Question for those w/children who have already been to castle :)

Well, i go in on Tuesday and have some questions that maybe some of those who are home can answer. First off, i am having a TAH BSO. I have an 8 year old son. I have someone coming in for 2 weeks to help me with him. My question is , how much am i cabable of after 2 weeks? Will i be able to hobble and fix him breakfast? Can i help him dress?He is my baby and i practically do everything but hand feed him .I am just curious as to my limitations.He can take care of himself while i am here but of course cannot cook for himself.Did you sisters resume housework at 2 weeks? Sorry if these seem silly, but i have no one to ask but you all This is certainly a first for me and a last to!! I am still scared,just hope all goes well. The thought of a knife on my tummy just grosses me out and scares me That is my biggest fear, along with staples, which seem barbaric to me.I am not good with pain.But God willing i will make it thru this. Thanks to any sisters who can offer some answers.
Patty

Hi Patty! As I sit here I am exactly two weeks post op©
I made breakfast on Sunday, and I made spaghetti sauce
yesterday© The only slight problem I found, was that I am
really short, and I did not realize how weak I was until I
had to lift my arm up to stir the sauce - unbelievable©
If I were taller, I would not have had to lift my arm and
it would have been no problem© LOL© Other than that slight
surprise ¥to me¤ I have been amazed at how well I did©
I had a TAH on 12/21 and had no problem going upstairs when
I got home© I stayed in the hospital 2 days© No problems
dressing, doing some office work etc© I think you will be
fine, but will have to stay away from actually housecleaning©
You should not at two weeks do anything like that© If you can
plan ahead and freeze meals that would be great© Perhaps you
can have a housecleaning service come in once a week for a while? I hope this helps© By the way, I had staples, and it
really isn't a big deal© When they take them out, there is only a very slight tug©
Pam

Hi Patty. I'm at 3 weeks post op now. Each morning I get up at 7 to shower, and get my son up at 7:30. I make our breakfast, fix his lunch, and play until I take him to daycare. I'm lucky that he comes home with dh, but I do spend an hour or so with him while dh makes dinner and cleans up some. I then lay on the couch so I can spend time with both of them until our son goes to bed. At 2, my son can get into his own chair at the table, climb into his bed, get into and out of his own car seat, put his toys away, put on his shirt and shoes, etc. I made sure to start "practicing" a few weeks before the surgery, to get him used to doing more things on his own, like putting his books and toys away. It made a really big difference. I also wear a binder, which he calls my bandaid. It reminds him to be extra careful around me. I make sure to sit on the couch to play with him, and he brings the books and toys to me to play. He sits next to me on the couch to watch his favorite show in the morning, and I put a pillow between us. I do sit at the table to color and such, and sometimes sit at the computer to play his computer games. I am very careful not to overdo it, as he only has a general understanding of mommy's 'boo-boo'. But at 8, I suspect that yours will be MUCH more self-sufficient and will have a better understanding that you won't be able to do as much as usual.

A few tips: Explain to your son in ways he understands that you will not be able to do the usual things for a while. I told my son several times before the surgery, and he was not upset at all when I couldn't pick him up or sit on the floor to play - because he expected it. Try the practicing new things on his own, it does make a difference. Try to have your son help prepare things the night before, like getting clothes out and anything needed for school. Make lunch the night before. Make sure cups, bowls, etc. are on the counter so you don't have to reach. Put snack type items where your son can easily reach them on his own. Does your child go to school? If so, maybe he has a friend in the neighborhood he can spend time with after school. Or a friend can come over to help as a distraction so you can continue to rest if needed.

p.s. - I've had staples twice and removal is not painful at all. The worst it felt was like plucking an eyebrow, and that was only one. Don't worry about them!!

Hope this helps some. Best of luck to you!

