Chris (02:39)
All right. Well, welcome Cynthia. Thanks so much for joining us on the hip replacement podcast. Let me just jump right into some questions so we can get a feel for you and your experience with you with the hip replacement. Okay. So simple softball question. What country are you in?
Cynthia (02:59)
United States.
Chris (03:01)
How about what part of the country? South, west, east, north?
Cynthia (03:04)
New England.
Chris (03:05)
Okay. All right. And how long has it been since your hip replacement surgery?
Cynthia (03:16)
April first of this year was when I had it.
Chris (03:20)
Okay. So we are in October right now. So okay, about six months.
Cynthia (03:26)
Yes. Yep. A little more than six
Chris (03:28)
And
Cynthia (03:29)
months.
Chris (03:31)
And about how old were you? Were you were you in your thirties, your forties, your fifties, your sixties?
Cynthia (03:38)
Sixties. I I'm sixty six
Chris (03:39)
Sixties, okay.
Cynthia (03:40)
now, so that's when I had the surgery.
Chris (03:43)
Okay. Very different. There's such a there's such a broad breadth of people having the hip replacement surgery. I and when I had my surgery, I was in my late thirties, and I I just in speaking with the doctors, I thought I was way too young. And they explained to me, and also the physical therapist explained to me that yeah, the age is creeping younger and younger and younger. And the logic is that the materials in the hips last a lot later.
Chris (04:13)
So doctors and surgeons are less fearful of putting these into younger patients. And maybe people are being more active and and more op being more active and more open about needing this type of surgery. So that's why maybe the surgery is creeping earlier and earlier and earlier. So anyway, there's a broad breath of people in a lot of different ages getting this surgery.
Chris (04:38)
And what type of surgery did you have? Do you remember what did it did they go through the front, the side, the back?
Cynthia (04:46)
It was a posterior approach.
Chris (04:49)
Okay. And what what finally made you decide to have the hip replacement surgery? Was there a moment in your life or a line in the sand or a final straw that said, I can't put this off anymore. I've got to do it.
Cynthia (05:10)
I think I was very tolerant for a good three years and the last
Cynthia (05:19)
l a year ago in October, we we had a catastrophic tornado touchdown in our neighborhood and we had a lot of damage in the forest where we have conservation land. And we we were going for a hike with
Cynthia (05:41)
the group of people that hold the restriction on our land and looking at the damage. And the person that I was walking and hiking with said, Wow, you're doing pretty good, considering how difficult this walk is over a lot of down trees and brush and and climbing and everything. And my response was, Well, I'm really gonna feel this later. This is this is I'm doing okay.
Cynthia (06:11)
Now, but I'm gonna be hurting later. And he started telling me about his experience with pain in his hips and in his knees, and how he was hiking with canes and with walking poles, and he says, Finally, I got to the point where I had to do something. And I could relate to that.
Cynthia (06:39)
I said, I guess I'm at that point where I have to do something. Where did you go and what did you have done? And I called his orthopaedic recommendation and I would have seen anyone. I would have seen the the receptionist. So whoever had an appointment, the soonest was who I saw. And I got lucky.
Cynthia (07:05)
My surgeon was a very kind and generous woman and I liked her immediately. So I I got my diagnosis on my birthday. So that was november twenty first and that really started the journey towards surgery.
Chris (07:28)
It almost sounded like it was a pretty quick decision once you once you got that testimonial, how
Cynthia (07:36)
Right.
Chris (07:36)
much time had passed from the time you you you had that conversation with your that hiking companion to when you actually saw the surgeon and then actually had the surgery. It was pretty quick, wasn't it?
Cynthia (07:49)
Less than a month.
Chris (07:51)
wow.
Cynthia (07:52)
Yeah, less than a month. Yeah. Yeah, I I had gotten
Chris (07:57)
Yeah, that's
Cynthia (07:57)
pretty desperate by then. I had tried a number of avenues to help me with my pain. someone had suggested, well, why don't you see a chiropractor? So I I went to a chiropractor and and everything that the doctor did was helpful, but it didn't address my primary concerns.
