Surgery is scheduled but...

My surgery date is April 9, the day after Easter. Dr. Needleman at OSU is going to do gastric bypass, hopefully laparoscopicly (sp?). My biggest worry is that I live alone and am having some difficulty figuring out how to handle things at home after the surgery. It's coming up fast now - any suggestions?

Hi Judy, I am in the same boat. My surgery is scheduled for April 11th at OSU with Dr. Mikami. Maybe I will meet you there. I am planning on hiring some help and also having some friends drop in. Otherwise, I am just going to have to push myself as much as I can as soon as possible...not sure what else to do. Teresa

Hello Teresa.....if your having it done Lap it won't be to bad. Just take your pain meds and you'll do fine. The only thing you won't be able to do is drive right away. You have to waite a week. You have no one to help you?.....if you have any questions let me know. Dave

Do you belong to a church? If so, I would express my concerns to the preacher (priest, or rabbi)...I'm sure they would make an announcement about your situation, and I'm sure there would be plenty of volunteers to help you out a couple hours here and there, or drive you where needed. Our church does this from time to time, and the response is overwhelming--Many people want to help, they just need to be made aware of your need...

Thats a great idea Theresa....

Also remember......do not pick up anything over 10 pounds....and that includes pushing (like a vacuum cleaner). I know that at St. Vincent's in Cleveland we have been told that it is very important to have someone nearby for the first few days at home. And as far as saying something to the pastor......good idea. My hubby is a pastor and get requests like this many times. In fact, we have a non-official help group that loves to help out with those kind of requests. Good luck.

HI Judy, Congratulations on your upcoming surgery and new life. I completly agree with everyone. I actually took advantage of that option. My family was not going to be here (my hubby travels some times for work and was leaving the day I got home from the hospital for 3 days) my sister lives really far away and has a family of her own but came when she could and my mom....... well, I won't go into the whole therapy thing but lets just say she wasn't available. So one of the older sisters from my Kingdom Hall came to my rescue (my family does not share my faith). I can not even begin to tell you how invaluable her assistance was. She took me to my Dr. appt's when I couldn't drive, she made sure that I got my med's, made me homemade broth and soups (she's from Italy, all I can say is ummmmm), she helped change my bandages and was here when I took a shower so if something happened she could assist. She cooked for my kids, took them to school, cleaned my house, did the laundry, went grocery shopping, took me for rides in the car and just sat and talked to me. I might have been able to do some of these things on my own but for the first two weeks, she didn't allow me to do much at all (she used to be a nurse so she really understood the value of recovery time). Im very greatful for her and all that she did. God blessed me in a huge way for providing Gulia. So I hope by my experiences you can see that having someone come at least for a couple of hours a day will be an enormous help to your while you recover. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers for the 9th. Kym