Yuh Okano—Lazy at Home and Gathering Clouds
I had hip replacement surgery this month, again. I had the same operation for my right hip in January, and on the 5th of this month, for my left hip as well. What caused the problems with my hips? I do not know. Do I have weak bones? Heredity? Too much exercise? Did I carry heavy stuff too much? Did I fall down somewhere at some point? My age? It’s probably one of those reasons.
The pain started about four years ago, but last winter, when I moved to Chestertown, it got worse, and I felt pain every hour of every day. Since I moved here, I began walking much less, stopped traveling, and lazed about at home. The pain started spreading from my hip to the rest of my body, like clouds gathering in the sky. Until then, I had been in good health and could stay away from doctors. But this time, I signed up for American health insurance and went to a hospital in the US for the first time in my life. The medical system and health insurance system on the Eastern Shore of Maryland are highly reliable. They were also kind to my wallet. Everything went well, and after the two operations, I am now recovering.
On the day of the surgery, I checked into the hospital one hour prior to the operation. It took two hours for the operation, and I had to stay there for three hours afterwards for observation. In general, if the patient is in stable condition, the person can be discharged and go home that afternoon. After that comes home treatment, followed by visitation by a home-care nurse and a physical therapist for two weeks.
After the first surgery on my right hip, I fought against the winter cold and pain. I was also afraid of falling down—I actually fell on the first day of my home care—and I was trying to rest for ten days. (I heard that hip replacement surgery in Japan requires a mandatory two-week hospitalization.) It took one month until my pain disappeared and I was able to drive without any worries.
My second, left hip replacement took place during nice, cool autumn. From the experience of my right hip replacement, I could predict the degree of pain, and I started rehab training with a physical therapist, Nick, on the second day of my home-care period. Thanks to the training, I could get back to work on the ninth day. I guess that my strong desire for a quick recovery and the proper physical training––which improved my resilience––both aided each other and contributed to my recovery.
Since the pandemic began, indoor exhibitions have continued to be canceled. So the long-awaited Academy Art Museum Craft Show this autumn was the first indoor exhibition that I could participate in, and I really wanted to be there, no matter how hard it would be. My neighborhood friend Barbara helped me a lot—driving, setting up my booth, and assisting me there. She made my dream come true! I am so grateful to Barbara and Nick.
Regarding my hip surgery, I received a lot of encouraging comments––for example, “Humans only have two legs, so now you don’t need to have surgery anymore.” I am happy to have this cheer, but at the same time I have complicated feelings about my surgeries. I touched upon this in my March newsletter this year––I often think about humans and technologies that support human decomposition and maintenance, aging and coexistence or replacement of body parts, and I wonder how long humans can extend their life expectancy. It may be possible to make humans’ life expectancy longer, to about 100 to 200 years old, if our organic body is partially replaced by man-made parts. While thinking about those things, I looked at the photo of my new legs reinforced by metal parts and smiled confusedly.
Yuh Okano, 10.2021
