How much care does someone require after a hip replacement operation?
I’ve had both hips replaced in separate surgeries. As for care, once I left the hospital I was able to care for myself (dressing, undressing, bathing, toileting), walk (with a walker) and use stairs on my own. However I was restricted from driving for 5-6 wks. I was instructed not to bend my hip past 90 degrees which means that I couldn’t get down on the floor or retrieve things from bottom drawers, lower cabinets, etc. To pick things from the floor I used a reacher device (very handy). I couldn’t trim toenails so I had someone else do it. I couldn’t tie shoes so I wore slip-ons. I could put on socks using a device designed to don socks without bending too much (also very handy). As long as I used a walker (or a pair of crutches) I couldn’t carry much of anything except whatever I could put in my pockets or in the bag that I had attached to my walker. I had a laundry cart on wheels so I could do laundry in our main floor laundry room without having to use stairs. I used the reacher to
