Traveling Alone for Surgery

[Mileena46]

I would NOT recommend traveling alone after surgery. Yes, I am sure it can be done, but it won't be easy and emotionally you can be a wreck if things don't go as planned. My husband and I made a short stop by the local Wal-Mart on the way home, and I went inside. While waiting on prescriptions to be filled, I was left alone at the Pharmacy and I freaked out! I would have been unable to travel through an airport alone. Simple.


Mileena

 

[Superbob]

We do what we have to do, but I couldn't fathom flying alone (or for that matter, accompanied by someone) within a week of having my OHS. My daughter kindly drove me home 25 miles through a driving rainstorm on the D.C. Beltway after my surgery, after 5 days in the hospital, and I was ultra wiped-out when I got home.) Another consideration is all the extra hassle of flying now in the wake of the latest terrorist activity. Even though you would have handicapped status, there still could be unexpected delays. Horrible thought -- being stranded in an airport just days after surgery.

I know the Cleveland Clinic is great, but if it were me, I would check out Marguerite's suggestion of high-quality surgeons in Oregon. This is just my sincere opinion. I wish you the best!

 

[mac]

Ya, I have to retract my previous message. Alone, crazy airports, crazy people, tender chest, even more tender nerves,....ya, bad idea to do this solo. Staying in the great north west and getting it done would be the smartest move.

Mac

 

[Lynlw]

We do what we have to do, but I couldn't fathom flying alone (or for that matter, accompanied by someone) within a week of having my OHS. My daughter kindly drove me home 25 miles through a driving rainstorm on the D.C. Beltway after my surgery, after 5 days in the hospital, and I was ultra wiped-out when I got home.) Another consideration is all the extra hassle of flying now in the wake of the latest terrorist activity. Even though you would have handicapped status, there still could be unexpected delays. Horrible thought -- being stranded in an airport just days after surgery.

I know the Cleveland Clinic is great, but if it were me, I would check out Marguerite's suggestion of high-quality surgeons in Oregon. This is just my sincere opinion. I wish you the best!

Speaking of being stranded, gave me another thought, this winter has had alot of snow so far, and Feb is usually a pretty snowy month to start with. That could be another concern, almost weekly the news is interviewing poepl who are stranded in the airport for a day or so because of snow. I couldn't imagine dealing with that alone shortly after surgery.

 

[sue943]

I live alone with no family living in the same island as me, my family are in the UK which is where I had to fly on my own in order to have my surgery. A friend dropped me at the airport here and the airline took me in a wheelchair from check -in to the aircraft. In London I was met from the plane and taken to the taxi which the hospital had organised for me.

I had to go into hospital the day before surgery and a doctor taking my details asked me what my plans were for going home and when I said that I intended flying home alone, and being alone he told me that they wouldn't permit that, I had to be collected from the hospital and needed not to stay alone. I was in hospital for about ten days and in fact was taken ill on the drive to my daughter's home which was a couple of hundred miles away. A few days later I was admitted to hospital for another week, with heart block.

When I was discharged from this hospital they arranged for a driver to take me to the airport and he took me in a wheelchair through to Security then someone else took over and I was put onto the plane. I was taken off at the other end and someone collected my baggage and wheeled me to a taxi. I got the taxi driver to stop at a supermarket and sent him in to buy me milk and bread, then he took me home and carried my bag into the house for me.

After that I was on my own but it was three weeks since my surgery.

 

[terodac]

I would not even think about trying to solo this by yourself. Stay closer to home and get everything ready at your home. Call friends to help, get food that is easy to open and already made. The airport would be out of question with all the delay's and such. I am sure there are some great doctors closer to your home! I just don't see you doing all of this on your own. Call in favors from friends and family. God Bless!

 

[pnwcoast]

When I was discharged I felt really good, ready to go home. Home is where I wanted to be. My wife drove me home and by the time we got there I was toast. I could hardly lift a finger. The 1 hour drive was the longest year of my life. My wife is a good driver don't get me wrong, its just that the effort required on my part was very, very much a big deal. I was soooo weak.

 

[Dexter Bob]

My two cents from a fellow webfoot:

Stay home (rather in-state) I just got released from Sacred Heart Riverbend-Springfield. OHS-AVR on 1-7, out the door 1-14 after a little A-Fib complication. The Oregon Heart and Vascular Institute is amazing. You owe it to yourself to make the drive over and checkk it out. Dr. Duke (Surgeon) is as good as they come in the NW.

I have no idea why you want the CC except for perhaps their reputation or some special condition they are the bee's knees for. Winter in Cleaveland, with our Air Travel, post OHS:: NO THANKS

Bob- Springfield

 

[Bridgette]

2-leafer, I hope you have sorted your situation out?
You have received some good suggestions on this thread - including looking at some great-sounding facilities much closer to home for you!

Yeah, looking back, I can just not imagine having to cope alone with the bustle of an airport, luggage, possible delays etc, only 5-7 days post heart surgery.
I originally was going to have my surgery in a city one and a half hour's flight from where I live, and my mother was going to fly up and back with me, but when I thought about it I could not face doing it. I changed to a hospital which was about an hour's drive from home, and that journey was enough to cope with as parts of the road are very narrow, winding, and hilly.
This is just my opinion though, and we're all different!

 

[VegasBAV]

I know this is an old thread but I remember finding it before my surgery and I wanted to chime in with my experience traveling alone for heart surgery.

I'm 41 and I recently had AVR surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. I was asymptomatic prior to the surgery. I flew alone from Las Vegas to Cleveland and stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel, which is connected to the hospital by a skyway. It's a very nice and comfortable hotel and I highly recommend it. I also stayed there a few months earlier when I had testing done at the Cleveland Clinic.

Many people travel to the Cleveland Clinic from faraway places, and the doctors and nurses didn't seem terribly surprised when I told them I was alone.

The surgery was on a Tuesday. I stayed two nights at the hotel before the surgery and then also booked two nights at the hotel for the Sunday and Monday after the surgery. They released me on the Sunday (5th day after surgery), and I asked them to have someone wheel me over to the hotel. By then I was walking a fair bit, so it was no problem checking into the hotel and then getting a hotel car to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled.

After two nights in the hotel (watching football and ordering room service) I flew back to Las Vegas on Tuesday, one week after the surgery. I had the bellman bring my bags down from the hotel room, the hotel car service dropped me in front of the skycap, I checked my bags at the curb and walked (slowly) through security and to the gate. My flight was delayed 2.5 hours but that just meant a few extra hours of sitting around, which was not a problem.

A friend picked me and my bags up at baggage claim in Las Vegas and then dropped me at my house, where I live like a hermit and have had no visitors since I got back. I started driving 3 days after I was home (not recommended, I know, but I haven't been on any painkillers and I'll take the risk of the unlikely airbag-deploying accident).

My experience is probably not typical of other folks, but I just wanted to chime in that traveling to and from surgery alone and then being self-sufficient after surgery is very possible if things go well.

 

[John & Joann]

You have received some excellent advice. I would develop a relationship with the social worker assigned to your case. She/he will be able to talk to your surgeon regarding your discharge. I would strongly suggest that she locate a rehab facility that CLEVELAND CLINIC recommends. You might want your cardiologist (not the surgeon) to give you a review the day before your trip home. The problem is that even your surgeon does not know how fast you will recover.

The motel/hotel on property do not have medical personnel on site, but they are only 3 minutes away from the hospital. There are food facilities that will help you on site, but you may be trying to do more than most patients would attempt. Feel free to send us a PM. We know Cleveland Clinic very well. The Red Coats are WONDERFUL, but they can not solve your problems. They are greeters and provide direction. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE.