Hey Taka,
Congrats on starting an exciting and transformative chapter of your life.
- Will you be completely alone? I wouldn't recommend that...both because you may need help and because sitting alone and crippled for weeks/months on end can get really depressing. I mainly survived because of the companionship in the guest house, the visits from PTs, the caretakers, and I was really busy with my work.
- Do you think you will shower in the hospital? I don't know if changing would even come up. The first couple days may be pain-ridden/drug-addled. And you might have a catheter in (because of the epidural), so changing would be very cumbersome. And would you even care that much about changing if you couldn't bathe/shower? These are things you might want to ask. If it's a shower and not sponge baths, you won't be able to if there's no shower chair. You also need to set up your bathing situation in the house/apt. where you'll be living.
- I've heard prune juice can work, but just get some Dulcolax (Bisacodyl)
- Is this a private apartment/home where you'll be recovering? Make SURE there's a wheeled chair (and hard floor space you can roll on) or it may be extremely difficult to get around your living space. And you will need multiple chairs if there are steps or thresholds you can't roll over
- A lot of this is assuming you can go ahead of time to your living space and prep it. If you can, make sure that you set up all the things in the kitchen, bathroom, living room to be reachable from your chair.
- Find out where your meds will be coming from. Make sure they can be delivered or someone can pick them up for you. Better yet, have your doc prescribe a healthy supply of both light and heavy pain medications, in addition to anything else you take. Sleep aids and antidepressants come to mind.
- Make SURE that you have reliable internet. The many times I had to endure lengthening/recovery without it was like being marooned on a desert island.
- This might have been the MOST important thing I brought for LL:
Seriously, if you drop something under your bed, and you are alone, you are F.UCKED without one of these.
Good luck to you Taka. Keep us posted on your progress.
