderly, individuals with arthritis, etc.

Susiflorence your dad is doing all the right things but having had so many falls I think it is prudent to have him continue to use the two canes indoors and out. he is no longer a spring chicken and our balence often is not as good as it once was for many reasons.

My dad is 86 and had hips replaced 2 years ago. He has and is going to physio 2 X a week. Physiotherapist is happy. Surgeon was happy. Dad swims every day. But has yet to walk on his own. Still uses 2 canes. And has had bad falls.

Robyn,
I don't think you can set a time frame for your mother to return to her home. You really have to go by how the new crack is healing.
Had you and your mother previously thought about her long term care if she became unable to live alone. You can try cutting back on the pain pills a little to see if she can manage with less but if she can't don't deprive her.
I can see how discouraged you all are with this set back but she can't go home for a while so maybe you should arrange for some one to be with her in your home for a while so that you can get on with your life, Hope she feels better soon

My mom had hip pinning surgery Dec 28 2013, spent two weeks in a great Rehab facility for PT and OT. We brought her back to our house thinking she'd need a couple of weeks to "get back on her feet" enough to go home with dome part time in home care. Just at the end of the two weeks her pain spiked and an xr showed a new crack in her leg parallel to the rod just below the hip pins. She's having to take strong narcotics to manage the pain so she can keep walking on it as the Dr said this is the best treatment. She's wiped out from the drugs and discourage from the setback. Do we keep her here longer or keep moving forward on arranging part time or fulltime in home care as she continues to recover. My life had been on hold for 5 weeks now. She doesn't like being dependent. We want to encourage independence. How do decide when is the right time for her to transfer back to her home (25 miles from us)?

PLEASE HEED THIS PLEASE!!! MAKE SURE THEY WALK AND GET PT AND OT ! I just lost my mother last Thursday and it was the hardest thing to accept. She had total hip replacement and survived it as her will was strong and she was a real fighter. She survived the hip surgery even though she had end stage heart failure. The day after the surgery she was HAPPY AND MOTIVATED and ready to start rehab. WELL, HERE IS MY WARNING - make sure the hospital staff doesn't mess around with getting your elderly parents vitals perfect before they start rehab!! My mother's vitals would never have been perfect she had CHF stage 4!!! They kept giving her meds, messing with her vitals and she never got into rehab. She ended up getting a UTI and fever, lost all her strength and was bed ridden for over a month. The surgeon himself said she needed to start walking forget about the CHF! She must move!

Folks, please make sure you learn from what happened to my mom. I strongly believe she would have been alive if they just started rehabbing her. In the rehab home -WATCH your parents mental and physical condition. If they aren't progressing or are continually ill - get them back in the hospital. I am furious with the doctor they had at the rehab place - all he did was ask about her Advanced Health Care Directive and treated her like a lost cause. I'm sorry, but I'm angry. You don't know what it took to get her to the surgery and for her to survive only to die of a fever and infection and being inactive.

Yes, life had been difficult as I was caregiver and I was sooooooo tired and drained like all of you can be and part of me is relieved she is no longer suffering and that life will slowly get back to normal but I'm still angry still upset as I know we would have still had her with us. I don't know I have so many emotions and I'm numb that I can't see her or hold her hand. No matter how sick she was, she was still my mom and when I held her hand I felt safe and loved. Her funeral is today and I'm trying to write a eulogy. I don't know how to say goodbye so I will say see you later and thank you.

Please take care of yourselves and your aging parents - once they are gone, it's a whole different set of emotions. I feel I did my best and I have no regrets except to have maybe spent more time with her at night when she wanted to talk more even though I was so tired. Or to get her into the hospital sooner. I don't know. All I know is that I miss her so terribly, but somehow when I think of her or need her, I feel her around.

My husband is having hip replacement surgery this September. Our bed is in an old water bed frame with a set of drawers under it so our mattress is approximately 3 ft off the ground. I need a stool to get into bed and he needs to pull himself up. I am 5'1 and he is 6'1. do I need to lower our bed onto a normal frame before his surgery? He thinks he will be able to get in and out of bed with no problem after the surgery.