Bionic Lady Hip is back!

Since I returned home on Friday morning the time has simply flown by....but one thing is for sure - it was wonderful to be home on Day 4!

I have nothing but praise for the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (NOC) and feel so fortunate to have benefited from the expertise and skill of my surgeon and the dedicated nursing staff there. This was definitely the NHS at its best. The NOC has a fascinating history and the following link illustrates its gradual development.

http://www.noc.nhs.uk/aboutus/history.aspx

A recent investment of £42 million has seen the NOC transformed yet again into the modern hospital you can see in these pictures. Patients come from a wide surrounding area. In my four bay room on Ward E were Patricia from Abingdon (total left hip replacement), Ann from Islip (total right hip replacement) and Enid from Halton, near Wendover (total left knee replacement). A cameraderie soon emerged amongst us as we encouraged each other to take those all important first steps. However for Enid the recovery has been slow. She had her first operation five weeks ago followed last week by a second. I hope she continues to make good progress and returns home to her much loved Stan very soon.

The moment when I returned to my feet was indescribably good; the feeling of returning independence and progress is very sweet! More followed and even though I am seen here in a wheelchair my face reflects my delight as I am about to be wheeled by 'dishy John' the physio, to do my test on the practice staircase. This was to be my second try as I had fainted at my first attempt (which the family maintain was more a case of swooning over John than my low blood pressure!)

And that as they say is all history now. The brain seems to have slowed down somewhat but the hip is working brilliantly and the posts should speed up now that I have plenty to blog about!