Help....I Live Alone

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can give me a list of things I will absolutely need help with when I come home from Surgery. My surgery date is July 11th. Although I live alone there is an "other" person in my life. I am not so sure he is taking this quite as serious as I am. I am extremely independent and I am cringing at the idea that I will need any help at all and he is just not use to the idea that I may not be able to do things for myself. Please....if you give me a list of what I will need help with, I will be able to give it to him and then maybe he will understand a bit more and we can put a plan in place. Also my days will probably be alone as he works. What should I do to prepare for my days alone?

Thank you......

Nesschap,

You will need help with just about everything, get use to that idea. Your SO can run the vacuum, bring you meals, assist you to and from the bathroom/couch/bed where ever but most of all give you love and support. Independence is great most of the time, this will not be one of those times, not right away any how. Don't be afraid to ask for help either from your SO or a close friend or relative. You will always have the support of the sister here, good luck on your situation and God speed on your recovery.

Donna

It's better to have help at home, but you can recover by yourself. You might want to have a neighbor or friend check on you each morning for a few days after you come home, and even come over while you take your shower in case you run into problems (dizziness, nausea etc). Otherwise, you should be okay.

Make sure you have enough food in the house so that you aren't tempted to drive to the store before the dr. gives you the okay.

If you want a list to print for your significant other, here's an article:

https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/hsa...hp?s=&id=96853

Best wishes, and good luck.

Hi Vanessa,

I live alone too and I was concerned about what to do after the surgery. Fortunately my mom stayed with me the first week, but she had to work, so I was alone during the day. I thought I was well prepared for after the surgery, but I wasn't even close. I had cleaned my house, weeded all my flowergardens, did all my laundry, and bought enough food to last a month except for perishibles. However, I never got around to cooking meals ahead and putting them in the freezer. This was a mistake. The first week after my surgery it was very difficult to do much more than take short walks around the house to get water or go to the bathroom. And by the end of the day, I could hardly stand in one place for more than a minute, much less make something to eat. Fortunately my mom cooked all of my meals, and even came home to make me lunch everyday. As for any housecleaning or yardwork, forget it. I'm at two weeks post-op now and I have been cleared to slowly start doing more, and the very first day I did too much. I only did a load of laundry, washed the dishes, made the bed and watered the flowergardens, but I am really paying for it today with major swelly belly and some pain. Each person heals differently, but be aware that you won't be able to do much of anything other than walk for the first week or two, and after that you have to gradually increase your activity level. Hope this helps.

Vanessa,

I also live alone and I have hired a cleaning service to come in about 5 days after I come home from the castle. They will come once a week for 3 weeks and they will bring all of their own supplies with them. I have the option for having them come by for additional visits if needed. They will change the sheets, carry out the trash, vacuum, mop, sweep, all of the things I can't do for myself.

I am stocking up on easy to prepare food, snacks, etc, making sure I have plenty of shampoo, toilet paper, kleenex, dog food, snacks, paper plates, etc as I know I won't be able to go to the store myself for at least 3 weeks.

Get your recovery room ready with clean sheets, extra pillows, things like lotion, kleenex, nail file, pain meds close by and easy to reach.

Have all prescriptions refilled right before you go to the castle and don't forget to make arrangement for any pets to be cared for while you are away at the castle.

Hope this helps you to prepare for your big day!

Joan

The other ladies have great ideas. My best advice is have microwavable meals stocked up because you won't feel like cooking your lunch. You should also keep a phone nearby in case you feel you need someone to come over. And ask SO to call you during the day to check on you. I felt much better when my DH just called from work to see if I needed anything and to check on me. Of course, I had to TELL HIM to do this. Once I asked, he called everyday. Please don't be afraid to ask for help.

Best Wishes

I cannot believe how quickly I received responses. That alone makes me feel supported. Thank you all so much. I have printed out "Punctured Princess" which gave me a good laugh, knowing that it would take an act of congress to gain possession of the remote control...... (I have no idea how to insert one of your smiles or I would)

Again, thank you. I will return often and give back when I am an experienced HSYTER SISTER.

God Bless you all.....

Vanessa

Best to you and all of these ladies gave wonderful advice. As far as the food I really had a loss of appetite for abour 1 1/2 weeks. Just easy snackable foods was good. Plenty of bottled water in small bottles, cranberry juice and yogurt. God Bless.

I went through this twice....had a LSO in Dec then a TAH/RSO in Feb and I learned a thing or two so maybe I can help.

One thing I recommend you do is rent a bedside table on wheels like the ones in the hospital. I did that for the TAH/RSO after reading about it on here it made a HUGE difference! I didn't do that for my LSO and I wish I had known about it. You don't realize what muscles you have to use just lean over to the night stand to grab a remote, drink, meds or whatever.

Also, get a basket that you can put your stuff in to keep it close to you such as books, pens, thank-you cards, TV remote, TV guide, meds, snacks to eat before TAKE your meds so you don't get sick, phone, address book in case you are in the mood to chat or write thank you notes, which I wasn't, but you never know, and a walkman/discman if you want to listen to music. I am sure I left things out to put in the basket but I think you get the idea.

Also, buy a portable alarm clock if you don't have a regular one next to where you plan to recover. I would fall asleep and wake up in pain only to realize I had slept through the time that I was supposed to take my next pain pill. I got wise after that happened to me twice and set the alarm and didn't have a problem after that.

As for standing up to fix food, listen to what the others have said and get things that are fast and easy to prepare like frozen meals or stuff for sandwiches. I wasn't able to stand up for more than five minutes without ending up in pain.

Get your SO to make some sandwiches for you each morning or the evening before and put them in the fridge so all you have to do is go in and grab one. My husband put little baggies of fruit together for me so I could do the same thing for snacks. I am sure there is more I could add but my brain is fried since it is so late or I should say early.

Good luck with your surgery I will keep you in my prayers!

Jennifer

I live alone also, and did just fine. Definitely stock up on snackable food, or microwaveable meals. I didn't make meals, but it worked out as I had little appetite. I stocked up on yogurt, bread (toast), frozen vegges, rice, broth, canned soup, canned peaches and pears. Juice was very refreshing -- I drank watered down apple juice all day long. Grahm crackers were the best -- it was the only food that caused absolutely no gas, so I nibbled on those all day long.

The only things you need to be cautious of being alone is showering and going up and down stairs, if you have stairs in your house. Make sure you're solid and not dizzy before you attempt doing those activities without anyone in the house. I got a shower stool which helped a lot during the first two weeks. Sitting down let me close my eyes and enjoy the water, standing, I might have gotten dizzy.

I had my cleaning lady come once a week during the first month so I didn't have to worry about cleaning. Before I went in for surgery, I hid all the things that might drive me to do something I wasn't allowed to -- for example, I have a living room rug that bunched all the time, and I knew I would be tempted to "tug" at it, so I pulled it up and put it into a closet. Also did that with the various piles of stuff that have been waiting to be sorted and put away -- out of sight, out of mind.

I did a huge shopping before the surgery -- bought around two month's worth of groceries, household products, etc. That way, the only thing I really needed was perishables and could live without those if I ran out before I got someone to go to the store for me, and once I was able to drive to the grocery store, I only ever needed to pick up a couple of items, so I didn't have to push a cart or carry heavy bags.

Another handy tool is a "grabber." One of those sticks with a claw at the end. Helps you pick up anything you might drop on the floor without bending.

You'll do great!