Thanks so much for your input. My husband is in the hospital as I am writing this, but he is doing much better. I have since found out that his sister will be here to take care of him before/after my surgery. I am glad that I don't have to do this all by myself and appreciate having this place to talk. Thanks so much!
You will be much better off with a relative helping you. I seriously doubt you will be able to drive the first week. Just thinking about the pressure of a seatbelt makes me wince with remembered pain. I had a laparotomy and could not drive until the 5th week. Even then, I put a small pillow or towel between the surgical area and the seatbelt for cushioning.
Thank you both so much. In other words, I get the impression that it can be done, provided I plan ahead. I guess what concerns me the most is whether or not I can drive (I am the only driver in the family) and lifting the wheelchair - which I know I won't be able to do. Unfortunately, my husband needs more care than it sounds like I will be able to provide for 2 weeks. I may have to postpone my surgery until a relative is able to stay with us for a couple days. I guess I knew this, but was hoping that it wasn't so.
Hi there. I had that done on the left side. I was out the hospital the next morning and was walking around in my yard that same day. HOWEVER I must warn you, we are not warned enough about the potential problems with not letting our bodies heal inside! We feel find outside but it takes longer inside. As a result of my get up and go I ended up with a prolapse of my bladder and bowel. I have very few symptoms but none the less these two things fell into my vagina, I can see it when baring down and now have to get surgery for it. So if you need to hire a relative, friend or nurse please do it. Or start cooking now and get a mothers helper for laundry and cleaning and helping your husband. We are programmed to keep going, working through pain or not paying attention to things. Good luck to you!
You will have to plan ahead a bit and make your home items and food items as lightweight and easy to reach as possble. You are going to need roughly two weeks to recover and in that time you will not be able to lift anything greater than 5 pounds. No pushing or pulling or any other action that puts pounds of pressure on the areas trying to heal. You will be walking very slowly, will tire easily, and hurting. Get as much of your chores and errands done as possible (2 weeks' worth) prior to surgery. You won't be able to do much besides read and watch TV, so do as much as you can for you and your husband in advance so the recovery time is not stressful.