Strange Question

[Angelacross]

Hi everyone bit of a strange question here. How easy was it for you to make a cup of tea/coffee after your op?

I will have my friend who said i can call them for help but for that i would like to do on my own rather then having to call her up..

And where you able to wear a bra home from the hospital, i know i probably wont be that bothered, but wondered how long was it for you to wear a bra afterwards.

Angela

Thank you in advance.

[Geish]

Angela,
I was up and moving around the morning after I got home form the hospital ( I got home close to 10 PM and went to bed a few minutes after getting in the door). If I had wanted to I could have made my own coffee, however I had my 2 daughters (ages 15 and 20) with me and they took care of it for me.

I personally was not able to wear a bra home. I ended up pulling a t shirt on over my head and wearing a zip up hoodie sweatshirt over that. I don't think I actually got a bra on for close to 5 weeks for more than a few hours at a time. I just started wear 2 shirts at a time to stay a bit modest. When i did start wearing a bra I found it was better to increase the back strap size by one, less discomfort that way.

Hope this helps.
Alicia

[Angelacross]

hi thanks that helps i will have parents with me for a couple of days and every evening, im sure i will manager if not i will call my friend

i will just wear a t-shirt and that home then i think, once i get home i wont be going far soo i dont think its worth trying to wear a bra just for a 30 mile trip home where im ina car anuyway and noone will see me

Thanks for your advice.

Angela
x

[Susie*Bee]

Angela-- that sounds like a good plan. I think you'll really not care much about the bra business. Even an old prude like me didn't care for a good 4 months! But I felt fairly covered up with a T shirt as an undershirt, then my brace, then my regular shirt...

And I think you'll do fine making a cup of tea or coffee. I know I already mentioned it in a pm or email, but just make sure you have things down where you can get to them. You won't be able to reach up or get down low to get things out of cupboards for awhile.

You'll do fine-- it's just hard work for awhile, but you're good at that. We'll all be thinking of you and I know many will also be praying for you. Big hugs, Susie

[txmarinemom]

Hi everyone bit of a strange question here. How easy was it for you to make a cup of tea/coffee after your op?

I will have my friend who said i can call them for help but for that i would like to do on my own rather then having to call her up..

And where you able to wear a bra home from the hospital, i know i probably wont be that bothered, but wondered how long was it for you to wear a bra afterwards.

Angela, I can understand your desire for independence, but with things like that, consider accepting your friend's offer. People often don't know what you need - and they really feel better when they CAN do something for you.

As to when you can make your own, I COULD have as soon as I got home (the morning of day 6 ... but I elected to take a 2 day nap instead). In actuality, I started making coffee the 3rd day I was home. I recovered solo, so I did a LOT of prepwork before surgery for things exactly like this (and I am a java JUNKIE ... this was high on the to-do list!).

Here's what I did before surgery:

I put the coffee pot on a waist high table with other supplies:

• bottled water (the smaller 16 oz. bottles)
• coffee filters I'd filled with coffee stacked (standing upright) in a rectangular container
• styrofoam cups
• I don't use cream or sugar in my coffee, but if so, I would have kept *small* containers of these with the other supplies

NOTE: If you use milk, get no larger than 1/2 gallon sizes. You don't realize how heavy a full gallon of milk is until after surgery!

Every night before bed (or when I had the energy) I'd:

• toss out the old filter/grounds
• empty any remaining coffee from the day (I didn't even bother to wash the pot ... it's one of those things that just aren't all that important for a few weeks)
• fill the coffee pot reservoir using the small bottles of water
• drop in a new pre-filled filter (even easier would be to buy the pre-packaged, sealed filters made by several companies ... I was just cheap, er ... *frugal*!)
• turn it to auto so it'd go off at the programmed time

I didn't have any problems lifting/pouring a carafe that held 10 cups. Just remember to set it all up at waist level and it'll be easier to handle.

As far as a bra, I just didn't wear one (I rarely do *anyway*). If you must, I'd suggest something REALLY soft - or as Geish said, layered t-shirts.

Your back will most likely be numb, and although a bra may not *hurt*, it will probably feel somewhere between weird and uncomfortable on your skin.

Regards,
Pam

[abhbarry]

Yes, I agree with everyone. I did not want to wear a bra for quite a while after surgery and please consider asking for help. I had friends even come and make my mother and husband meals while I was first recovering to take the burdern off of them. They are happy to help.

Best wishes,
Anya

[JoAnn5]

One MAJOR reason i'm looking so forward to retirement (on May 30th yayyyyyyy) is not having to wear a bra every day if i don't wanna!!! The back of it just gets me in the worst place... no matter which style i choose.