Be Prepared-- the Sequel

http://www.arthritistoday.org/treatments/surgery/post-surgery-recovery.php


Obviously I have not had my surgery yet, but this very good article from "Arthritis Today" is about getting your home ready for when you come home from the hospital. Most importantly, I have someone to care for me.  Rick did a super job of taking care of me after my foot surgery, so I have no qualms there.  Then there is a teenager to run errands.  Fortunately, my bedroom and bathroom are on the first floor, so I don't have to make arrangements for that.  I have been thinking about what kind of equipment I might need just to get along.  The hospital will send me home with a walker and a raised commode seat.  I have safety bars installed from a bathroom remodel--I didn't need them at the time, but I figured I might someday, so I got the white unobtrusive ones around our tub.  I plan to purchase a shower seat and a rubber mat to put on the bottom of our tub.  I have a 21 inch deep soaker/whirpool tub, and I already know getting in and out of it will be a real challenge. A hand held shower head will be a real plus.  I will miss my hot baths in my whirlpool--it will be at least 3 months before I can get down in a bathtub.    I read somewhere that you are not supposed to put your full weight on the replacement for a time.  With 2 knee replacements, I haven't quite figured out how that is going to work getting in and out of a tub.  Guess that's something my PT will have to help me figure out.  I plan to have commonly used clothes items stacked on my dresser to make dressing easier.  I plan to stock up on protein bars.  Protein bars are something Weight Watchers introduced me to, so I have been experimenting with different brands.  One author, Dr. O'Neill?, said that I won't be very hungry, so I need to make everything I eat count--hence the protein bars.  And hey, if I have ice cream, I can survive!  No, I'll try to do better than that!  I do plan to pay attention to my liquid intake.  So lots of water, juices, teas--possibly protein shakes to be stocked up.  Today I bought a Living Social coupon online for $16 of food for $8 at Holiday Ham.  I have been watching coupons and "deals"  for food for Rick to buy.  He'll be the first to admit that he is not a wiz in the kitchen.  He knows a lot about a lot of things, but whipping up a meal in the kitchen is not one of them.  I am also taking note of offers of food from friends that I plan to cash in on.  When my mom had back surgery, we bought her satin sheets to make it easier to slide around in the bed and hopefully make turning easier.  I think I will borrow her sheets to see if that is helpful. I have plenty of home made bed buddies in the freezer--tube socks mostly full with rice and a knot tied in the end. Another suggestion for cold therapy is frozen peas or corn, so I will probably invest in a few bags of that in case my bed buddies are too heavy.  One thing this article mentions that I would like to get is an office chair with wheels to wheel around the kitchen! Superb idea that I wish I had already thought of pre surgery; I might have done more cooking if I had thought of this.  This article also says some thought needs to go into the car that will take you home.  Rick has a small SUV that is hard for me to get in now, much less with 2 surgical knees.  Fortunately I have a bigger sedan that will do the trick.  The article ends with the dreaded bills.  I'm pretty savvy about that, but there are some terms explained that might be helpful for the lucky inexperienced. There are other tips that should be checked out, but these were the ones that were significant for me.