How To Be The Best Possible Help

For Your Elderly Parent Recovering From Surgery

Surgery can take a serious toll on the body, even a young and fit body. So for an elderly relative, the recovery process is extra important; they will need extra time and extra care. It will no doubt frustrate them because, well, we are all young at heart and not being able to bounce back from life’s setbacks like a coiled spring tends to get under the skin of elderly parents. It certainly does in our family. That is why it is so important that you have a recovery plan in place and that you know how to be the best help possible once they leave the hospital.

It doesn’t matter if they have had hip replacement surgery, been given a nice shiny new knee or what, there are certain things that all recovery plans need. That is why I have laid out the following tips on caring for elderly at home, to help you be the best help possible:

• Discharge Day

It is so important that you plan your parent’s hospital discharge well ahead of time. Last minute is not an option here. One of the main reasons for this is the mental toll having an operation can have on a person. You’ll want to take away any chance of stress, and that means planning. As for the day itself, try to book in a morning discharge so that you have plenty of time to pick up anything you need; prescriptions, medication, wheelchair, and anything else you may need and still get home in good time. Your parents will want to get home.

• Home Sweet Home

Any surgery is going to make their mobility a bit of an issue, and that means stairs will become their nemesis. So get their home as ready as possible. Make up a bed downstairs somewhere. It could be a folding sofa bed, a hospital bed, or one you have rented; just so long as they have easy access to the kitchen and bathroom – and the front door – they should be fine. Another way to be best you can be is to stock their fridge full of healthy foods and pre-made dinners.

• Consider Their Care

The best way to recover quicker and safer is to have an aftercare team in place, and the more these teams work together the better. Getting back to their full physical and mental strength will require support, so speak to some local orthopedic surgeons and choose one that is able to work alongside your parent’s primary care physician. Between the two of them, they will be able to develop a personalized treatment plan to get them fighting fit once more.

• Physical And Mental

A huge part of their recovery is going to fall on your shoulders whether you like it or now, which is why you need to understand their limitations as best as possible and know what the best patient care tips are. It could be that they have trouble bearing weight on the area they had surgery, or perhaps you will need to assist with certain equipment or monitor their blood levels just to make sure progress is being made.

Whatever it is, know about it. As for their mental recovery, this can be a pretty delicate thing to balance. As such, whenever your parent tries to do too much, gently remind them of their limitations by saying it was what the doctor suggested. That might stop the target falling on your back. 

Don’t forget to take good care of yourself too!

Cheers Klaudia

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