Cynthia (08:22)
The pain didn't go away. So he thought I should see a physical therapist, and he sent me to a physical therapist, and it was all guesswork. and both of these clinicians were helpful, but it didn't it didn't help my primary concern. everything I did at home, more stretching, more resting, more ice, more pain relievers.
Cynthia (08:54)
So I I I guess I finally reached the point where I had to get evaluated.
Chris (09:02)
That's wonderful. It seems like the timing of that person having that conversation with you was almost perfect for you. that was the next step that you may have needed to take at at the time.
Cynthia (09:16)
I had talked with my primary care physician, but he he didn't have a direction for me. I guess at that point in time my symptoms didn't present acute enough for him to think I needed a a deeper evaluation.
Chris (09:42)
And j just the hiking and things around the house you had you were severely impacted and you couldn't do anymore. Were there were there other things or other activities that you love to do that you simply couldn't do anymore?
Cynthia (09:58)
Well, I I I couldn't vacuum. I needed to take care of my home. I couldn't do some of those simple things. Carrying things up and down the stairs. Walking my dog was the the the walks were getting shorter. I was having to stop and try to rest and and recover from some discomfort and you know, a that was
Cynthia (10:26)
It was a a series of small actions that became hard to tolerate. It was hard to bend down and tie my shoe. It was hard to
Cynthia (10:41)
put my sock on. That's this stabbing, hot knife like pain would just bring me to tears. So standing upright and walking was tolerable. I I guess I'm pretty tolerant.
Chris (10:59)
Yeah, it it's it seems that a lot of times we we we make do with what we have and sometimes when our body's giving us pain we kind of disregard it. You know,
Cynthia (11:13)
Absolutely.
Chris (11:13)
it's I was like that for years and
Chris (11:19)
I was really ashamed of my my hip. And I kind of put it off as long as possible. And I I mean can relate to what you were going through in that my life was severely impacted. I couldn't walk very far at all, severe pain, holding on to furniture walls to get around even my my house or my the my office.
Cynthia (11:45)
Getting in and out of the car was very, very hard. It was my left hip so I could drive, I could use the brake and the gas, but getting in and out was very difficult.
Cynthia (12:01)
I was when I would walk with my husband I would strategize which side should I walk on, his right or the left. It kinda depended upon the angle of the hiking trail and, you know, where the hump was in the road, you know.
Chris (12:17)
Exactly. Yep. Yep. I went through all that same, all that same stuff. So yeah, it's amazing how we have shared experiences. I think people who have a hip replacement have a lot in common. You know, how we have to plan, plan our day, plan our movements, take breaks. It's it was definitely life i impactful for for life.
Chris (12:46)
Okay, so you you had this conversation with your hiking companion, you went to see the surgeon, and then you kinda said, Yeah, let's do this. Were were you afraid of anything? Was w were were you concerned? Or was it like, no, this is gonna happen and I'm not worried about it at all?
Cynthia (13:06)
No, I was pretty panic stricken. I was pretty emotional. the the aide in the office had taken my x-ray and I was sitting in the exam room waiting for the surgeon to come in. I had not met her yet. And she opened the door, she had a portable laptop with her with my x-ray on the laptop. And before she even said hi, she said, You're in pain.
Cynthia (13:34)
And I think I burst into tears because it was an acknowledgement that there was something wrong. And up until then I really hadn't acknowledged that there was something seriously wrong. And she said, Let me show you the x-ray. And I said, Wait, wait, wait. I'm gonna go get my husband. He's in the waiting room. I want him to see it. And he's a retired physician, and he'll be able to put some of these things in perspective for me. She said, Of course, of course. She ran out and
Cynthia (14:04)
Got my husband, he came in the room. Her laptop was still sitting on the exam table. And he walked by and he saw it and he said.
Cynthia (14:15)
He knew he could see it right away. And you know we had a brief conversation with the surgeon and she said, There's really nothing else that I can do for you except surgery and a hip replacement. There are no other modalities of care that we can use to postpone what is the inevitable treatment for you, which is surgery.
Chris (14:45)
And what was it about this surgeon that you decided, yes, this is the one for me, rather than going to get a second opinion? How did you know that this was the right person for you?
Cynthia (15:02)
She was so approachable. She was so
Cynthia (15:08)
i it was like talking to you. It was like talking to a friend. She was very
Cynthia (15:17)
She was very easy to talk with and and very easy to listen to.
