Suggestions for those in waiting

Hi ladies,
I'm a week and a day post-op and have been home almost four days. Ahhh. My experience was that the waiting is absolutely the hardest part.

A few suggestions if I may...

Get your house in shape prior to the procedure. I have a mountain of clean, unfolded laundry down-downstairs. By mountain, think Mt. Ranier. It is driving me nuts. I could fold it but I'm at the mercy of dh to bring it up-upstairs. That can't be done until he changes the sheets on our bed...he doesn't see the pressing need, yada yada, thus it is grating on my nerves. There is also a dust elephant on the ceiling fan that is within my view. It is driving me nuts. Believe me, I am NOT a clean freak typically. The minute my sister comes over tomorrow, I'm going to ask her to address it. lol.

Know the typical steps of what should happen in your days of healing. My doc was very thorough about what typically happened when, ie, Day 1, solid diet and walking, Day 2 bladder training, etc, etc. This was extremely helpful to me as one nurse was not on board with the program and I "lost" a day in the process. I was able to advocate for myself and ensure I was not assigned to that nurse the next day. If there is a language difficulty between you and your nurse, do not hesitate to clarify and clarify again. Do not worry about being labeled a difficult patient or hurting someone's feelings. Your health and comfort depend upon understanding. I had a few hours of serious pain due to a language barrier issue with the same nurse noted above. It was completely unnecessary and marred what would have otherwise been a very positive healing experience.

If you have access to a portable dvd player, bring it! Catch up on a tv series you lost track of or always wanted to see but didn't have time. DH brought in Season 2 of The Office and it was a welcome diversion from tv.

High waisted Grannie undies. Bring them. Love them.

Oh, if you have a TAH, get some sort of abdominal binder. It is very comforting to have some extra support once you get home and are moving around a bit more. At 7+ days post surgery, I'm find during the morning, but as the swellies set in after 1 pm, very very necessary.

Good luck, girlies. You're almost there.