If you are having surgery it is a big deal, even if you are having it as an outpatient. It doesn’t matter how long ago the surgical experience was if you ask anyone who has had surgery, I guarantee they will be able to provide you with an accurate accounting of what it was like. I wrote this book because of my own experience after surgery. I have been a Registered Nurse for over 30-years, over 33% of that time I was a practicing clinician taking care of patients who had had the very same surgery that I had. I was shocked at how I felt once I was home recovering and consumed with guilt about never having warned my patients about what to expect during the at-home recovery experience.
Today, as medicine improves surgical techniques and pressure to reduce costs increases, people are finding themselves being discharged from the hospital soon after they have surgery, in some cases, within hours. This is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the home environment has been proven to be a better place for recovery and in many cases, much more comfortable and accommodating. A curse because the time spent in the hospital being cared for by professionals was time that was also used to teach you how to take care of yourself. Hospitals are great places for the very ill who require intense nursing care. While you may feel like you require intense nursing care the fact of the matter is you don’t. What you do require is help with the day-to-day activities of living and some comfort interventions that can be done by a family member, friend or, in many cases, yourself. This book is intended to provide you with some advice from people who have been there, on how to prepare for and manage your care at home.
Today, as medicine improves surgical techniques and pressure to reduce costs increases, people are finding themselves being discharged from the hospital soon after they have surgery, in some cases, within hours. This is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the home environment has been proven to be a better place for recovery and in many cases, much more comfortable and accommodating. A curse because the time spent in the hospital being cared for by professionals was time that was also used to teach you how to take care of yourself. Hospitals are great places for the very ill who require intense nursing care. While you may feel like you require intense nursing care the fact of the matter is you don’t. What you do require is help with the day-to-day activities of living and some comfort interventions that can be done by a family member, friend or, in many cases, yourself. This book is intended to provide you with some advice from people who have been there, on how to prepare for and manage your care at home.
