Home From The Hospital
Things to do ahead of time to make life easier after surgery
How you use these ideas will depend on the type of surgery you have and might need adjusting for your personal needs and circumstances. None of these are essential. They’re based on my experience and what other patients have said worked for them.
Your Self-care Kit
Consider filling a box, tray, or bag with things you’ll want to have handy near your bed or favourite chair. This could include a thermometer, heating pad/ice pack, tissues, earphones/buds, hard candies, a glass for water & pitcher, scarf/sweater/hoodie, pen and paper, earplugs, socks, and a small clock if you don’t have a cell phone.
The Ins and Outs of Bed
If possible, try to wash your bedding a day or two before you go to the hospital. Having an extra blanket handy by the bedside can be helpful in case you get cold. You can also roll it up to prop or elevate parts of your body.
Again, depending on your surgery, some patients have found it helpful to buy or rent a small bed rail they can use to pull themselves up from lying down. I used this one. Make sure the person using the rail has full cognitive capabilities, so they do not become trapped between the rail and bed. See the end of this article for information about medical equipment loaner/rental programs.
Other patients have used foam wedges that keep their upper body slightly elevated to make it easier to get out of bed. (I had one for my abdominal surgery but found the wedge uncomfortable. The bed rail was a lifesaver though!).
Go ahead, hog the pillows! Use various shapes and sizes to help prop yourself up in bed, support your knees if you have a sore back, help you get comfortable for sleeping, or support and elevate multiple body parts as needed. Some patients tell me they own – and love – a full-body pillow. Rolled-up towels and blankets can work too.
And we can create ingenious ways to help ourselves that cost very little money. This is a great video by patient Meryl Bralower showing the simple use of a bedsheet to get in and out of bed without pain after chest or abdominal surgery.
Pro Tip
If you have to spend a lot of time lying down or resting, it might start to feel uncomfortable. My hospital “roomie” taught me a great tip for resting on my back. She suggested raising the foot of the hospital bed about 6” and then sitting with my knees slightly bent apart and out to the side with a pillow tucked under each knee. In other words, a sort of “butterfly” position for your legs. Some hospitals also have “airflow” beds that shift the patient’s weight. These are typically recommended for bedridden patients and those prone to bedsores.
Peace and Quiet
My family jokes that I can hear the faucet dripping in the house next door. It’s true–I’m very sensitive to noise, especially when I’m trying to rest. Some of my favourite tools for blocking noise include these foam earplugs from 3M because they’re soft but really good at blocking noise. I also use noise-canceling earbuds/headphones, a white noise machine or online app with brown or white noise, and a good old-fashioned fan (the louder the better) to help cut down on unwanted noise.
In the Bathroom
Bathing
After 12 days of sponge baths in my hospital bed, I couldn’t wait to have a full shower when I got home from the hospital! As excited as I was, I was also grateful for the little plastic stool I had bought because after about 30 seconds I needed to take a seat. I was just too exhausted to stand for long. Some patients have installed permanent or temporary grab bars in their tubs or shower.
If you have stitches, you may not be allowed to bathe until they have dissolved or been removed. I’m lucky because I have a very industrious and handy brother. He installed a shower with a snakehead that I could detach and use sitting down. I’ve also seen simpler, rubber versions of these sold in hardware stores that you can temporarily attach to your bathtub spout.
If you have long hair, you might appreciate a shower cap for those days you don’t have the energy to wash your hair. And dry shampoo can be your best friend and is so easy to use.
Toileting
Using the toilet might be no small feat (again this will depend on the kind of operation you’ve had). Some patients find it helpful to buy or rent a raised toilet seat to make it easier to sit and stand. Even a step stool can be helpful to prop your feet on once you’re seated. I ordered a raised toilet seat but found it wasn’t comfortable and passed it on to another family member. A portable urinal that you can keep by your bedside can be helpful too–especially if you’re having a bad pain day or in the middle of the night.
Meals and Getting Around the Kitchen
One of the best tips I got before my surgery was to put all my main pots, dishes, and kitchen equipment within easy reach. I had heard that stretching and bending the first couple of weeks after major abdominal surgery was going to be uncomfortable. And it was!
