What to bring with me to the Hospital

[Mr.Box]

I know it seems like common sense, but really... What should I be bringing in for entertainment ? or handy dandy helpers with anything else ( comfortable shoes or clothing ) stuff that after your surgery you went.. You know I should have brought that in with me.

I'm thinking iPod touch and some headphones.

[rubyred]

I took some PJ's and clothes to come home in, but to be honest I didn't use half of as my leg was that swollen I couldn't get anything else on other than the really baggy pj bottoms I had.

For me baby wipes were really handy for quick cleansing and a quick freshen up as I wasn't able to move to the showers right away. Also anything non-slip for your feet when you get mobilizing.

As for entertainment things, I had my phone, ipod, magazines, my kindle and my friend lent me her Nintendo DS which was great.

[Tin Soldier]

mp3 for sure and maybe a DS or something like that, or ipod, you can stay pretty disctrated with one of those.  You may only be in for a short 30 hrs or something.  Sorry I forgot if you were doing bilat or maybe that was Hoyt.  Surprisingly time goes by pretty quickly.  As long as you allowed to crutch around, I'd do it as much as possible, without overdoing it.

[Woodstock Hippy]

Bring t shirts, underwear, socks, sweats, shorts and running shoes laced very loosely.  As far as your iPad goes, remember this is NYC and things grow legs. Don't bring it right away.  Have someone bring it once y ou are in your room and make sure you have a safe for it in your room when you go to PT. 

[bluedevilsadvocate]

I took stretchy warmup pants to wear to PT and for the trip home from the hospital.

[ZAP]

Laptop if you have one...  Download movies or TV series before hand just in case they don't have internet.  SNACKS...      Dried fruit and protein/ replacement/cereal  bars.  Anything from raisins to dried pineapple.  The first day is going to be the hardest. You will be going into surgery starving but drugged up so you wont notice it.  After surgery, you will have a big triangle foam between your legs, so the only option you have is to lay on your back.   They WILL TRY TO STARVE YOU THE FIRST DAY....  A nurse explained to me, because people eat to fast and upset their stomach making them throw up.   This is where the snacks come in. 

REMEMBER THIS PART BECAUSE IT WILL MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE:

You can eat, but you must do it very slow. Remember your stomach is most likely full of gas.  It almost feels like a really bad hangover. 

How you eat the first day after surgery?

1. Take bit of bar, chew completely, swallow, wait a minute or two, because you will burp. Its a good thing.   I had so much gas, I was taking a bit about every 5 minutes and in between burping to release all the gas.   About 3 hours later, the nurse gave me a late night meal of chicken soup and crackers.  It was all down hill from there.

This makes a huge difference compared to other people that didn't it in my room. They were sick all night, through up in the morning and some were to sick to get out of bed to test out their new hip.  I couldn't wait to go for my first walk on my new hip and I was strong and excited to start.



DON'T STARVE YOUR SELF AFTER SURGERY!