Cynthia (15:22)
Very down to earth and relaxed and I trusted her right away.
Chris (15:30)
Yeah, I had I had a similar experience. Not not exactly the same, but I went to see a surgeon and he was pretty down to earth and answered all my questions. And he just seemed to be like the most excited and kind of nerded out about the hip surgery and getting me back to a very active life. But still I was really.
Chris (15:54)
afraid and in denial. So I went to get two more second opinions. So I saw three surgeons. And after seeing those three surgeons, it was night and day how the first surgeon was really excited about it and wanted to help me. And the other two just seemed cold and just kind of matter of fact. So I went back to the first one many months later and I'm glad I'm glad I found this person initially because
Chris (16:24)
Yeah, he changed my life and exactly what you said. They were just very he was very approachable and I knew that that was the right surgeon for me. So yeah, I'm glad it's
Cynthia (16:36)
Yeah. She wasn't
Cynthia (16:38)
too technical. She offered to be technical and explained things and I I said, I I don't think I wanna know.
Chris (16:48)
yeah. Yeah. my surgeon said there was a video of the surgery on his website and I could go watch it. I was like, there's no way. Because if I watch that, I won't come back. So yeah, I I enjoyed also how down to earth and put it in simple terms for me about the surgery. So wonderful. So glad your surgeon did that. And it's hard to find a good surgeon because you don't know.
Chris (17:16)
It's such an important decision and there are really are a lot of surgeons and it's like, how do you know where to go? So it's wonderful that you got that testimonial. So and referral. So that was good. That was good.
Chris (17:34)
What about do you recall the first few days or week after surgery? What that was like for you? Was there pain, mobility? How was how was your life? What was your life like that first few days and week after surgery?
Cynthia (17:56)
There was a lot of rest. and fortunately my my husband was very helpful. We had a lot of home preparation. so really there wasn't much to do other than to take my medication and recover and just rest. it was a little scary. I was sleeping in the first floor of the house, and my husband was on the second floor and
Cynthia (18:26)
Getting up in the middle of the night to use the facilities that was that was tricky. And in fact I I think the first or the second night I fell moving myself from the living room couch through the room to the lavatory and woke my husband up and came downstairs and helped me up and it it wasn't
Cynthia (18:55)
a terrible fall, but it was noisy and we just moved on from there. So that was a little stunning for both of us, so I guess then we figured out we needed to be more aware of
Chris (19:16)
Yeah, I'm glad.
Cynthia (19:16)
My circumstances
Cynthia (19:17)
and how it affects what you can and can't do.
Chris (19:22)
Yeah, I'm glad you did not hurt yourself. my gosh, a fall after hip replacement surgery.
Cynthia (19:28)
Yeah. I fell forward, landed on my hands, so it it was okay. It was okay.
Chris (19:35)
Good. Good.
Chris (19:37)
And what else is amazing is that you had such a a great caregiver or helper at home, your husband and and a physician physician? Like you had an an A-list care team at home. That's amazing.
Cynthia (19:53)
Sometimes
Chris (19:55)
Well, hopefully in this particular instance, it was very helpful. I don't know I don't know what I would have done without my wife at home. I mean, she was incredible helping me and I I probably was a very big baby about things, but I wanted to get it right. And it's so it's so important to have a caregiver. I know a lot of people go through this by themselves, and to me those are very
Chris (20:24)
strong and courageous people because I know
Cynthia (20:26)
Sure.
Chris (20:26)
how much I relied on some help. And I'm glad you were you had someone incredible at home to help you as well.
Cynthia (20:36)
Well he was great with dispensing the medications. We had created a medication log and he was very precise about that. Okay, this is when you get this medication and he'd write it down the time and and the dosage and and he was right on top of that. So I didn't have to think about my medication at all.
Chris (20:59)
That's fantastic. That's
Cynthia (21:00)
Yeah, that was
Chris (21:01)
that's absolutely wonderful. So good. Now was your it's been about six months. Has your recovery has it been faster or slower or about what you would have expected?
