Prepping the house for after surgery

Looking for some advice on prepping my house for after surgery. Read some threads but have a couple questions still:

1. Something to sleep in - there are TONS of used recliners / lift chairs for sale on Facebook Marketplace near me at reasonable prices, from free to about $250. There are also a fair number of adjustable beds . Any feedback on adjustable bed vs recliner or features to look for? What did you use for sleep?
2. Would I be better off sleeping on my main floor? ( I already have a regular guest bed in my living room and could also put a recliner or hospital style bed in there)
3. Shower chair / stool - needed? My shower is upstairs so I'll have to do some stairs to wash up.

Anything else I might want to think about buying or doing now in order to get ready?

I'm fortunate that I have lots of help as I live with my hubs and 3 adult kids, and 3 of them work from home. In addition to buying stuff, I will be doing some meal prepping, doing light exercise (that I can tolerate) and especially working on my mental game with meditation to help me prepare. And getting Covid and flu shots. That's the last thing I need is to get sick before or right after surgery.

I appreciate your thoughts and experiences!

dornole said:

1. Something to sleep in - there are TONS of used recliners / lift chairs for sale on Facebook Marketplace near me at reasonable prices, from free to about $250. There are also a fair number of adjustable beds . Any feedback on adjustable bed vs recliner or features to look for? What did you use for sleep?

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I was fortunate in that I had both recliner and an adjustable bed. They were both used a great deal, but the bed was really helpful for me. Mine is a sleep number bed, so I was able to adjust the mattress softness to the perfect setting- which I found to be very soft after surgery and the ideal elevation. Funny, because the adjustable bed was sort of a throw in item they gave me when I bought my Sleep Number mattress. Hardly used the adjustable feature for 6 years, but was sure glad for it when I had my surgery.
So, for me, if I had to choose one or the other, I would choose the adjustable bed.

dornole said:

2. Would I be better off sleeping on my main floor? ( I already have a regular guest bed in my living room and could also put a recliner or hospital style bed in there)

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I slept in my room downstairs. I did not have any problems walking up and down the stairs after surgery, but this could vary person to person.

dornole said:

3. Shower chair / stool - needed? My shower is upstairs so I'll have to do some stairs to wash up.

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That's probably a good idea. Shower chairs are cheap- recently bought one for my mom. I used the shower chair in the hospital when I showered and it helped. I really did not need one once I was home, but this could also vary patient to patient. For just about $40 on Amazon, it is probably a good idea to have in place. This is the one I bought Mom and it has worked fine: https://www.amazon.com/Medline-Show...k+heavy+duty+shower+chair,aps,175&sr=8-1&th=1

dornole said:

adjustable bed vs recliner or features to look for?

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1. I love sleeping in my recliner, but my sister could not get comfortable in it for a nap. Probably worth a test before purchasing a recliner.
2. Electric recliner is wonderful; after surgery you may not be able to comfortably adjust a manual recliner.
3. The size of the recliner needs to match your height; again, test before purchase.
4. Is the adjustable bed electric? Can you adjust it while you are in bed?
5. Will you be able to sit up without assistance after surgery? For example, after a sternotomy, many people need help moving from a laying position to a sitting position. If so, this points toward an electric recliner or electric bed.
6. An electric adjustable bed is pretty heavy and bulky, and some electric recliners are also pretty heavy; can you move them into your home?

7. Make sure you have a sturdy handrail on your stairs.

8. If a shower chair hangs over the edge of a bathtub for easy access, then consider how a shower curtain will fit around it.
9. If a shower chair is entirely inside a bathtub, then consider how you will get out of the shower. Heart surgery can lead to occasional light headedness. A hot shower can exasperate this issue.

10. Having people in your home is a blessing... until you want to nap, which many of us needed during recovery. Perhaps set rules ahead of time?

3mm said:

4. Is the adjustable bed electric? Can you adjust it while you are in bed?

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Mine is. I think this is pretty standard.

