My mother is 71 and will be getting hip replacement surgery after the holidays. She’s worried and I would like to reassure her.
My father won’t be able to help her get out of bed or out of her chair. She’s really worried about this. How soon until she can get up on her own? Will she need to stay in the hospital / rehab longer?
How long until she can go on a road trip? My brother lives 1 ½ hours away.
I would really appreciate hearing first hand experiences about this.
There are tons of disability aids to support independence.
For the bed, you can get a fold-down handrail that anchors with an insert that slips between the mattress and the box spring. A walker will generally do the job for getting in and out of chairs.
“But wait! There’s more!”
Dressing aids, to help with shoes, etc. A turntable seat for getting in and out of cars (also door attachments). Did we mention the shower & bath stuff?
The surgeon’s office, hospital discharge planning, and physiotherapy are the guys to ask.
Depends on what kind of vehicle – sitting upright is harder than reclining across a back seat with lots of pillows and blankets.
I’ve seen floor to ceiling poles in durable medical equipment catalogs, for placing near beds and chairs to aid in standing, if she’s rather have a pole.
This comes up at work, it’s apparently a side effect that doctors don’t always warn their patients about: she may find one leg is now longer or shorter than the other. (It can also happen with knee replacements). There are things you can do to help with any discomfort that comes from this, if you need a run down just ask and I’ll post a few.
I had a hip replacement two years ago at 71. I spent two nights in the hospital. Using a walker I walked about 50 yards in the hall the morning after the operation and went home the next morning. I was off pain meds in 12 days and okayed to drive in two weeks and went to a cane.
I was off the cane in three more weeks. The surgeon gave me some leg lift exercises to do for the first few weeks but no therapy other than that. I walked every day increasing the distance as I was able.
In eight weeks I felt pretty much normal. I was told that my recovery was much faster than most.
How fast your mother recovers will depend on which end of the bell curve she falls on.
That’s what happened to my MIL. You don’t notice it unless she’s walking away from you. She does this little sashay with the replacement side so it can catch up with the non-replacement side. She also has an accompanying gait issue which has resulted in her having to wear only thick-soled shoes. No more Crocs or sneakers if she’s outside doing yard work 
Other than that, she made an excellent recovery. She was in and out of rehab within a week and stopped using all the appliances (walker, etc.) soon afterward. She faithfully went to PT and did the exercises at home. It also helped that she’s a little bit of a thing and she’s always been physically active.
Hopefully the hospital has a convalescence unit where she can recover. My wife works at one and they frequently get hip and knee replacement patients. Physical therapists work with the patient until they can move on their own. Sometimes a case worker will go to the patient’s home to ensure that it is safe enough for the patient to recover there. Things like loose carpet or having the bedroom on a second floor which need to be fixed or worked-around before the patient should go home.
I have had a hip replacement (though at a younger age, 60, so my experience would not really be relevant). When I researched it, what I found was that there was a great deal of variability in how fast people recovered. Someone should probably take a proactive role just to make sure she does not get sent home early. Ask what their criteria are for sending a patient home in your mother’s situation. She must be able to complete basic tasks on her own and ambulate a certain distance. Make sure she can accomplish those things. Talk to both the physical and occupational therapist and get updates. Most places have conferences with family. Attend them. I did this a lot with my mom, although never for a broken hip. Getting the family involved will result in better care for your mom. One of the things my mom did was to always thank her care givers. I always though this resulted in her getting better care.
You may have a choice about where she gets sent to rehab. Do a little research. Most places are good and will do a good job, but I am sure there are questionable places out there.