Cynthia (21:22)
Things moved along pretty fast and I credit the physical therapy that I had beforehand and I probably had more than was really necessary prior to surgery because it was the middle of winter and we didn't want to have my surgery during a blizzard or worrying about how we were gonna get to the hospital or get home to the hospital.
Cynthia (21:51)
So we postponed my surgery until early April, but my surgeon would have done it sooner if I had wanted it to. So I had probably a good eight weeks of physical therapy twice a week. And I think that the physical therapists really made my recovery a lot easier.
Cynthia (22:19)
It certainly made my pre surgical experience easier. It didn't take away the hip pain, but it took away a lot of the other associated pains that come with having a you know, a a a need for a hip replaced.
Chris (22:37)
Was your surgeon all for physical therapy, or is this something you did on your own?
Cynthia (22:45)
No, it was a requirement she had.
Chris (22:49)
Good. a lot of times surgeons don't recommend or want patients to have physical therapy. And I I scratch my head at that because the recovery is so much more than just replacing the hip. It's repairing the damage and getting the muscles to work again the way they should. And the surgeon doesn't help with that.
Chris (23:20)
The surgeon can replace the joint and do a great job at that. But I think people still have some pain because of the muscle issues. So it's wonderful that physical therapy was part of the protocol from your surgeon.
Cynthia (23:38)
They're great physical therapists before and after surgery. I I would encourage anyone to make sure that they do that.
Chris (23:48)
About how much physical therapy did you have? Was it three months, five days a week, or how did what was the structure of it?
Cynthia (23:57)
Well my diagnosis was in late November. I think I started physical therapy January, maybe early February, and I did it twice a week until April first.
Chris (24:12)
And then what about after
Cynthia (24:12)
What was it?
Chris (24:13)
surgery?
Cynthia (24:15)
About the same. about two or three weeks two weeks after surgery, an in-home physical therapist came and that meant I had to be homebound. I couldn't I couldn't go out and go shopping or do whatever, visit friends. I had to stay home in order to qualify for that clinical care.
Cynthia (24:41)
And this young lady came twice a week and demonstrated exercises that I could do. and practicing those exercises at home, I got a little stronger, and the next time I saw her, she had a little bit more difficult exercises. so balance and strengthening, and so that was really helpful. So about a month after that, I would say three maybe.
Cynthia (25:10)
three and a half weeks, then I was cleared to have outpatient therapy. And I did that twice a week for about six weeks.
Chris (25:23)
And how long w was your mobility an issue or how long did you use walking assistance devices like a walker or crutches? How how much time did you spend on that?
Cynthia (25:39)
About about three days on the walker and then graduated to a cane pretty quickly. But
Chris (25:47)
Okay.
Cynthia (25:48)
stayed on the first floor of the house for good three weeks before I could manage the stairs.
Chris (25:59)
And has there come a point yet where you've discovered or thought to yourself, wow, I don't feel this at all. I I feel I feel wonderful. My hip feels good. Or are you still you're still having concerns with with mobility?
Cynthia (26:20)
I I don't understand. What point in time do you want me to describe?
Chris (26:25)
When did you when did
Chris (26:26)
you realize that you're past this initial recovery and that you're well on your way to being as active as you want?
Cynthia (26:38)
probably when I finished with the outpatient physical therapy post-surgical. That was when that was done, I was ready to move on. And the physical therapist said I was released but encouraged me to go to the gym, find someone to help me with strengthening exercises and what he did for me after I finished with his clinical care.
Cynthia (27:08)
was communicate with a personal trainer about what he thought I should focus on and what sorts of things the physical trainer should be careful and guarded with and work into slowly.
Cynthia (27:28)
So that was that was great.
Chris (27:28)
How did
Chris (27:30)
the physical therapist know which trainer to communicate with, or how did they know to do that?
Cynthia (27:38)
That was my decision. He he didn't recommend anyone. he said that when you find a location and a gym or some nature of that, talk to them, tell them what you've gone through, and say that I want you to communicate with this physical therapist. So they shared email addresses and they had a brief conversation and
Cynthia (28:07)
And then she came back and had a conversation with me about what she was told. So it w it that was that was great.
