Hip replacement surgery can help lessen hip pain and improve your quality of life, but until you significantly improve your hip strength, life gets harder before it gets easier. When I had hip replacement surgery, I lost a significant amount of mobility and have had to change the way I do everything because I struggle with things that I didn’t struggle with when I had mobility. Mobility loss is frustrating because everything in life becomes harder, and you often require more assistance than you have ever needed before. I have had less mobility for a few years now, and most people would see that as a negative, but not everything about my mobility loss is bad. There are a lot of things that I have learned from my mobility loss that I don’t think I ever would have learned if I had never lost mobility, because when you have less mobility, it forces you to look at things in a completely different way. What lessons have I learned from my mobility loss? In this post, I am going to talk about a few lessons I have learned because of my mobility loss.
It taught me a new way to exercise- Exercise is important after hip replacement, but it is not the same experience because a lot of the exercise you did prior to surgery is no longer possible. My exercise routine has not changed, and I am still using YouTube videos to stay in shape, but I am more limited and can’t exercise to the extent I could before losing mobility. My mobility loss has taught me a different way to exercise because fitness is not accessible, but it is still important, even though it’s harder. I have been forced to approach exercise in a different way to make it more accessible to me. Before having hip replacement surgery. I did a lot of Pilates workouts, which I can still technically do, but it’s harder, so it’s not my main focus since walking is more accessible. My mobility loss has taught me to appreciate exercise even more because even though it is harder to exercise, I am grateful it’s still possible.
It showed me how inaccessible the world is- As a disabled person with a physical disability, I am always navigating barriers because we live in an inaccessible world, and hip replacement surgery did not teach me that. When I lost mobility and was more dependent on my wheelchair and became even more aware of how inaccessible the world is for wheelchair users. I am fortunate that I am able to walk and can navigate inaccessibility more easily than a full-time wheelchair user can because I can’t get out of my wheelchair. When I lost mobility and couldn’t do that as effectively, it made me more aware of how inaccessible the world is, which has made me want to advocate for accessibility even more. I took movement for granted when I was able to move better and never realized how many unnecessary barriers there are until I was affected by them.
It taught me the importance of rest– I have always gotten fatigued more quickly than a non-disabled person because I have a physical disability and walk with crutches, but since losing mobility, I can do even less. I can’t stand for as long without pain, and if there is one thing my mobility loss has taught me, it’s the importance of resting and listening to your body. I have been forced to learn to pace my energy and rest because I don’t have as much stamina as I used to. I have never been very good at resting, but because of my mobility loss, I have been able to better recognize when I need to rest, because sometimes, I have no choice. Non-disabled people often are not very good at resting and want to be doing something all the time, but when you are disabled, you learn that rest is not laziness, or you suffer the consequence of doing too much.
It taught me that most people are never going to understand– When I lost mobility, I was given all kinds of exercise tips to get back my mobility back, and sometimes it was solid advice. People expected me to bounce back from hip replacement as quickly as I have with any other surgery I have had, and when I didn’t, they would tell me to exercise more. My mobility loss made me more aware of how much people think they understand but don’t because even people who know me well sometimes make comments that made me painfully aware that some people are never going to understand.
Find new activities that are difficult with your mobility loss– When you lose mobility, activities that you enjoyed when you had mobility may not be possible or may not be the same experience. If there is one thing that my mobility loss has taught me, it’s that you have to let these things go and find new activities that aren’t difficult with your mobility loss. Mobility loss takes so much from you, which is why it’s so important to find joy in different ways.
You can always find an easier way to do tasks– When you lose mobility, tasks that weren’t difficult when you had mobility may be impossible or very difficult. I do some tasks in the same way I did them when I had mobility, but there are a lot of things I can’t do easily anymore, and have had to change the way I did them. If there is one thing my mobility loss it’s that there is always an easier and more accessible to do a task and just have to figure out what it is.
Mobility loss is hard, and I am hopeful that my mobility will come back, but until it does, I try not to think about all the things my mobility loss has taken from. Mobility loss teaches you a lot of lessons, and I am grateful for them because it taught me to appreciate the little things. I have been forced to learn new ways to accommodate my mobility loss, which is not necessarily a bad thing because sometimes I can find a much easier way to do a task than I was doing before. Mobility loss has a lot of negatives, but it also has a lot of positives because if you can look past the challenges, it will open your eyes to all the things you have learned from it. I am not grateful for my mobility loss, but I am grateful for less pain, which I would have never gotten without having hip replacement surgery. It is okay to grieve the life you once had when you had mobility because there is nothing wrong with wanting an easier life. If you had hip replacement surgery and lost mobility, what lesson have you learned? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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