Rebuilding the Man: Day Three.

Ben's up and at them today! Yes, he's been out of bed with the aid of the walker. It seems these exercises are measured by being able to make it to the shower, in which case he was successful today. Much to his pleasure I would suspect, as he was complaining yesterday that the sponge baths really weren't doing it for him!

It's great news though and the more mobile he is the quicker he'll both regain body strength and help the hip heal! The process of healing seems to be a lengthy one. He'll be on his back for the next couple of weeks, only being able to bend over to an angel of 45 degrees. After the 6 week period this will stretch to 90 degrees for around the next 3 months. He'll have to be very careful how he interacts with normal tasks, such as getting into bed or sitting in a chair. If he bends past a certain point the hip could pop out resulting in another operation. It's not like a dislocation where they can simply "pop it back in".

I won't get into the nitty gritty of it, there's far too much to remember. That is why they're sending out an occupational health worker to assess the house. They'll check everything from the height of the bed to the access in/out of the shower, etc. They'll then make recommendations on what might need to be done in aiding Ben further mobility around the house.

On top of this he won't be traveling as a passenger in a car for the first 6 weeks and it's another 3 months until he'll see the drivers seat. He's getting rid of the Porsche though, so now he might look at driving as a chore instead of a pleasure - it might not be so bad being chauffeured!

Okay, enough of the banter and back to Ben! He had a rather rough night due to, again, another meal mixup. Last night the chicken broth he thought was gluten free, actually contained gluten. Remembering that Ben is a celiac, it's suffice to say he didn't have a pleasant evening.

Tomorrow sees a return to the normal staff roster which means more physio. Hopefully he'll be having two sessions rather than the one a day he's been seeing so far. Again, just to make the point, mobility is the most important thing! He's also due for a chest xray (to make sure those lungs are still doing well) and a few other bits and pieces as well. All in all he's traveling just as expected. It's a relief to find out this isn't the two steps forward, one step back, type recovery the transplant seemed to be!