Chris (28:17)
It yeah, it really sounds like you just had this A list of people helping you. And then the whole process just seemed almost seamless. All the way from from the initial testimonial to the surgeon, to the physical therapist, to the trainer, to your husband at home. It seems like it was like a textbook surgery and and recovery process and physical therapy process. That's wonderful.
Cynthia (28:46)
I did everything they told me to do.
Chris (28:51)
Yeah.
Cynthia (28:52)
I think that's really important. I I I I had to just believe that the message was the right one. And I did. I and I I helped myself by doing so. I I think when you demonstrate to your caregivers that you are actively involved in helping yourself, then they are more
Cynthia (29:20)
generous and open and ready to help you. It's easier to help people who help themselves. And I really tried, even though some of it was very painful.
Cynthia (29:35)
But they were very encouraging. At one point I said to the therapist, I'm not doing bridges. I'm never doing bridges. Never again. And he said, Yes, you are, Cynthia. You're gonna do these bridges. Okay, I'll do the bridges. But it hurt. And after surgery, I was so proud of myself I could do a bridge. And and he said, I told you so, you know. And there were several physical therapists that worked in the clinic. There wasn't any one.
Cynthia (30:05)
They just all seemed very devoted and very motivated to help. I I think that's the nature of those types of clinicians. They are
Cynthia (30:18)
Very generous people. Really
Chris (30:23)
Yeah, they're certainly they're certainly helpful. And if if patients put into work and do do what the physical therapist wants, what a good physical therapist wants, it can make a world of difference.
Cynthia (30:35)
Yeah, they just come back with harder exercises too.
Chris (30:39)
Yeah, to make to so that you grow and make you stronger and more flexible.
Cynthia (30:42)
Exactly, exactly.
Chris (30:44)
Yeah. So what are some of the things that you have been able to do again or do again much easier after your hip replacement?
Cynthia (30:56)
can ride a bike again. That I couldn't do for a long, long time. So riding a bike was a lot of fun.
Cynthia (31:07)
More hiking and yeah. That's about it. Yeah. I've
Chris (31:11)
That's that's wonderful. That's wonderful.
Cynthia (31:14)
always been active, but not necessarily athletic.
Chris (31:21)
Okay. Do you
Chris (31:27)
Are there things that you wish you would have known about the process before going through that now you now you now you realize that would have made it easier?
Chris (31:47)
Is there anything you wish you would have done differently or is
Cynthia (31:47)
I would have liked more
Cynthia (31:49)
I would have liked more direct
Cynthia (31:54)
Honesty about how difficult it was. There were a lot of opinions not necessarily from my surgeon, but from acquaintances and
Cynthia (32:06)
Reports of people that they knew who had gone through hip replacement surgery and it was all just rather no, don't worry about it. Everything's gonna be fine, you're gonna do great. And I guess I believed that was likely, but I wanted to
Cynthia (32:28)
I wanna people to be honest that it's gonna be hard. It's gonna be something that you're gonna have to endure, but you have to persist and you should be strong enough to do it. And it's gonna be worth it, but it's gonna be hard.
Chris (32:49)
Yeah, that's that's so true. I w I wish that message were out there a little bit more. Every once in a while I'll pop into social media and I'll see comments about exactly what you said. They're the the comments are it'll be easy, you'll do great, no problem, you're gonna love it, you'll be back in no time. And I'm just thinking that's really setting someone up for failure and disappointment and discouragement.
Chris (33:16)
Because having a hip replacement and going through the initial recovery process is hard. It's really hard. And
Cynthia (33:26)
It is.
Chris (33:27)
yeah, I I agree with you and I wish that message were out there out there more.
Cynthia (33:35)
And that it was okay to be afraid, that it was okay to be there are a whole assortment of emotions that you go through prior to that and
Chris (33:48)
It is.
Cynthia (33:48)
You're angry,
Cynthia (33:48)
you're afraid, you're fearful, you're I had lots of periods where I I think my husband just didn't know what to do with me,
Chris (34:01)
Yeah, there is an emotional roller coaster for sure. like you, I experience a lot of that stuff. Anger, resentment, fear, frustration, embarrassment.
Cynthia (34:11)
Panic.
