After surgery.....

[SarahH]

What did you wear?

What was yoru daily schedule like?

Could you walk up and down stairs?

What was the one "life saver" that you are so glad you had?

What is something that you didnt have but wish you had?

How many days post op did you get out of the house for the first time?

[pat]

Hello Sarah!
Great questions; my 13 year old is 3 months post-op. In the hospital, we really didn't need to bring any change of clothes, she was in her hospital gown until the day we left , five days later. And then when she got home she wore whatever she wanted (no brace after surgery) She walked up and down the stairs in the hospital, I think it was day 3 or 4. Definite lifesaver: bring those big long pillows to the hospital, and having two at home. Hmm, I wish we had told everyone "no visitors" till we got home. She went out for a ride pretty quick, the next day after getting home, we went to the Video Store!!! Watched lots and lots of videos the first couple weeks. It's an amazing recovery period, the changes from one day to the next. Pat

[Mary Lou]

Hi Sarah,

My 13 y.o. daughter is two months post-op. Be sure to bring slippers (we found that slipper socks worked best) with non-slip soles. Jamie wore her own clothes as soon as the catheter came out. As for steps, Jamie was allowed to do steps but not a lot. We chose to bring her bed downstairs because she just wasn't comfortable on the couch. Pills are a must for the ride home! Jamie didn't leave the house until she was 2 weeks post-op. That was more my decision, I think than hers. As for visitors, I agree with Pat. A lot of visitors just tire the kids out too much. Jamie called her friend about three days after surgery and she came for a short visit, but other than that, we tried to just have parents, sister and grandparents around.

If you have any other questions, just ask.

Mary Lou

[jc3]

hi sarah
pat and marylou just about said it all, but just wanted to say good luck. My daughter too is 3 months post op. She didn't leave the house until her first drs. appointment which was 3 1/2 weeks post op. She seemed to move alittle slower than some of the other kids. Each kid will do things at their own pace. After her 1st outing then we started going out everyday for a little bit.
In the hospital my daughter stayed in the hospital gown until the day before we left which was 8 days. She couldn't lift her arms over her head at the beginning so button up pjs were the best and for the ride home a sweatsuit with a zipper front jacket and like they said lots of pillows. She traveled with pillows in the car for a while. At home the only place she was comfortable was on the couch propped with pillows and her feet on an otterman. That's where she stayed all day. Stairs were no problem for her.
any other questions feel free to ask. We were all just there
jennifer

[blairf83]

What did you wear?
A pair of old navy yoga pants, a tied halter top, a fleece jacket, my winter coat, and sneakers.

What was yoru daily schedule like?
I didn't really have a sechedule- got all screwed up. Napped all day, was wide awake at 3 am, etc...

Could you walk up and down stairs?
I wasnt allowe to for the first 10 days until I saw my surgeon. But I did starting on about my 4th day home.

What was the one "life saver" that you are so glad you had?
Body pillows. And all other varieties of pillows. The more the merrier!
Cups with lids and bendy straws. I had a somewhat high fusion, and it hurt to try to tip my head back to drink normally.
Um... Fiber therapy, gross though it may be. Anesthesia totally kills my digestive system...


What is something that you didnt have but wish you had?
Nothing really comes to mind.



How many days post op did you get out of the house for the first time.

Well, I went to christmas eve at my grandparents, 10 days post op. But I think I got out one time before that to watch a movie at my best friend's fiancee's house so I could talk to the family about my experience with surgery since their daughter was having it a month or so after I did....

[blairf83]

One other thing... i was also forbidden to ride in a car (aside from going home) until it was time for me to go down for my first postop checkup at about 2.5 wks post op...

[annie16]

What did you wear?
In the hospitol and gown the entire time.

What was yoru daily schedule like?
AfterI got home it was wake up. Take pain killers! =) Get a shower. Take a nap. Sit up for a while in a chair. Take another nap. Eat lunch. Take another nap. More pain killers! Sit up somemore/ have a visitor. Take another nap. Eat dinner, watch a TV show while sitting up. More pain killers! Go to sleep. For the first 4 days after I was home I woke up about every 4 hours at night.

Could you walk up and down stairs?
I have alot of stairs in my house. I held someones hand the first week after I got home, but it wasnt painful, just slow.

