 | If you are anything like me you won't care much
about reading, eating or watching television for the first day or so.
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| If you are having posterior surgery, your face
will be quite puffy post surgery. This is due to being face down for so long.
The longer the surgery, the puffier the face. Warn family and friends so they aren't
concerned when they see you after the surgery.
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| I was unable to sleep more then an hour or two at
a time and was basically pretty miserable. This may have been one of the reasons I
was in there a day longer then I had hoped to be. Try to sleep. If there is
anything the nurses can do to help you sleep, let them know. The first night, while
I was in ICU, I had the sweetest nurse who came in every hour or so and rubbed my back.
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| Coughing is an important part of post-op
recovery. Use a pillow over your incision and hold it down while you cough.
Ask a nurse to help show you how to cough the first time.
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| Getting out of bed the first time is not as bad as
you might think, it's not a walk in the park either, but it's a very important step
towards getting home. (You are probably getting the idea now that my main objective
from the time I stepped into the hospital was to get home.)
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| Eat what you can. It's another important
step towards getting home. The doctors and nurses will watch your stomach to make
sure everything is working well. Please tell them if you are having any problems or
ask them any questions you may have. One of the big concerns with anterior fusions,
probably any surgery, is stomach problems so be aware of what's going on and
communicate.
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| The nurses are there to help you. They have
a lot of patients to take care of so if they can't answer your call button right away, and
it's not an emergency, try to give them a little time. It may be because they are
helping a patient that is in distress. Be sweet to them. They work long hard
hours and their main reason for being there is to give you comfort.
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| You will be visited by various doctors involved in
your surgery during your stay. They are making their rounds so don't have much time
to spend with you. Try and write down and questions or concerns you may have so you
are prepared when they arrive. There is nothing more frustrating then remembering a
question after they have come and gone.
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| If you are getting some of your tools (cane,
walker, toilet booster, etc.) from the hospital be sure to bring this up with the physical
therapist no later then the day before you are supposed to go home. The day you get
to go home you won't want to be sitting around for an extra hour or so while they track
down your equipment.
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| If you are being told that you are going to be
released the next day and you don't think you are ready talk to your doctor.
He/she needs to know your concerns and won't want you going home if you are not physically
ready.
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| On the other hand, if you think you are ready to
go home and the doctor says he/she wants you to stay an extra day it is best to
stay. They are the best judge of your post-op condition, especially if there are
concerned about an infection or a cold/flu. These things can flair up so quickly and
be very dangerous.
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