Chris (34:15)
Yeah, all of those things. So you're right. It's okay to have those things. Because if you're not a little bit concerned that someone's gonna cut you open and cut a part of your body out that won't regrow back and you're gonna have a piece of metal in your body. I don't know. If that doesn't concern you, you've either gone through some pretty serious stuff already, or maybe you don't fully comprehend what's about to happen.
Chris (34:46)
So as so six months, have you had any setbacks or or anything, or has everything just been a nice steady progression of of upward activity and mobility, or have you had some setbacks?
Cynthia (35:06)
Well, I was excited about riding that bike and so I was doing that pretty regularly, you know, two or three times a week, and then I ended up with some back pain. So I realized that I needed to probably strengthen my lower body a little bit more before I started doing that type of bike riding. It's a heavy bike and it was on dirt trails, old rail trails, which they don't appear to be hilly, but
Cynthia (35:36)
They are in one direction or the other. And so heading out was easy, heading back was not. And so I I decided to take it easy on the biking and
Cynthia (35:52)
And I I did have some leg pain and some buttock pain, so I had to return to my exercises more completely, more regularly, and that helped. And they were just little exercises that helped. Small movement stretches using the foam roller.
Cynthia (36:21)
Practising my balance again, back stretches.
Chris (36:29)
Do you still do those things now or have you completely stopped?
Cynthia (36:34)
I do them about every other day, so at least about three to four times a week. but it doesn't really take that long. It takes about half an hour to do those exercises.
Chris (36:49)
Yeah, I I think that's something that people don't talk about much either, in that I think a lot of people think they go through the surgery, they do a little bit of physical therapy, and then they never have an issue again in their lives. And in in my approach is that you go through this initial recovery with physical therapy, and then you just enter in this maintenance stage. And that maintenance stage probably for the rest of someone's life.
Chris (37:19)
Because you have to
Chris (37:22)
continuously work on the muscles around the hip, the legs, the back. Otherwise it's just gonna stiffen up and you're gonna have little aches and pains creep in. But that 10 minutes a day or 10, 15 minutes every other day just makes a world of difference.
Cynthia (37:40)
A lot of these strengthening exercises I can do when I'm outside.
Cynthia (37:46)
Can do my squats outside. I I noticed that I can do yard work again. I can do my gardening. I can take care of things that I used to have to leave for my husband to do or or let them go. Now I can be more helpful with maintaining our yard and and doing more manual labor and feel like I'm really making a nice contribution to our lives.
Chris (38:16)
That's important to to to to feel to feel helpful and useful. That's same thing I was concerned with. I did I didn't feel like I was being an adequate husband if I couldn't help my wife, or an adequate father if I couldn't play with my girls. So that was very very important piece of why I did the surgery.
Cynthia (38:40)
But that it's a little different. I have a healthy respect for my improved mobility, but I also recognize that there are some things I shouldn't do alone. There are I used to take the outdoor lawn furniture in and out of the garage attic by myself, carrying things up and down the stairs. Now I I I I pause and say, I think I'll wait and we'll do it together instead of
Cynthia (39:10)
just power through it myself. So I I don't feel like I'm vulnerable or at risk of injury, but I respect that
Cynthia (39:25)
that I could be putting myself at risk and other people in this life need my help and I need to take care of myself so I can help them.
Chris (39:40)
Yeah, well said. Do you feel in any sense that you're stronger than you were before surgery or you're more capable than you were before surgery with all the physical therapy, with all the exercises you've done since? Do you feel like you're in a better position?
Cynthia (39:58)
Absolutely. Yes. I'm
Chris (40:01)
Even
Chris (40:02)
even before the pain kind of slowed you down, do you feel like something deep inside like you've turned the clock back maybe five or ten years?
Cynthia (40:14)
I definitely feel stronger and more capable and I I like and appreciate that feeling.
Cynthia (40:23)
Recognize my strengths, but I also have a healthy respect to know that.
Cynthia (40:32)
That y you can be injured and that there is a
Cynthia (40:42)
N and that's okay, you have to just be aware.
Chris (40:49)
If someone is listening or watching this podcast right now, and maybe they're a day, a week, a month away from surgery, is there some advice or something you would want them to know, something you want to say to that, to that person who's really about to face this for the first time?
Cynthia (41:18)
Well.