Hi! By 2 weeks post TAH/BSO, I was able to tolerate cooking simple meals, as long as my husband or son helped reach heavy pans out of cupboard corners, etc. I've I had to do over, I'd rearrange the kitchen temporarily so that the pans I use a lot are at a level where it's easy for me to reach them. You said your son is 8? That's grown-up enough that he'll probably enjoy helping you and doing some things for himself!

Good luck!

Renny

Hi sweetie, I thought I would try to help you out here. I am 5 weeks post op and I had a TAH. My husband was home the first 2 weeks after I got out of the hospital, so he was responsible for getting all 3 kids (ages 3, 5, and 7) up, fed, ready for school, getting them to school, picking them up, making sure homework was done, bathing the 3 year old, starting the showers for the 5 and 7 year olds, feeding them, making their lunches for the next day, putting them to bed, and everything else for me that I usually do. Meantime, he was taking care of me, making sure I did nothing! Then came the third week...
Glenn is a truck driver, and he was able to get short runs that would only keep him away for a night at a time. I sent him a list of groceries to buy for when he was gone. My kids ate a lot of frozen pizza, fishsticks, chef boy ar dee, and easy things like that. My oldest son (7) is a wiz at the microwave, and him and my 5 year old son really enjoyed toasting them all frozen waffels and making cereal in the mornings. I thought it was a rare and valuable learning experiance for them all. Even my daughter (3) knew mom had had surgery and was in the hospital, and I didn't have one single problem with anyone jumping on my bed, my stomach or anything. Kids really feel valuable when they are accountable. Even today, I went outside to get something out of my car, and my 7-yr old ran outside, and said "mom, I really should go with you" I thought that was really pretty cool. And if I drop something, they all 3 rush to pick it up.
Your son will do fine, as long as you remember to get the rest YOU need. I think the reason I feel so good is that even when my husband was gone, and the kids were off for holiday break I really did not have to do much. There was always someone willing to help me, and they were happy to be helpful and to help me get better.

Here is wishing you a happy 2001! I am sending you happy wishes, good luck with everything!

Love,
Ami

Hi! I have 2 children aged 8 and 5 1/2. Both have been wonderful. They did not like me being away at the hospital. Mind you, they are girls. I guess that made it easier for me to explain. They understood and did things when I asked them to do. Actually they love doing it for me. The 5 1/2 actually did the vaccumning for me. She wanted to do it. My DH was a big help too. :inlove: What I did when I came home, I showed them the incision to give them an idea how serious this operation was. They said that my stomach looked like a railroad tracks. If you stop and think about it, I guess that what it looks like with those staples in. To me it looked more like braces. I don't think you would have any problems with your boys. Just explain to them that if they ever had a cut and it hurts. Only you will get much bigger cut and a very deep one. It will hurt 10 times more than a cut or scrape on the knee. They will get the idea. Try telling them that. It may help.

Hugs, Dale
Endometriosis and cysts
TAH/BSO 12/6/00

I had a TVH but the recovery is just about the same. By the time I got home, 5 days post-op, I was able to fix simple meals and to mind the children, as long is it didn't involve heavy disciplining, dragging, picking up, carrying or running after them.

I have a 9 yo son who has ADHD and is thus very immature in some areas and a daughter who turned 5 the day I got home form the hospital.

Basically, they can look after themselves, most of the time. Even the 5 yo can put a piece of bread in the toaster. She can't get it out and she can't butter it, but that's a start. They can pour themselves glasses of juice, can help themselves to a bowl of cereals and pour their own milk and they certainly can dress themselves. Of course, boys like to be helped in that area, at least mine does.

Dressing an 8 year old might not be the best of idea, especially if your son is like mine and likes to wiggle and struggle and wrestle, just for fun, as he gets dressed. One thing we do, we make it a contest, against the clock. He enjoys that game tremendously.

I'm now 3 weeks post-op and the main thing is not to stay rooted in the same spot too long, which is a lot harder than moving along.

Good luck and looking forward to seeing you on the other side.