Surgery hints!
Things what I learnt that have made my recent surgery (bilateral mastectomy) and hospital trip(s) so much easier:
Keep all your hospital letters in a box file. Take these with you to appointments.
Make digital backups of all your letters/contacts: scan them, save any emails, or if you’ve not got a scanner photograph the pages and put them somewhere on cloud storage.
Check the hospital map and make sure you have their general contact number written down, plus any specific ward/clinic numbers. Give a copy of this list to at least one friend.
Write yourself an itinerary for out-of-area trips, email/copy this to a friend. Make sure you write down any ticket collection references for trains, transport, etc.
Try and find out ahead of time if the hospital has ward phones for patients to use, and what visiting hours are (if staying in post-surgery).
Take a change of clothes that are easy to put on over any dressings/tubes that you anticipate having. Oversized zippy hoodies or button-up shirts are great for this. Similarly, lightweight shoes with easy fastenings are great.
Check if the hospital asks you to bring your own slippers and dressing gown. If yes, check the slippers have enough grip; don’t take ‘fashion’ ones that aren’t substantial.
Ask whoever is with you to be in the ward when you wake up; you/they should be told the ward ahead of going into surgery prep. If they can’t be there for any reason, nurses are phenomenal human beings and will stay with you.
Listen to all aftercare instructions, write them down or ask for a print-out from the Dr/Nurse. Same goes for instructions around medication (should be printed on the box).
For Home:
You won’t want to tidy anything when you’re recovering. If you think you’ll need A Thing post surgery, find it ahead of time and put it somewhere obvious.
Easy-cook meals are a blessing, so is making food in advance and freezing it. Take-out is never a ‘failure’. Save your physical Spoons for healing.
Same with laundry. Wet laundry is kind of heavy and difficult to splat around over racks.
Think you might need something from a high shelf/cupboard? Move it to a more accessible location ahead of time.
ETA: Bus pass! I can’t drive yet (motorbike, not sure about cars) - look at public transport options, times, and prices, so you know what ticket combinations are worth it. Week-long passes are usually worth the money.
I’m on day ... 17 post-surgery and I’m SO. VERY. TIRED. My consultant surgeons (I got two!) and nurses have been brilliant and having all logistical ducks in a row has let me focus on actual recovery instead of panicking. Funky bruising and scars, mind.