Having TT and have limited help, did anyone...?

Hello,

I am having surgery 12/16, an extended TT, ancor cut FDL (big virtical cut), and I will not be staying in the hospitol at all.  I am told, the day of surgery, I go home.  I have one 18yr old son who will be home but goes to school m-f 7am - 2pm.   

My question is, since I have really only my son to help me after surgery until after 6pm do you think I will be able to handle things on my own?  I have limited family help, limited really to evenings or weekends.  When my son gets home, he can help me, but I will have to shower and clean myself and will be alone for 8 hrs a day.  Oh and I have two dogs!!!

Has anyone been able to make it alone after surgery without hospital stay and what suggests do you have for me to make this possible?  I have limited funds so hiring a nurse is out of the question.  I will pre-cook all I can and get microwave foods  but I am wondering if I can pull off being alone 8 hrs without anyone.  Any advise would be appreciated. 

I will be in the hospital one night after surgery and after that I will be home with 2 small kids.  I do have a friend who will bring my 5 yr old to and from school but I will be doing everything else.  I also have a dog and a cat!!  My husband will be gone from 5 am till about 4pm.

I do not anticipate my husband helping me in the shower or anything like that.  I am not majorly concerned about it - I will most likely be in the recliner all day and as long as I have food out my kids will be fine!! they are 3.5 and 5!

Good luck to you as well Johanna!  Looks like we will be in a simular situation.  We'll make it.  When is your surgery?  Mine is 12/16

Thanks!!  Good luck to you too!!  Mine is January 4!!

I just had an LBL with muscle tightening in April. My PS gave me the option of staying the first night in the hospital for an extra $300 - it's a program that they have and I jumped on it. My hubby drove me home the next day and stayed with me that day, but after that I was on my own.

So how are you getting home from the surgery? You certainly can't drive yourself. Can your son miss one day of school to stay home with you that first day after the surgery? You will probably need some help in getting in and out of bed/chair. Your son will also need to take the dogs out before school and thy'll have to wait until he comes home. They will make it.

Precooking is a great idea. Also, move everything that you might need for cooking to counter height because you won't be able to bend down or reach up to get things out of cabinets.

Do NOT try to take a shower standing up if you are alone. There's a real good possibility you'll get light headed and pass out and hurt yourself. If you are shy about your son seeing you naked then make sure he's outside the bathroom and listening for you to call for help. Put a chair in your shower and sit on it. Or do sponge baths (but the shower does feel glorious so I'd opt for sitting down). I wasn't cleared to take a shower until after my first follow up so Hubby washed my hair for me at the kitchen sink - we've got one of those sprayers and that made it real easy.

I got one of those plastic roll around carts with drawers and filled it up with all the stuff I would need and parked it next to my recliner. I had my meds, cough drops, lip balm, safety pins, paper and pen, scissors and other little stuff int he top drawer. The next drawer had books and DVDs and entertainment stuff. The bottom had bandages and tape and maxi pads for stuffing under the binder where it pinches. The TV remote, cell phone and my laptop went on top. I covered the recliner with a sheet and had a blanket draped over the arm.

I got a toilet riser so getting off the potty wasn't hard. I think it cost me $20 at CVS, and worth every penny.

You're probably going to be doing a lot of napping the first week and will be fine alone. My hubby really only needed to help me up out of the chair the first day, and I probably could have done it if he wasn't there. I mostly ate soup and soft foods like cheese so I didn't need help in the kitchen. Hubby also drained my drains for me at first because I got queezy whenever I had to do it just because it's kind of gross, not because anything about it causes queeziness. But after awhile I jsut did it myself. I think you'll be fine.

DO use the pen and paper to write down the times you take your pain meds because they can make you really fuzzy and you could accidentally take them too often.

Wow, this is an awesome response!  Thank you!!  You have some great ideas and I am writing them all down. 

That is finals week for my son so he can't miss class that week of my surgery.  He will be home until the new year after that so I have just two days (the first two) to be alone.  I bought some diapers for my dogs, so I think they will be okay until he gets home. 

Thank you for the ideas, I am feeling more confident.  The other lady posted that she paid $300 for one night in the hospital,  I will look into that. Maybe there is an option for me there. 

Thanks all.

 

I had abdominplasty & hysterectomy at the same time butI stayed over 2 nights, then I had butt lift innerthigh lift  back lift a came homw the same day, my sister took me home but I stayed alone til DH got home fom work at 5. the fist couple days u dont really want t eat much justreallytiredand u will beon the recliner. keep the phone,something to drinkand snack on along with your pain pills and u should be fine. do u have a neighbor u can call on  if u really do need help?.

I have always stayed alone all day after all my plastics, u should be fine. the hardest part is the dogs. I have 4 chihuahuas , we live in a  raised rancher so I stayed down in the family room & just let them out in the fenced yard

Good Luck Susan

Thanks Susan for your response.  I will be moving to a new place Nov.  My surgery is Dec so I don't know any of the neighbors.  Where I live now, I could totally have help from neighbors.

You did give me an idea though...my current neighbor is a nursing student.  Maybe I can pay her to look in on me during the day the first two or three days when my son is gone and take out my dogs.  Thanks for your response.

that sounds perfect
Good  Luck , u will be fine, u can do it cause u have to
keep us posted with  u r progess
Susan