My Story

Are you facing hip replacement surgery?  Are you feeling alone in your pain, weak and terrified?  Are you worrying about how you will handle your commitments during your recovery?  Are you afraid of surrendering to anesthesia and the medical team? Are you fearful of post-operative pain and complications?

 

Hello!   My name is Naomi Colb and I am an active and grateful veteran of hip replacement surgery.  I invite you to take a leading role in your healing process and use this time to re-think your self-care choices to get the most out of your tiime here on earth.  Here is a link to my FREE e-book:                                                       Hip Surgery: How to Recover Rapidly

Future entries will include information, inspiration and suggestions for easing your journey as you get ready for and then recover from your surgery.   

 

At 55, I was feeling old and depressed.  I experienced increasingly intense pain before my full hip replacement surgery.  I could barely walk, sit or sleep. 

 

Committed to finding a natural solution, I took supplements that promised to rebuild the cushioning in my joints, (synovial fluid), tried a series of complimentary therapies including acupuncture, Reiki, Rolfing, all kinds of therapeutic massage and network and traditional chiropractic to address my discomfort. 

 

As my condition intensified, I tried numbing the pain with topical applications and took over the counter painkillers daily, which I knew was not great for my stomach and liver.

 

I finally had the hip x-rayed.  There was barely any cushioning in the joint. The surgeon told me that full hip replacement surgery was the only option. 

 

Even when my surgery date was set, I was still looking for alternatives.  I was asking my surgeon about joint fluid replacement injections, a less invasive solution that works for other joints, but apparently not for hips.  I continued to take supplements and research other possibilities on the Internet.  

 

Finally, I faced the grim reality that in 6 months my thigh was going to be cut open and a metal prosthetic hip joint and thighbone were going to replace my original bone for the rest of my life. I was terrified.

 

How would I care for myself during my recovery?  How would I pay the bills?  Could I trust the medical team?  I had heard such scary stories about operations and hospitals. Would I have post-operative pain and complications? 

 

I am usually a positive person, but I at that point I was only looking at the negatives.

 

As I began to share my fears and fate with my community, I found that many people had relatives and friends who had gone through this experience and were now out of pain, walking normally and living full lives.

 

At one gathering, a friend introduced me to a woman who had gone through total hip replacement a few years prior.  Seeing my level of anxiety about my approaching surgery, this angel took me to the ladies room to show me her barely visible scar and generously shared all her tips and resources with me.

 

She strongly recommended that I buy and use the book and tape (or CD) created by Peggy Huddleston, “Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster”. 

 

Peggy Huddleston’s book and tape set helped dramatically reduce my anxiety before surgery, use less pain medication after surgery and heal faster.

 

After reading the book, I took on my surgery and recovery like a project.  I created checklists and timelines, prioritized and delegated whatever I could and asked for information and support from my many holistic practitioner friends. 

 

As I continued to attend community celebrations on crutches, my spirit and my vision for my recovery inspired my friends.  I was determination to hike into the mountains for a 3-day fasting Vision Quest and then attend a campout festival in the Nevada desert with them soon after my surgery. They jumped in to support me. 

 

My community came to my pre-surgery party; drove me to the hospital; held my hand in the waiting room; visited me in the hospital; drove me home from the hospital; brought DVDs to keep me entertained, and gifted me with energy healing sessions as I was recovering.

 

A perfect stranger noticed my pain as we waited for the underground

train.  She inquired if I was going for hip surgery.   When we discovered that we had the same surgeon at Kaiser, she gifted me her top-of-the-line walker, decorated crutches, shower chair and high toilet seat, which she no longer needed!

 

I posted a free ad on the local resources networking site, offering to trade lodging for post surgery care.  Henry Liu, a college student at the time, responded and proved a wonderful caregiver!

 

Henry had never prepared a meal and enjoyed learning to prepare my simple foods.  He was kind and gentle with my fragile body in the weeks immediately after surgery when I needed assistance to even go to the bathroom!  We became lifelong friends.

 

I found myself excited after surgery because I was finally out of pain, though very weak.  I was enthusiastic about my prescribed physical therapy exercises because I was conditioning my body for the exciting adventures I had planned that would require me to be fit. 

 

The physical therapist who came to my home felt almost unneeded. I would take my pain medication 30 minutes before my exercises, so that they were at maximum effect. Then, I put on my dance music and danced my exercises!!

 

After my surgery, I quickly recovered my ability to move freely.

To celebrate my recovery, 7 months after surgery, I hiked 3 miles off trail into the mountains for three days of solitary fasting and meditation.  I was intent on discovering the purpose for my life’s extension and the nature of the legacy I was meant to leave on this earth.                       

 

To my delight, I realized that the most valuable gift I could possibly leave behind would be my own vital and enthusiastic aging.  I was inspired to share my enthusiasm for living and my new level of self-care and lifestyle choices with others.

 

Two months after my Vision Quest, I went to the Nevada desert to celebrate life with 35,000 other radically self-reliant and creative individuals at the Burningman festival.

 

I am excited for you as you begin this journey to recovering, optimizing and sustaining your well being for the rest of your life!

 

I encourage you to embrace this challenge as an opportunity for personal growth and awareness of the amazing healer within you as well as an opportunity to receive and appreciate the love and generosity of your caregivers, family and larger community.

 

I have created an E-book, Hip Surgery: How to Recover Rapidly to guide you  as your surgery date approaches.  If you send your contact information to msnaomicolb@yahoo.com , you will receive a complimenatry holistic lifestyle coaching session.  I wish you a speedy recovery and would love to hear about the fabulous experiences you are having with your restored mobility and vitality:)