@dyslexia,
Aside from general encouragement, I can offer only one data point:
When my mother had her femoral neck fracture, her bones too were stapled together -- well, actually they were screwed together. And her screws, too, had to be cut out of her thigh after their removal from the bones. By her account, the surgery to remove the screws was non-trivial, but minor compared to the first surgery. After the first surgery, her muscles needed about two weeks to work pain-free again. After the second, they needed about three days.
Granted -- every person is different, and an artificial hip is different from a femoral neck fracture. Still, this should give you an approximate sense of proportion.