3mm said:

5. Will you be able to sit up without assistance after surgery? For example, after a sternotomy, many people need help moving from a laying position to a sitting position. If so, this points toward an electric recliner or electric bed.

Click to expand...

This feature of my adjustable bed was very helpful for getting in and out of bed painlessly.

I slept in our bedroom on the second floor, managing to climb 18 steps.
We have an electric adjustable bed which I found very helpful during my recovery.
Although we have recliners, I preferred the bed.
As a side sleeper, my husband helped adjust the pillows behind my back whenever I switched sides.
When I wanted to be with everyone on the main level, I took naps on the sofa.
As for showering, I was able to shower standing without any issues, always using unperfumed soap for sensitive skin.

Best of luck.

I experienced something like this too and it seems like you’re already planning ahead and that is good. For sleeping, I chose a recliner as it was convenient to get it and still oneself in, though I heard that Adjustable Beds are good as well. If you currently have a bed on the main level, that could be your optimal location; just in case lest you have to deal with stairs.

So just to summarize what I’ve said about the shower chair, I would boldly recommend it. It is always good to have little more of sturdiness even if you are doing stairs work. Perhaps it is also useful to briefly move the washing area downstairs in the first days after surgery to make the work easier.

I know that you have your support at home and at least you’ll be able to meal prep and do your meditation.

dornole said:

Looking for some advice on prepping my house for after surgery. Read some threads but have a couple questions still:

1. Something to sleep in - there are TONS of used recliners / lift chairs for sale on Facebook Marketplace near me at reasonable prices, from free to about $250. There are also a fair number of adjustable beds . Any feedback on adjustable bed vs recliner or features to look for? What did you use for sleep?
2. Would I be better off sleeping on my main floor? ( I already have a regular guest bed in my living room and could also put a recliner or hospital style bed in there)
3. Shower chair / stool - needed? My shower is upstairs so I'll have to do some stairs to wash up.

Anything else I might want to think about buying or doing now in order to get ready?

I'm fortunate that I have lots of help as I live with my hubs and 3 adult kids, and 3 of them work from home. In addition to buying stuff, I will be doing some meal prepping, doing light exercise (that I can tolerate) and especially working on my mental game with meditation to help me prepare. And getting Covid and flu shots. That's the last thing I need is to get sick before or right after surgery.

I appreciate your thoughts and experiences!

Click to expand...

Recliners and life chairs are great, even for sleeping for the first two weeks. And sleep on the first floor. For you do not want to pull up on the railing going up the stairs. I had to work out a system on the bus, for the cord is up. But I managed at home alone. No weight lifting. And be good to yourself. You got this.

Hi @dornole

Re sleeping, I chose to sleep on my sofa propped up with pillows to get the right angle for sleeping more or less upright during the first few weeks. I removed pillows as time went on and I felt more comfortable for lying down until I could sleep in my preferred side position (and then I slept upstairs in my usual bed). For when I have redo surgery, whenever that is, I’ve seen some angled pillows particularly for sleeping after surgery so I might invest in one of those when the time comes.

I chose to sleep downstairs as I didn’t want to disturb hubby during the night. I did not sleep well for the first few weeks so I would get on my computer, talk to the folks on here at night, that kind of thing. Our house doesn’t have a downstairs toilet so I had a commode which the Red Cross lent us which I used at night time. Our normal toilet is upstairs so I used that during the daytime.

Stairs - they checked I could do stairs okay before I left hospital - I believe that is how it’s normally done here in the UK. Make sure to hold on to the bannister when you go upstairs...though not pull on the bannister as that would not be good for your chest incision. Sit down on the stairs if you find yourself breathless....I had to do that the first few days home.

For shower, we don’t have one as I don't like them, I sat in a bath without a lot of water…I didn’t want to get water on the incision in the early days.

I understood from your message that you are planning to do some meal prepping - do you mean now before surgery and freezing meals or do you mean once you’re back at home ? I certainly didn’t feel like doing any cooking the first few weeks home - I directed hubby We also had a couple of friends who brought us some meals.