What was the one "life saver" that you are so glad you had?
Okay, I'm going to list the many lifesavers I had. A chair in my shower. It was hard to stand up for long periods of time. A walkie talkie so I could call my parents around the house from my bed. Friends. Ive seen that many people didnt want visitors. But I was so happy to have my friends come. I was in so much physical pain that having someone there to laugh with made em forget about it. Even during the hospitol, I was so grateful to have visitors come and stay. I guess it depends on the person.

What is something that you didnt have but wish you had?
I wish I had the prescription filled for my pain killers when I got home. I took one at the hospitol then left went home and then my parents got the prescription filled. I was in so much pain when the last dose wore off. Get the prescription filled before you go home.

How many days post op did you get out of the house for the first time?
I went a week before I got out like actually out of the neighborhood. Every day my parents made me go one step further. I was walking to the end of the drive way after 4 days of being home. It is important to make yourself (your child) do things, because all I wanted to do was sleep after I got home, but my parents made me do things like sit and feed myself when the time was right. Dont push them too hard so they get hurt, but it also hurts when you dont make them do anything.

Hope I helped. Much love
God Bless
Annie

[blairf83]

Oh ya... I assumed when I answered the first question that it was what I wore when I was sent home.
I wore a hospital gown the whole time I was in the hospital.

and the suggestion to get the prescriptions filled before you get home is indeed a good one. It's harder to keep your pain level under control if you let your medecine wear out fully. Most hospitals have a pharmacy that you can get your prescriptions filled at...

My experience was actually the opposite though as far as needing pushed. I already pushed myself plenty hard enough and needed people to actually keep me "down". For example, by 10 days post op, I was riding the exercise cycle for a half an hour or more a day. I really wore myself out doing that.

However, there are people I know who did need pushed. My best friend's sister in law slept in a hospital bed in the living room for MONTHS, never wanted to go out and do things, etc... She was definitely coddled too much, and it took her a good while longer to recover to the point where I did.

I guess you kind of need to know yourself/your child in that respect.

[pink_jazmin]

What did you wear?
normal clothes... nothing tight & i had no brace (socks are hard to put on)
What was your daily schedule like?
at home? well sleep, take a couple painkillers, eat, have a shower, then lie down for a bit because i got a bit tires in the shower, umm then i just watched t.v & stuff (i had to do physio every few hours tho)
Could you walk up and down stairs?
well the last thing my physiotherapist did at the hospital was stairs, i went up & down those fire stairs so many times!
What was the one "life saver" that you are so glad you had? My mum ofcourse she stayed with me the whole time! she even slept next to my bed.. except for my last night at the hospital
What is something that you didnt have but wish you had?sushi lol, i had a MAJOR craving for sushi! also i wished that my sister could stay overnight once (but she couldnt). she visited me everynight tho
How many days post op did you get out of the house for the first time? i think it was the 1st day back home... or maybe the 2nd... i went to the local shops for some dvds, so it would've been 9-10 days post op

[matt]

Hey. I had surgery in September. I hope that these answers help you.

What did you wear?
A wore a hospital gown for 4 days, and after I was walking, pajama pants and T shirts.

What was your daily schedule like?
In the hospital, until you start walking, you are log rolled every 2 hours.
Then when you start to walk, they make you walk the halls every couple of hours.
Could you walk up and down stairs?
When I came home, I had to climb 5 steps to get to my house, and lets just say that it was a challenge.
What was the one "life saver" that you are so glad you had?
PAINPILLS and my recliner! LOL

How many days post op did you get out of the house for the first time?
I didn't leave the house until 2 weeks, but thats when I had to go to the doc because my incision was oozing. But leaving to go somewhere other than the doc........maybe 3 weeks.

[Alleycat]

I wore loose clothing. sweatpants and tee-shirts( try shirts w/ soft materials and wide necks.)
Schedule- sleep, read books, watch tv, walk around see what everyone else was doing, have friends visit and talk about school.
Steps- yes, i wasn't supposed to but the first day home I woke up and couldn't find anyone up stairs so I walked down stairs to find everyone. It wasn't to big of a deal to me.
Life-saver- books and my dog, books - I could think about things that were happening other places, even if they were imaginary. and my dog- after i started getting sick of being in the house I would take her for walks around my apartment complex.
out of the house - after i got home - thrid or forth day I would start taking small walks and I slowly let them get longer and longer at my own pace. I hope that helps. Bye