What do we need? (Wifey question)

Kathryn Livingston · May 13, 2023

My husband is about to have OHS in about 10 days. I know recovery afterwards will take a while and be tough, but are there things (not people) that I should make sure we have? Or just household logistics i should be prepping for/thinking about?

jeffp · May 13, 2023

Best of luck for success for him. The following is a copy & paste of another thread I sent to someone recently asking the same question.

If you have stairs at home, hold a small pillow close to your chest while going up and especially down. Keeps the healing sternum from jiggling.
Dont be shy about napping when you need to.
Embarrassing and obvious as it may sound, get lots of fiber and fluid. You don’t want to be straining. Not only muscle-wise, it also raises the blood pressure.
Having a seat in the shower is useful, especially early on. A back brush for scrubbing areas that are now hard to reach (flexibility and strength will be down for a while). A hand held shower head also is a handy helper for washing.

What kind of OHS is upcoming?

KyleR · May 14, 2023

Button up shirts were key for me for the first few weeks. T-shirts were difficult to get on and off with limited arm movement. Also a wedge pillow may be helpful to sleep propped up in bed. For me laying flat on my back was too uncomfortable and I couldn’t sleep in a recliner. I would recommend piling up books and movies as well. Recovery is just as much mental as it is physical, and if your husband is still of working age he will suddenly find himself with a lot of hours to fill. Reading and taking walks gave me a sense of accomplishment and helped me both mentally and physically. Best of luck to you and your husband on a successful recovery!

Al3x · May 14, 2023

KyleR said:
Button up shirts were key for me for the first few weeks. T-shirts were difficult to get on and off with limited arm movement. Also a wedge pillow may be helpful to sleep propped up in bed. For me laying flat on my back was too uncomfortable and I couldn’t sleep in a recliner. I would recommend piling up books and movies as well. Recovery is just as much mental as it is physical, and if your husband is still of working age he will suddenly find himself with a lot of hours to fill. Reading and taking walks gave me a sense of accomplishment and helped me both mentally and physically. Best of luck to you and your husband on a successful recovery!

I agree with all of this. Excellent suggestions. I would add in some full zip jumpers / hoodies and slip on shoes.

I also bought a shower seat which was useful for the first few weeks.

Timmay · May 14, 2023

I bought about 6 white towels from WalMart and 6 oversized white t-shirts.

I used a fresh towel after every shower. I slept in the oversized t-shirts. That said - I understand the recommendation for button-up shirts.

Why white towels and white t-shirts?

I could use them once and then when I had enough “dirty” ones, I would wash in hot water and some bleach. I was extra careful to keep that chest closure away from anything that could infect it.

If you have dogs or cats, CLEAN the house really well before he comes home. I’d even recommend a large HEPA air cleaner if you have pets. The last thing you want to do is cough or sneeze. Keep dust and dander to a minimum.

I was a side sleeper before surgery. After surgery I couldn’t sleep on my side. I propped myself up in bed and slept propped up for weeks. I probably had about 4-5 pillows. I always made sure that I had more than enough.

Walking was key. Truly. I would walk slow laps inside my house on the first floor at times intervals during the first week.

If he has bowel issues after returning home - MetaMucil (no sugar, no sweetener). I literally tried everything else and this is the only thing that worked for me.

My slip-on Crocs were a life saver.

Don’t push it. Listen to your body. Truly. Even 4 months later. Listen to your body. For the first couple months do everything you can to protect the sternum and allow it to heal. Don’t be reaching for things or stretching or whatever.

I’m sure there is a lot more this is what immediately comes to mind for me.

V__ · May 15, 2023

Thanks for the question! It's wise to prepare ahead of time

You can search this forum for other tips and hints - there were threads that were quite useful for me. Will try to post a more detailed reply later, but off the top of my head for now:

- The shower seat was a requirement for me (not "optional", as suggested in brochures). Especially since it's better match the height more or less.

- The button down shirts were not suggested to me by the occupational therapist before the discharge. The tricky point is threading the arms in the sleeves. The (oversized) T-shirts were recommended, with care in the hands-upright position. I guess your mileage may vary, and might be good to prepare for both options.

- The recliner chair was VERY useful.

- During recovery, the patient will need to walk regularly. Preparing for that may be useful. For me, it meant getting outside slippers (to avoid leaning over and tying the shoes) and hats. I knew where to walk, but it may need to be figured out, depending on where you live.

- If you are given the spirometer before the surgery, I think it's useful to exercise it every day even before the surgery. This is just to habituate the breathing muscles. You don't need to do it every hour, etc, and better not to exhaustion, of course.

- The upper body becomes a post-it board for various attachments. Shaving it may be helpful, especially hands and arms. (If there is still time, as they don't want you to do that a week before the surgery.)

- A short haircut may be quite helpful.

- Have a good night sleep before the surgery. Might be difficult, but at least avoid my mistake of getting very little. This was not good for the waking-up time.

- If there is support from friends and family, this is quite helpful. The first day was tough on on my wife (taking care of me). But her sister came over, and that was very nice.

- The "advanced recovery" methods seemed to help. You may want to follow them.

In general, the doctors and nurses really know what they are doing while managing the patient, who is in unusual circumstances. Some things will be unusual. Just trust them and follow all the recommendations. This was the best advice from this forum, and I can only confirm this was VERY useful.