Preparing For At-Home Recovery After Open Heart Surgery

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Open heart surgery is a serious procedure. Not only is the actual operation tedious, but the process of recovery is just as strenuous. This is true both when it comes to recovery in the hospital, as well as care in your home. In terms of home care, the more prepared you are, the better your recovery period. Make sure you and your family members know what to do to prepare the home for your arrival from the hospital.  

Relocate Your Bedroom

If your bedroom is not located on the entry level of your home, it is a good idea to consider relocating your bedroom, at least when you first arrive home. Generally, by the time you are released from the hospital, you do have clearance to climb the stairs. However, making multiple trips throughout the day is where the risks come in.

Having your bedroom on the main level keeps you close to everything you need without the additional strain. Remember, your safety and recovery is what is most important. If this means that you will temporarily have to take over the dining room, this is just a sacrifice that everyone will have to make.

Minimize Visitors

As such a serious procedure, it's not uncommon for friends and family to want to come over and check on a person once they return home. If you can, try to limit as many of these check-ins to telephone conversations, texts, or emails as you can.

During recovery, even having an extended conversation with someone can be a strain, which will only increase your concerns with fatigue and move the recovery finish line even further away. Additionally, some people are at an increased risk of infection after the procedure, and frequent visitors will only elevate the infection risks more.

Be Prepared To Be Patient

Make sure you're prepared to be patient. With some surgical procedures, patients are up and returning to normal in a few short days. However, this is not the case with open heart surgery.

For this procedure, you should have a realistic mindset and recognize that you could be at home recovering for several weeks and that it will likely be several months before you return to full activity. Preparing yourself to be patient and relax ahead of time will go a long way once the recovery period begins.

When it comes to preparing for at-home recovery after open heart surgery, your physician will be your greatest source of information. Don't hesitate to ask your physician for detailed at-home care instructions to ensure you're prepared.

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9 April 2017

learning how to tend to sick and injured kids

My name is Dan and this is my blog. I am a recently singled father of three that is learning everything about caring for my kids as I go along. Before my wife passed, she was the one that took care of the kids when they were sick or injured, so I had a lot of learning to do and I had to do it as quickly as possible. I got together with some of the parents from my kids' school and they helped out quite a bit. I created my blog for two reasons - to keep my facts straight and to help other parents learn what I have struggled to learn.