It’s hard to tell ahead of time what your appetite will be like. You may be desperate for a home-cooked meal or you may not want to eat at all. Remember that nourishing yourself is important for healing. Keep portions small for the first few days as your body adjusts to its new normal. Some of the drugs used after surgery can also make you feel nauseous.
Eating nutritious, high-protein meals will go a long way to support your healing body. If you can, prepare and freeze small batches of soups and other easy-to-eat meals ahead of time or stock up on nutritious frozen meals. Fresh or fresh-frozen fruits and vegetables are packed with nutrients and can help prevent post-surgery constipation.
You may want to buy nutritious snacks to have on hand in case you don’t feel like eating a whole meal. Dried fruits, veggies and premade dips, cheese and crackers, quality yogurt, and small handfuls of unsalted nuts are good examples. I also made a lot of smoothies as I found them easy to digest. I love the smoothy recipes by Tess Masters in her book The Blender Girl.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!
You might think that drinking water all day long is enough to keep you hydrated. I know I did. Imagine my surprise when I went to the hospital ER a few days after discharge and the doctor told me I felt so horrible Because I was dehydrated!
I asked him how that could be since I’d been drinking water all day long. He told me that once we become dehydrated, water alone isn’t always enough to fully rehydrate us. It doesn’t stay in our system long enough to be absorbed – especially if we’ve had surgery to remove any or all of our large intestine (which is where our body absorbs liquids and electrolytes). He told me to drink things with a bit of fat content, like skim milk, broths, and soups. Fruits and veggies with high water content are also good to eat. Think watermelon, cucumber, strawberries, and cantaloupe.
Avoiding constipation is another good motivator to stay hydrated, especially because many surgery patients take painkillers, which can really slow our bowels to a screeching halt. You may want to keep a pitcher and glass nearby as a reminder to drink throughout the day. Check out our free tip sheet on Toilet Talk: Help For Constipation.
Medications and Supplements
If you read our post Managing Your Medications, we recommend asking your doctor if you can get the prescriptions filled ahead of time for the drugs they want you to take once you’re home from the hospital. This way you won’t be waiting at the pharmacy when you’d really rather be snuggled up at home. Ask about non-prescription items too, such as stool softeners and over-the-counter painkillers you might need, like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. You may also want to pick up any creams or other supplies the doctor wants you to use. Always get the all-clear from your doctor before you ingest or apply anything. Make sure to check out our free Medication Tracker.
Getting Dressed
This might seem like a non-starter, but different surgeries can pose specific challenges. For instance, abdominal surgery can cause your stomach to swell. Wearing clothes that are loose around the waist will be more comfortable. If your operation will affect your ability to use your arms/hands, you might appreciate slip-on shirts, pants, and shoes instead of having to deal with buttons and laces. Think about what footwear you’ll want to use afterward and set it out, so you aren’t rummaging around looking for it.
Your doctor will be a good source of information about how your surgery could impact your ability to get dressed.
You could also consider what you’ll want to wear home from the hospital if a stay is involved. I wore a really loose-fitting top and sweatpants because I knew my belly would be bloated.
While it’s not clothing per se and will depend on the type of surgery you had, you may want to take a small pillow to the hospital that you can hold over your incision for the car ride home. It helps make the bumps in the road more tolerable and definitely helps reduce seatbelt pressure.
Mobility Aids
Some operations will require you to use a mobility aid afterward. These include things like crutches, a walker, a cane, or braces.
In some cases, you might be able to rent mobility and health equipment items from your local medical supply store, pharmacy, or community group. For instance, the Canadian Red Cross Society runs a Health Equipment Loan Program in some Canadian provinces. They loan items like wheelchairs, electric hospital beds, walkers, and bathing aids. Friends, neighbours, and family can also be potential equipment sources.
In Closing
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but we hope you’ve picked up a few tips that will help you get your living space ready for when you go home from the hospital. And we love hearing from you, so let us know if there are things you think we should add to this post next time we update it.
