5. Getting home
The first order of business in your homecoming will be getting home safely. Although you won’t know the exact time of your departure before your surgery, you can count on a three-to-five-day hospital stay, so having someone on call during that time will help ensure that your ride is ready when you are.
Having the right ride is important. Most experts recommend a large sedan, SUV or mini van, especially for hip replacement patients, who will have positional restrictions on their new joint.
While some experts OK stretching out on the back seat and get comfortable, particularly for a long car ride, Lein advises sitting in the front seat with the seat back as far as it will go.
If you don’t have someone to drive you home, some taxi services have handicapped accessible vehicles. Your discharge specialist can arrange your ride. In some states, Medicaid covers transportation home from the hospital.
What to expect at home
You’ve had the time to plan. Now you need time to heal. You may have trouble navigating the stairs, or standing long enough to prepare a meal or do a load of laundry. You may be constipated from inactivity and pain medication. You may be longing to take a long bath. You may have soreness that makes it difficult to do your exercises. At times you may feel frustrated, discouraged, harbor regret, even feel defeated. Recovery can be challenging – but these feelings will pass.
If you have concerns, speak with your doctor or other health professional. Or, think back to the other joint-replacement recipients you spoke with when deciding to have the procedure and give them a call. They probably had many of the feelings or challenges you have.
Do little things to improve your mood, like getting dressed each day instead of hanging out in your pajamas, using downtime to call or write to friends or watching DVDs of old comedy shows.
D-Day (Discharge Day)
At three to four days after surgery, you may be eager to leave your hospital bed for the familiarity of home, or you may feel like you’re just waking up from anesthesia, Lisa Lein, a physical therapist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital.
On discharge day, your discharge specialist will go over your instructions and provide you with a list to take home. Find out when this will occur and have a friend or family member there as a patient advocate. If you can’t have someone with you, you’ll still have the written instructions. Keep them handy and make sure you get a list of phone numbers to call in case of emergency or if you have questions once you’re home.
