A few tips for Partners (coaches) during your post-op stay During the time that you are at the hospital after your partner’s surgery, there will be PLENTY to do. And plenty of favors to perform. When your partner gets out of surgery, they will be out of it for most of the first 24 to 30 hours. They will be on substantial pain meds and will most likely have a tube or two in their nose. Be that as it may, it is still very important to begin the process of going home as soon as 4 hours after surgery. Now I realize that this may sound unreasonable and mean, but trust me, it can and MUST be done in order to[prevent a longer than necessary hospital stay, and the chance of other complications, i.e. pneumonia. I can only speak from my own experience, but I would imagine that it is pretty much the same with other surgeons. The 3 key things that need to be done are WALK/BREATHE (in the nose, out through the mouth)/ and COUGH. There is a very likely chance that just prior to surgery your partner will have a baseline reading taken using a little device to measure lung capacity. This is also known as an incentives barometer. This baseline reading is what you will need to aspire for after surgery. In between laps around the nurses’ station (as many as once every hour during the day to once every two hours at night) it will be necessary to inhale through the barometer as well as deep but not outrageously forceful coughs. This will serve to rid the lungs of mucous and other assorted and rather unattractive by-products of surgery. In addition, good breathing habits and clear lungs will prevent the onset of pneumonia which is all too prevalent in multi-day post operative hospital stays. I can’t stress enough LISTEN TO THE SURGEON!! He is your best source of instruction on what needs to be done and the associated timetable. Be clear on this BEFORE surgery takes place. The nurses are very busy so don’t always count on them. Another thing… your partner needs you to be gentle but firm and consistent. He/She will recover so much faster for your efforts. There will be times that you will be between laps and your charge is asleep… Good research time!!!! Go over the dietary info for when you get home, plan shopping lists and most of all **** As soon as you get home, REMOVE and DONATE all of the no-no foods from the house ****. I am not implying that your recently operated on housemate will cheat… (they can’t)… but merely having all those old “bad habit” foods around and available will just impair the necessary emotional/psychological healing process as well. Now is a great time to re-evaluate your diet as wellJ. It is really difficult to shop for two or more diets when you can share one! His/Her actual diet won’t change in any largely unpleasant way, just the amounts. Cooperate on menu planning so that you can maximize your food dollars and minimize your accrual of leftovers by eating similar items and sharing a single meal especially as you begin to dine out. Again…you are the coach…be firm but compassionate, educate yourself well, and this will be an incredibly rich and amazing experience for both. Good luck Scott
Last update : Monday, 09 July 2007
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