I remember one of things that I found in a list on the forum that was good to have: a servant I endorse that, I didn’t realise how tired one can feel after open heart surgery. It’s good you have four adults at home which you should be able to call on.

For exercise - walking, gentle walking even if indoors is great for healing after open heart surgery.

Greetings Dornole,

I would add one thing to the good advice you have already received. If your shower does not have grab bars already installed, I would strongly suggest adding them. I did this when we started caring for my wife's elderly mother and they came in very handy when I had my own open-heart surgery and was sometimes weak or unsteady on my feet. They are particularly important if you have a combo bathtub/shower, where you are stepping over the side of the bathtub to get in.

Grab bars are not very expensive (attractive, good quality stainless steel ones run less than $50), and not very difficult to install (YouTube has videos if you choose to do it yourselves). I recommend you install one vertically to hold on to when you get into or out of the shower, and one on the shower side wall to do things like help you getting onto the shower chair or just support yourself in general. You will be glad you did.

Best of luck!

dornole said:

1. Any feedback on adjustable bed vs recliner or features to look for? What did you use for sleep?

Click to expand...

I didn't use adjustable bed, but others have commented on this. I slept in my usual bed, and "only" crawled into the recliner after going bathroom at night. It was just easier to get to the recliner.

dornole said:

2. Would I be better off sleeping on my main floor? ( I already have a regular guest bed in my living room and could also put a recliner or hospital style bed in there)

Click to expand...

It probably would be useful to plan for it at first. Depending on how well you do, going through many stairs may or may not be easy.

dornole said:

3. Shower chair / stool - needed? My shower is upstairs so I'll have to do some stairs to wash up.

Click to expand...

Would be best to plan for it. The shower chair was described as "optional" in my prep materials. It was not optional for me. For the first week or so after the discharge showering felt like a "real exercise". The chair was useful to avoid overdoing it.

I was concerned about the low height of the specialized chairs, so used a regular stool instead.

But this really depends on the amount of stamina you'll have afterwards.

dornole said:

Anything else I might want to think about buying or doing now in order to get ready?

Click to expand...

I put some post-op notes HERE. Perhaps some would be useful.

One thing that comes to mind is exercising the spirometer before the surgery, if you got one. It isn't obligatory, but I think it helps to habituate your lungs to the slow steady breathing motion. You'll have to do that post-op anyway. Same with walking (you might be doing that already).

Another thing that was useful is getting shoes I can get in easily. Since leaning over was not recommended. But I forgot to get more hats and had to get them later. Figuring out where to walk during the recovery might be useful, depending on the options available.

I know a recent patient, who found a grabber tool to be useful, also to avoid leaning over.

Figuring out a "sign language" with your spouse for ICU time can help. It might be difficult to speak at first, and you'd probably wake up with the breathing tube anyway. Some simple things like "ok", "problem", etc could help. They had small whiteboards to write on in the hospital I was in, but not sure if this is common.

Hope it helps.

I was lucky I lived in a single story ranch style home for all 3 surgeries. I don’t remember preparing at all for my 1st, then I was caught off guard for my 2nd, going into it from the ER, and so for my 3rd I really just got stuff down that was stored too high since we can’t reach after surgery. I slept in my bed with an extra pillow, didn’t need a shower chair.
What I didn’t have was a pair of backless walking shoes and ended up needed those due to a pressure sore on my heel after the 3rd surgery. I ordered Keds from Zappos and wore those until it healed.

A sponge on a stick
Removable / hand held shower head
A pill planner box
Things you probably want regularly (around your house or fridge) moved to waist level.
Maybe a sock aid (Given that you have a husband, you probably don't need this one)
A low energy hobby that doesn't require your chest muscles working well.

I found that a shower stool was necessary for a while. Standing while showering took more energy than I had at first.

Stairs probably won't be an issue. They made me prove I could climb stairs before discharging me from the hospital.