What activities / toys are good for the recovery period ?

[don6170]

I will be setting a date for my AVR next week and was thinking ahead to the at home recovery period. What are good activities and "toys" to fill the time? I'm sure I'll catch a few things on Netflix, but don't want to spend the entire time just watching TV. I do plan to get a few good books. I like puzzles like a Rubik's cube, but am no good at jigsaw puzzles. I will have the dogs to keep me company and hopefully will have some nice Spring weather. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Paleowoman]

It depends on what you like doing ! And depends on how well you are feeling ! You'll be encouraged to do a bit of walking every day. And you'll have post surgical exercises to do too. You may find just getting on with living occupies you for longer than you'd have guessed - even brushing teeth takes a bit longer in the immediate aftermath of OHS ! Get in the things you like to do and then you should have plenty of choice.

Let us know what you are doing when you're on the other side Hope you have a person to help you out - the doggies won't be able to do the cooking

 

[Duffey]

I found it hard to concentrate post op so TV viewing was one thing I did. Generally I'm not one to watch much of it, but I sure couldn't read.

 

[AZ Don]

I walked regularly and read a few books that I couldn't seem to find the time for previously.

 

[Paleowoman]

I found it hard to concentrate post op so TV viewing was one thing I did. Generally I'm not one to watch much of it, but I sure couldn't read.

I couldn't read either. It took about four weeks before I could read a book. TV was difficult too.....at one point, when things weren't going well, I tried to distract myself with Lord of the Rings Trilogy DVDs. When I got to the last one with Frodo almost unable to walk with the weight of the ring, all I could do was identify with him and how hard it was. I don't think I can ever watch Lord of the Rings again - and they were some of my favourite DVDs ! Listening to music is what helped me the most

 

[knotguilty]

I've been researching and doing geneology for years. Whenever I get time off, I like to sit down on ancestry.com and see what I can find.

 

[MrsBray]

Don't plan on doing anything that requires you to move your arms too far from your lap! I'm 10 days post-op and I get exhausted after an hour at the r regular computer. We just set up netflix, amazon prime, and wii. How my day goes now:
8:00 get up, sit in chair for an hour.
9:00 breakfast, meds, do some laps around the house
10:00 shower and sit in chair, look at tablet/fb/email, fall asleep
12:00 lunch, sit at computer desk
1:00 get dressed (!), do some laps around the house
1:30 sit in chair with tv on, maybe fall asleep
5:00 start dinner prep (easy! - reheat frozen meals), sit at computer for 30 minutes
7:30 eat when hubby is home
8:30 get ready for bed - change into pjs, brush teeth, wash face, do a few laps around the house.
9:00 meds & bed
3:00 am bathroom and a few laps around the house.

I haven't tried reading yet. I have watched a few movies and don't have any trouble concentrating.
I've got another 10 weeks or so before I can go back to work (CDL driver), so I think I'll be bored stir crazy by the end of April.

 

[spartangator]

Listening to music, audiobooks, and podcasts was all I could handle in that initial stretch. Concentration wasn't a strong point, as others have mentioned, and anything bright was problematic, too, so the audio-only options were great. All the best with your recovery.

 

[Mentu]

Hi, Don, in the week following surgery, one's ability to concentrate is pretty much shot. The only thing I really enjoyed was listening to music I've collected. After about a week, concentration begins to improve and one can read, spend time online, and pretty much anything else you want that doesn't stress your chest muscles. At first, any activity is exhausting but that passes as one rebuilds stamina. Walking every day is the single best thing to do to feel better and sleep normally. I found television annoying but having my animals near was always pleasant. Then reading, writing notes to friends, doing some cooking, house chores, and always walking pretty much filled my days through the first three or four weeks. After the first month, you can expect life to begin returning to something much more like normal.

Larry

 

[clay_from_nj]

After my first OHS, at 10 years old, I spent a lot of time playing with Lego. After my AVR, I spent a lot of time with my Android tablet, much of that playing Minecraft. Hmm, same thing?

 

[epstns]

My experience was a lot like Larry's (Mentu) - for the first month I wasn't good for much of anything. Of course, in my case, most of that month was spent dealing with some complications. After about a month, I started to become "antsy" to get back to "real life." I began to do a bit of work from home, spent time here and elsewhere on the web, read, watched mindless TV (is there another kind?), and took my walks. After about 6 weeks I began to go with my wife on her daily jaunt to the fitness center. While she did her workout, I walked miles on the track (it was winter in Chicago). After I did that, my return to normal life accelerated. I was back to work part-time at 6 weeks, full-time by about 8 weeks (10 hour days). I did cardiac rehab during months 4,5 and 6 -- and haven't looked back.

Fast forward 3 years. . . I'm still working 50-60 hour weeks; I get to the gym 5 days a week, and I just live my life. At some point, you will wind up in a similar situation. We all heal at different rates, but with very, very few exceptions, we all heal and go on with our lives.

 

[tom in MO]

Netflix was my friend. I found it hard to read for awhile. I watched the Ken Burns Civil War series, all 167 avaiable Law and Orders.

MY next best friend was the dog. He was the one home with me.

 

[don6170]

Thanks for the comments. It helps me better to understand what to expect.

 

[Lynlw]

After my first OHS, at 10 years old, I spent a lot of time playing with Lego. After my AVR, I spent a lot of time with my Android tablet, much of that playing Minecraft. Hmm, same thing?

Sounds like Justin. When his pickline got stuck when they tried to pull it and he needed to go have it pulled in the hospital (and hour away in a blizzard) hi first question was hey does this count as bad enough for new legos?
I don't know how old you are or what interests you have, but beside Legos for earlier surgeries, Justin played video games, (CHOP even has Playstation in the private CICU rooms) we watched alo of movies, he practiced his bass Guitar and different surgeries we looked for a new hobby to learn, like macreme bracelets etc

 

[epstns]

Oh, yeah - I also watched a complete season of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" as well as a lot of episodes of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." Not sure how I managed that, since none of my food tasted anything like it should have. It all tasted like industrial waste chemicals for several weeks.

 

[mcsf]

I'm going stir crazy. I have been home a week now. I spend time on my tablet checking out the internet. My friends say I should find the damn plane. I watch TV. I walk a few times a day. Not to far yet. Friends get me out the the house and take me out to lunch or do errands. I've never enjoyed doing errands as much as I do right now. I read a book while I was in the hospital but lately I have not been up to reading.

 

[epstns]

mcsf - Funny, isn't it that we get such immense pleasure out of everyday things that we never liked before? It just reaffirms our ability to live like a "normal" person.

 

[AdrockTN]

I re-watched the entire "Breaking Bad" series in a month ....

 

[mcsf]

@Steve. Without a doubt. Getting back to normal is so great.

matt

 

[MtBiker]

I watched the new season of Arrested Development and then House of Cards right after surgery, but I realized after watching them that I had very little recollection of them due to the anesthesia and my general fatigue. The great part about that was that I watched them a second time several months later and I felt like I was watching them for the first time all over again!

Walking was big for me. It also helped a lot to have people stop by and visit in the first month and a half. Kept me from feeling like I was isolated.