Post Op Solo/Pre Op Prep

[newarrior]

Sorry for the repeat) Dave from USA in Thailand:
1) Pre Surgery sounds like you need to get your home in order i.e. food, books, remotes, meds, stock up on meds etc
2) How can food delivery be done if your live in a condo above the 1st floor and live alone ?
3) Any issues recovering 100% solo or does one need to get into a skilled nursing facility and/or hire live in help ?
4) Keep hearing about getting a recliner--anyone can chime in ?
5) What tools etc did you buy that assisted ?
6) What if you live alone and have no one to drive you to appts post op-can you just get a taxi ? Again how do I get from my condo downstaris to the taxi--just walk ?
7) What if an emergency happens post op if are alone ? In my building in Bangkok you need a key card to get into my building, off the elavator then there is a door code.
8) Is smaller better ? My condo in Thailand is tiny--easy to get around--maybe best
9) Is bathing an issue ? Taking pills ? Making food ? Eating ? Going to the toilet ?

I hope I am at least a few years away and I hope I have a partner then but I don't count on anyone but myself and paid professionals. My parents and brother are long dead; my other brother is ill and in the USA and I couldn't count on most friends or would not wanna burden them...There aren't churches here that I go to and I don't work. It's Thailand..Lots of nice people in my condo from the West (whities) and locals but I don't know if I can count on anyone.

Thanks !

 

[MdaPA]

newarrior,
As you say you are at least a few years away, you then have plenty of time to research and plan. I included a few links below but you certainly can find for yourself. Also, once you have selected a hospital, they should have a patient representative/advocate that can help you plan your post-surgery care. They can provide you with additional resources and also help determine if you might be eligible for an inpatient rehabilitation facility or skilled nursing facility until you can get by yourself.

https://www.inspire.com/groups/heart-bypass-surgery/discussion/i-live-alone/

Make Your Winning Post-Surgery Recovery Plan

Top 10 Items You Should Have at Home After a Surgery

 

[newarrior]

newarrior,
As you say you are at least a few years away, you then have plenty of time to research and plan. I included a few links below but you certainly can find for yourself. Also, once you have selected a hospital, they should have a patient representative/advocate that can help you plan your post-surgery care. They can provide you with additional resources and also help determine if you might be eligible for an inpatient rehabilitation facility or skilled nursing facility until you can get by yourself.

https://www.inspire.com/groups/heart-bypass-surgery/discussion/i-live-alone/

Make Your Winning Post-Surgery Recovery Plan

Top 10 Items You Should Have at Home After a Surgery

Understood--my bigger deal is I am going to stay in Asia or move back to the USA-----I currently don't have cardiac insurance although surgeries are cheap here

 

[MdaPA]

my bigger deal is I am going to stay in Asia or move back to the USA-----I currently don't have cardiac insurance although surgeries are cheap here

If you move to the U.S., you could find a full/part-time job that offers healthcare benefits, otherwise find a plan on the health insurance marketplace (www.healthcare.gov). Either way, they should cover pre-existing conditions (although if you were diagnosed in Asia, how would they know if you don't bring over your records).

 

[Superman]

A lot of this stuff you’ve asked before and it’s been answered before. You’re a few years away. You may even be TAVR candidate by the time you need anything.

Look, you’re not an invalid in diapers when you get sent home. You’ve been walking laps on the recovery floor. Both times I had to walk up a flight of stairs on my own before I was released. I went to the grocery store with my father in law and picked up a birthday cake for my son the day I came home. I made dinner for the family while they went out trick or treating around two weeks after surgery (a bit over a week at home). I was walking a couple miles a day.

Yes you can take a cab. Take a bus. Take a walk. Cook a meal. Wipe your own backside. A recliner is nice to have because it’s easy to get out of, but one can recover without one.

If I were you, I’d go to my annual check ups, live my life, and deal with all this when I’m told it’s time. The only real unique thing you have to prepare for is where to have it and how to pay for it.

 

[pellicle]

Any issues recovering 100% solo or does one need to get into a skilled nursing facility and/or hire live in help ?

Any hired housekeeping will be fine.

I'd say few of us are married to cardiac nurses

 

[pellicle]

Understood--my bigger deal is I am going to stay in Asia or move back to the USA-

Housekeeping and home help would be cheaper there I'm guessing

 

[tom in MO]

• You are over thinking things.
• If you are years away from an operation, you have enough time to die of something else. Take life as it comes.
• At 58 you need good insurance no matter where you live or how good your heart is. Get it.
• Stop using the term "whities" it's the 21st century

 

[pellicle]

Hi

I agreed with everything you wrote, but I do wonder about this:

At 58 you need good insurance no matter where you live

I understood in some place the only insurance you could get (especially as a foreign-national) was akin to travel insurance from your home country.

I had problems getting insurance in Finland when I was there (although I'm an EU citizen, I'm not a Finnish one).

 

[newarrior]

If you move to the U.S., you could find a full/part-time job that offers healthcare benefits, otherwise find a plan on the health insurance marketplace (www.healthcare.gov). Either way, they should cover pre-existing conditions (although if you were diagnosed in Asia, how would they know if you don't bring over your records).

I am on record here for all kinds of issues including cardiac..I am honest..I was here over 2 years without insurance...Insurance companies will not cover pre existing.. I have arthritis in my hands so not sure if I can work anymore...And yes the aortic stenosis was diagnosed in Asia..I am one hot mess (

 

[newarrior]

Hi

I agreed with everything you wrote, but I do wonder about this:



I understood in some place the only insurance you could get (especially as a foreign-national) was akin to travel insurance from your home country.

I had problems getting insurance in Finland when I was there (although I'm an EU citizen, I'm not a Finnish one).

I am on record here for all kinds of issues including cardiac..I am honest..I was here over 2 years without insurance...Insurance companies will not cover pre existing.. Asia is pure profit...

 

[newarrior]

• You are over thinking things.
• If you are years away from an operation, you have enough time to die of something else. Take life as it comes.
• At 58 you need good insurance no matter where you live or how good your heart is. Get it.
• Stop using the term "whities" it's the 21st century

If say Westerner most will not know what I am talking about
I may be a year or 2 from surgery
I don't think I am overthinking it...Especially given the unique situation I am in

 

[tom in MO]

If say Westerner most will not know what I am talking about

I certainly don't know what you mean when you say "whities". Do you mean:

• " Being so high that you're feeling like dying and loose color in your face".
• A whitey (or white-out) is a drug slang term for when a recreational drug user, as a direct or indirect result of drug use (usually cannabis), begins to feel faint and vomits.
• An insult to a person who is very white.. listens to no rap, listens to country, rock, and ..... other white.. stuff....
• Sometimes spelled whitie, a whity is used in urban areas to describe a white person with no distinct nationality from the suburbs.
• Used as a disparaging term for a white person or white people.

I know a lot of Westerners who are not "whities" and are darker than "locals".

 

[esvaja]

newarrior,
As you say you are at least a few years away, you then have plenty of time to research and plan. I included a few links below but you certainly can find for yourself. Also, once you have selected a hospital, they should have a patient representative/advocate that can help you plan your post-surgery care. They can provide you with additional resources and also help determine if you might be eligible for an inpatient rehabilitation facility or skilled nursing facility until you can get by yourself.

https://www.inspire.com/groups/heart-bypass-surgery/discussion/i-live-alone/

Make Your Winning Post-Surgery Recovery Plan

Top 10 Items You Should Have at Home After a Surgery

I'm sure you can inexpensively get hired daily/weekly nurse support. The 1st time I had my husband help, this time alone. After AVR you will need cardiac MD support in Thailand ask them for a reference. I hope they will keep you in the US til it is OK. This is not something you recover from alone. Good Luck! I'm going to ask for 1/2 way assisted living support & then a visiting nurse. And I will get quality frozen meals. It is a bit daunting.

 

[esvaja]

A lot of this stuff you’ve asked before and it’s been answered before. You’re a few years away. You may even be TAVR candidate by the time you need anything.

Look, you’re not an invalid in diapers when you get sent home. You’ve been walking laps on the recovery floor. Both times I had to walk up a flight of stairs on my own before I was released. I went to the grocery store with my father in law and picked up a birthday cake for my son the day I came home. I made dinner for the family while they went out trick or treating around two weeks after surgery (a bit over a week at home). I was walking a couple miles a day.

Yes you can take a cab. Take a bus. Take a walk. Cook a meal. Wipe your own backside. A recliner is nice to have because it’s easy to get out of, but one can recover without one.

If I were you, I’d go to my annual check ups, live my life, and deal with all this when I’m told it’s time. The only real unique thing you have to prepare for is where to have it and how to pay for it.

I wasn't as lucky as you Superman. I had fluid that had to be drained around my heart. And I've been told the 2nd one will have a longer recovery & post surgery

 

[esvaja]

I wasn't as lucky as you Superman. I had fluid that had to be drained around my heart. And I've been told the 2nd one will have a longer recovery & post surgery

I should have read the previous threads before answering