I'm going under the knife

[BluRmGrl]

Just got confirmation this week that I'll be having major surgery on August 27th. Not what I'd hoped to hear, but not exactly a surprise, either.

I don't have any anxiety about the doctors' abilities or my overall health - I have faith all that's being taken care of by a Higher Power. However, I am not looking forward to being incapcitated for 4 - 6 weeks. I don't take well to the whole 'helpless' thing. Besides reading or spending time on the 'net (both of which do grow [gasp!] tiresome after a while ) I've got to come up with some activity/project that I can work on from bed. (Not that I'll be in bed that entire time, but my physical activity will be very restricted!)

I know this is tough since you guy's don't know me personally, but any suggestions? Especially from those with similar experiences... And how, how, HOW do I convince Mr. Blu that he doesn't have to stay home with me for THREE WEEKS like he's planning?!?!? I know he wants to make absolute certain that I don't try to do things I shouldn't & hurt myself, but so help me - and I've already told him this - if he takes three weeks off, he better go somewhere else for two of them or I will kill him!!!

Thanks in advance for the advice/tips!

 

[redhotswami]

I hope for a very successful surgery and that it will leave you feeling better after you've fully recovered.

Before my mom's surgery, we showered her with puzzles. She isn't much into reading, but she certainly enjoyed crosswords. I tried showing her a U2 concert DVD, and she wasn't much amused (this is where you have the advantage!) Perhaps you can now use this time to pick up a new hobby, perhaps painting, poetry, knitting, or something. Also, even though you probably can't leave the house, once you feel up to it, I recommend spending some time outside. Prior to surgery, maybe you can invest in a comfy outdoor chair. Sometimes it helped just to have fresh air.

Also she enjoyed watching the food network. She would take note of interesting recipes and then I'd try (failingly) to cook them for her later.

That's all I can think of for now, I see my mother tomorrow so I can ask her for some other tips. She was also incapacitated for about that amount of time, so maybe she has some advice.

Good luck

 

[martha]

When I had my bunion surgery, I read all the Junie B. Jones books.

I also watched a **** of a lot of television.


When I became less of a woman ten or so years ago, I don't remember what I did for those six weeks.

Make sure to take it as physically easy as your doc says to. You want to heal correctly and completely.

 

[cobl04]

I'm having surgery later in the year on my jaw, and I had surgery last year to take out wisdom teeth, other teeth and a bunch of other stuff. I was bedded for about 8 or 9 days, and my face shook as I walked.

I never ever realised how boring television can be, especially free-to-air. Especially when every channel has ads on!!!!

Anyway, for me I just read, watched some movies, slept if I could, computer when I could, and talked to mum.

Boring, but went ok.

 

[snowbunny00774]

Difficult jigsaw puzzles worked for me - I needed something that was an instantly visible record of me having been awake, alive and productive each day.


Good Luck!

 

[UberBeaver]

Get a gameboy or something like that. Time flies with those stupid little things.

Jigsaw puzzles are awesome too.

 

[jobob]

Whatever you do, BRG, don't do too much too soon. I made that mistake earlier this year after outpatient surgery.

And now I'm about to have oral surgery. I hate oral surgery.

So relax, take it easy, do the kind of easy things the others have suggested (TV, reading, crosswords, knitting, etc.) and let yourself heal.

 

[JCOSTER]

Get yourself a webkinz.... But seriously I hope your surgery goes smoothly and you recover quickly!!!!

If I can think of anything else for you to do I will let you know!

 

[BluRmGrl]

Thanks for the suggestions! I do have a cross-stitch project that I could complete & it might be fun to try & learn crochet/knitting while I'm home with all that time on my hands.

The problem with those ideas, however, is that they'll put sharp, pointy objects easily within my grasp..... and if Mr. Blu stays home with me for 3 weeks - like he says he's going to do - I fear that somewhere early in Week 2, I will stab him in the eye with a knitting needle!!!

He means well, but he worries & fusses over me too much. He probably won't even let me feed myself!!!

Poor guy... I can see right now that I am not going to be a good patient.

 

[anitram]

Do you have a laptop? That could be handy...heaven knows you could easily kill hours online. Online shopping!

If you have a ton of patience, get yourself an origami book. I used to do that at Christmas with my Mom and it's kind of satisfying when you get the hang of it. Especially if you get coloured paper and so on.

Catch up on all the movie you've missed, read all the books you haven't had time to read. Call your friends who live far away.