Cynthia (41:23)
I I I think I'm a better, stronger person. Not not just physically, but within myself. I I think I've become a little more kinder and gentler. I think it's been a a uplifting experience, not just because of my improved physical health. a I'm a more relaxed, careful driver.
Cynthia (41:53)
I have a greater appreciation for for life and for
Cynthia (42:02)
the strength that I have and the resilient, healthy body that I've worked so hard to maintain. So I I think it's hip replacement surgery has been a very positive experience for me and hopefully getting past the the fear and the panic and the indecision is a short part of the whole experience for other people.
Cynthia (42:31)
and they recognize that that they're gonna be a a healthier, happier person having gone through it.
Chris (42:42)
Th that's wonderful, wonderful message and advice for somebody facing a hip replacement surgery. Is there
Cynthia (42:50)
Thank you.
Chris (42:51)
anything that we have not talked about or addressed that you think we should, or is there is there another message you want to send anything?
Cynthia (43:05)
I would just encourage anyone who's anticipating this to be as well prepared as they can. prepare their home, go to that physical therapist and
Cynthia (43:23)
Get your information from reliable sources, not just anecdotal sources.
Cynthia (43:36)
Go forward, knowing that there is a path forward.
Cynthia (43:42)
Is that what we went?
Chris (43:43)
Great. Yep.
Chris (43:45)
Great advice. Great advice. One of the things I like to do on the podcast is turn the tables, is to give you the opportunity to ask me a question because I've been asking all the questions so far. So is there any question that you'd like to ask me as we wrap up this episode?
Cynthia (44:14)
What motivated you to become a podcaster in this topic? Wha w was it just your experience or was it did you not have the guidance that you hope to be able to provide to other people?
Chris (44:32)
When I went through my surgeries, gosh, twenty thirteen and twenty fifteen, there wasn't much of this stuff. And frankly, there's still not much of this stuff. What you see is there's a lot of doctors giving very specific medical information, but there's not a lot of talk about people living life after hip replacement surgery and and what they did. There's a lot of social media.
Chris (44:59)
But frankly, what I see on social media is most of it's just flat out garbage. And I don't even know if half of it is even real or AI generated or phishing or scamming. So I wanted to. I knew I had a lot of information because I've been through a lot with two hip replacements. And then getting back to being very active, that I I knew there was a need in the world for just an honest discussion about.
Chris (45:29)
hip replacements and giving people an example whether they want it or not of this is what you can do after a hip replacement. And although it's fearful, you can still do the things that you want to do. So hopefully, hopefully I'm making an impact on people's lives and
Chris (45:50)
making things better for people in in in giving some type of good example and just having these discussions and getting information out there I I I think would help. It would have helped me tremendously years ago. So it's one of the things I one of the three pillars I guess in my life is that create wealth, create health, and then leave an impact on the world.
Chris (46:19)
And this is leaving an impact on the world.
Cynthia (46:23)
Thank you for that.
Chris (46:23)
That's why I started this.
Cynthia (46:24)
Yes. There were a lot of little shorts on YouTube videos that I would drop in on and it just gave you a little capsule of what it would be like a day or two after surgery or or then there were those technical videos that showed the actual surgery in in in cartoon format. That
Cynthia (46:51)
That didn't help. It was a relief to stumble upon your your YouTube video and then to listen to your podcasts in the car while I was driving. there was a nice conversation there and I I appreciate what you do. Thank you.
Chris (47:09)
You you're welcome.
Chris (47:13)
Just just talking about the hip replacement and the lifestyle after I I think is important. It's certainly not the case where you go get the hip replacement and a month later you're back to whatever you want to do. It's not this thing lingers on. I think it's good that someone is talking about the lifestyle after a hip replacement. So
Chris (47:42)
Thank you so much for coming on and being a guest. I'm sure a lot of people are going to get a lot of very, very great benefit and value out of your message and out of the example that you set for having the surgery and going through a wonderful recovery and having that incredible support team. So thank you, Cynthia, for everything you shared.
Cynthia (48:10)
Thank you for having me.
Chris (48:15)
That's it for this week's this episode of the Hip Replacement Podcast. Until next time, I wish you the best recovery possible. Take care.
