Long drive home after surgery

[Skedaddle]

I wonder if anyone has advice about driving versus flying after surgery ?  I am scheduled for resurfacing with Dr. Gross on 1/11 and am planning on driving back to Pittsburgh on 1/14 (my wife will be driving).  With all the hassles of flying (including one layover - no direct flights) I figure driving will be no worse.  Also, does anyone know how far it is from the Columbia, SC
airport to Providence Hospital ?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[curt]

     Driving (riding) was not too hard for me.  Had the ice machine going on battery pack, plus meds which made me a boring passenger, but comfortable.  About 30 mins to/from airport.  My drive was just over 7 hours and we stopped every two to stretch/stand etc.  Not too bad.  Glad I didn't fly, but plenty have and do.

Curt

[sdunn4]

Skedaddle,

We drove from upstate NY to Columbia and took 2 days to do the trip.  After surgery on Monday, we drove 2 days back as well, beginning on Thursday.  My wife drove home and I sat in the passenger seat with the battery-powered Polar Ice machine and some good med's.  I still had some swelling, but the trip home was not bad- a total of 16 hrs. each way over two days.  Good luck!

Steve

[mari]

From SW Minnesota.  Stayed 2 nights in motels going home.  Trip went fine but I had quite a bit of swelling; should have used the ice machine more.

[Kiwi]

After my operation, I had a 1 hour drive to airport, then 1 hour plane trip, then another 30 minute drive plus all the walking at airport either end. Took no ice but wished I had. They gave me some on the plane which was great. I was more uncomfortable as I'm 6.4" (195cm) tall and little leg room.
Definitely take ice & meds!

[dg2112]

I have similar questions. My surgery is with Dr. Gross on 2/28.

I will be driving from S.C. to northern VA. Surgery is 2/28. Trip is 471 miles, about 8 hours.

What day should I expect to drive home? Based on other posts, it looks like Saturday.

Should I rent a minivan or SUV for leg room. I have a 4 door sedan. Decent leg room.

My wife is going to fly down to drive me home. She wants to help, but I don't want her sitting around doing nothing while I am sleeping in a hospital bed. Any suggestions about when she should come down.

Thanks,

Doug

[sdunn4]

DG- I rode in the passenger seat of my wife's Volvo station wagon- a nice roomy seat.  I rode for 16 hours over two days each way for a total driving distance of 1000 miles from Northern NY to Columbia SC.  You will be on the powerful medications and if you get the battery pack for the Polar Care ice machine, you should be okay to ride in the front seat.  Just get up and use your crutches to stretch / walk every 2 hours or so.  I did have some pretty good swelling after each day of riding, but that subsided by a day or so after I returned home.  I had the surgery Monday afternoon, was discharged at noon on Wednesday, spent another night at the Courtyard hotel Wed. night, and we began the drive home early Thursday.

Good luck!  I am at week 11 post-op tomorrow and my wife and I walked 3.5 miles both yesterday and today.  Dr. Gross does a great job!

Steve

[Jbennett]

I've been wondering the same thing. I'm scheduled for 3/14 and have a 9 0r 10 hour drive back to Memphis. I'd hate to  be stuck in a car hurting that long.

[mslendzion]

[quote author=sdunn4 link=topic=3185.msg28229#msg28229 date=You will be on the powerful medications and if you get the battery pack for the Polar Care ice machine, you should be okay to ride in the front seat. 
[/quote]

Steve
A friend left me the polar care 300 but with the knee wrap. Which wrap worked for you. I was thinking of buying a larger wrap.

[sdunn4]

I went with the hip wrap as supplied by Dr. Gross.  Unfortunately this was the one thing that my insurance did not pay for!  I know you can order different sized wraps; Dr. Gross just supplied the hip style with the 2 different length velcro straps (one for the thigh and one for your waist).

[mslendzion]

Thanks. You must have a newer model. The hip wrap is nor available on the model I have, I'm thinking the extra large or shoulder.

[danebuxbaum]

I drove home from Cleveland, OH to Little Rock, AR. I stayed in Cleveland for 2 weeks after my surgery just to be close by in the event of any complications and to have my stitches removed by the doctor.
They gave me a cuff to wear that squeezed my calf as a clot prevention device which I had plugged into the car. It worked great and I returned it once I got home and no longer needed it. I will say that I made the drive as a passenger in the back seat of a Ford Flex which is about as roomy as anything out there. Flying would have been complicated for me with plane changes and the cuff and all.
Bottom line, I would absolutely recommend that the best and most experienced doctor is always the right choice no matter how far you have to go.

[newdog]

I have been absent from this forum since November, so sorry if this is a late reply for some. I had both hips done by Dr. Gross last year. I live in central Pennsylvania about 600 miles from Columbia. It's a 12 hour drive. I chose to ride in a car rather than fly and do not regret traveling that way. My wife drove from Columbia to home. We left on Friday and arrived home the next day, Saturday. We stopped overnight a little over halfway in Virginia. I had no problems with pain at all since I was still on the heavy pain stuff. Both of my legs were swollen by the time we reached home, not real bad , but still significant swelling. The swelling went down after being at home and elevating. I had some problems with my Polar Care ice machine so we switched to ice bags and they worked very well. I had an older model and I think it had some problem handling two pads. Just stop when you need to and get out and move around. The only thing that I hated was leaving Spring like weather in South Carolina and returning to the Northeast. It was January 15th when we got home.

[hernanu]

Hey newdog... Tomorrow's your one year anniversary, how are you doing?

[newdog]

Aw, Hernanu, you ruined my big surprise posting for tomorrow! LOL! I'm doing great! I'll post my one year update tomorrow. The hips are awesome, no problems whatsoever. I just can't believe it's been a year already. I can't tell that there is anything in me. Smooooth!

[hernanu]

Dammit! I hate when I ruin surprises.... I take it back, newdog