 

[Mr. Green Eyes]

I'll suggest doing what the others said. Read, go on the net, talk to friends on the phone, do crosswords, watch TV, watch movies that you've been meaning to watch, and look up anything and everything U2 related. And the good thing about recovery is that you can ask Mr. Blu nicely about if he would get stuff for you, like your favorite food. Anyway, hope that the surgery and recovery go by very smoothly.

 

[Liesje]

If you don't like TV in general (like flipping through channels), maybe read up on some new series' you might be interested in and download them or rent them. Then you can see the show you want, no commercials, and it lasts longer than a movie.

 

[JCOSTER]

Thanks for the suggestions! I do have a cross-stitch project that I could complete & it might be fun to try & learn crochet/knitting while I'm home with all that time on my hands.

The problem with those ideas, however, is that they'll put sharp, pointy objects easily within my grasp..... and if Mr. Blu stays home with me for 3 weeks - like he says he's going to do - I fear that somewhere early in Week 2, I will stab him in the eye with a knitting needle!!!

He means well, but he worries & fusses over me too much. He probably won't even let me feed myself!!!

Poor guy... I can see right now that I am not going to be a good patient.

You sound like me!


You can always pm me I'd be glad to chat with you if you're
bo(RED).

 

[Laney_82]

I had surgery three times in both my knees. The third one was the one that kept me at home for 5 weeks (around the same time they started to paint my beedroom...so my bed was in the living room )Anyway...I rented my favourite movies..."properly watched" U2`s DVD..I read and "slept"...I found out while being in bed that I got tired easily...so I slept a loooooooottttt..for me it was great because it usually takes me a long time to fall asleep.
I understand what u say about Mr. Blu....after a few days it started to upset me that I had to ask everyone for a glass of water or whatever...till I found the way of doing it myself....withoum my mom running after me to get it before I made it to the kitchen
Those weeks will pass before u know it!!!
my best wishess!!!!!


PS:make a list of all those things u want to do a never the have time...

 

[cobl04]

Thanks for the suggestions! I do have a cross-stitch project that I could complete & it might be fun to try & learn crochet/knitting while I'm home with all that time on my hands.

The problem with those ideas, however, is that they'll put sharp, pointy objects easily within my grasp..... and if Mr. Blu stays home with me for 3 weeks - like he says he's going to do - I fear that somewhere early in Week 2, I will stab him in the eye with a knitting needle!!!

He means well, but he worries & fusses over me too much. He probably won't even let me feed myself!!!

Poor guy... I can see right now that I am not going to be a good patient.

I'm thinking maybe a good way to get him out of the house might be to show him this thread

 

[Lila64]

I have a ton of 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles. Lemme know if you are interested & I could ship some out to you. PM for details.

Lots of other great suggestions above. Especially renting DVDs of movies that you like or have missed, or on series' that you never got around to watching. I've got crossword puzzle books, Sudoku, playing cards to keep me busy. Oh yeah, and don't forget the bubble game

Hope everything goes well with your surgery & recovery. I can certainly relate to going crazy with the knitting needles Hubby & I work at home, so... do you catch my drift?

 

[joyfulgirl]

I, too, had major surgery last fall and was out of commission for almost 3 months. I got very addicted to The West Wing from netflix and read a lot.

To prepare for surgery, I did a lot of things to boost my immune system: worked with an acupuncturist weekly and she also administered Vitamin C IV therapy. Three days before surgery I started taking homeopathics, specifically arnica, which helped a lot with my recovery. The nurses could not believe I wasn't in much pain and that I refused painkillers after the first day. I simply didn't need them.

I also prepared my bedroom so that it would be user-friendly when I returned. Everything I needed was within arm's reach.

Good luck! I think anything you do beforehand to boost your immune system would be very beneficial. Major surgery can definitely be traumatic to the body and it took awhile to get my strength back. Now I'm back in pilates class and going to the gym almost everyday.

 

[shari schultz]

I hope your surgery goes well and your recovery is quick

Last year when I was 12 weeks non weight bearing because of the broken leg from **** I thought I was going to lose my mind . I watched tons of tv, I joined Netflix, I wrote out my Christmas cards, I talked to friends/coworkers on the phone, I played alot of Tetris and other games on my Gameboy, I worked on photo albums, surfed the web (this was not done a lot because it was not comfortable ~ my next computer will be a laptop), listened to the iPod quite a bit and did some reading..........