Living alone after open heart surgery

[carer999]

When discharged from hospital after open heart surgery are you able to look after yourself such as reaching up and down, carrying out laundry basket, lifting pots and pans, cooking, getting in and out of bath.

Or is it expected you will have someone who can assist you. If you didn't have anyone what did you do.

[BeKind28-]

Hello

I am not sure if you can get anyone to assist you others will possibly be able to tell you but for a while you will not be able to lift and reach

Some things though you can do to get prepared to help especially if you are on your own is

To move everything into lower cupboards so you do not have to reach

Maybe a bath or shower stool

Make meals and freeze them so you just have to warm them up so you do not have to do any cooking

You can make a drink using the kettle but make sure you do not make it heavy by just putting enough water in for one

Leave a nice clean bed and house before you go in so you do not have to worry about anything like that

I know you are on your own but are there any neighbours you could let know what is happening and ask could they look in on you now and again ?

I hope some others will be able to tell you if there is any other help out there and good luck with your operation

Let us know how you get on x

[Blackcatsooty]

Dear Carer

NO ! You can’t care for yourself. I suggest you need help for 4 weeks after the op. Maybe some time before discharged from hospital. Then you need either someone staying with you or you stay with someone else or you could stay in a care home.

I didn’t need any help overnight. But getting meals was not possible . I could not dress myself. I could not care for my cat.

On the plus side, recovery was noticeable every two days.

Maybe this will give you a starter on what you might need.

Sooty

[Rhinos67]

I live alone, so prior to my OHS I put out a plea on Facebook for local friends and family to after to join a "help network" on WhatsApp.My sister came to stay overnight for 5 days, but she went home at 8am every morning, so thank goodness for the help network.

The advantage of having it on WhatsApp meant that if I sent out a plea for help everyone in my group could see if anybody had responded.

The requests ranged from opening my windows, cutting the lawns, getting door out of my freezer in the garage, taking me for a drive. The people who stepped up and were amazing werent the ones that I expected to, and some of those who I thought would support me let me down really badly when I needed them.

I was pretty organised beforehand, had done loads of batch cooking and reorganised cupboards to store things at waist level that I used often, but even so I really did need help for a few weeks

Good luck 😊

[StevepH2012]

Hi

I was fortunate in having partner at home but do be aware that the post operative care in hospital will include physio who will , as well the cross-discipline team, assess you for fitness for discharge. you must make sure that they now you will not have ready access to support at home. The guidelins say not to raise arms above your head or lift anything heavier than 5kg (roughly a kettle of water). I was able to walk up and down a flight of stairs shower (rinse off!) before they would discharge me.

Steve

[carer999]

Thanks for all your replies. I have no one who can help me or I can call upon for assistance. Looks like I will need a very large shop of ready meals in my chest freezer and not care about the state of my house or me.

Just concentrate on the bare essentials such as good stock of food and get kitchen arranged so not reaching up and hope it won't be too long before I am able to drive about and do bathing, washing/chores/gardening etc. May need a second freezer through.