I spent hours of sleepless nights pre-surgery searching for things like “what to pack for hospital?” and finding very little that was actually helpful in anyway. I was headed for PyroTITAN Humeral Resurfacing Arthroplasty aka shoulder replacement and I was scared s***less of what was ahead of me. I didn’t know what I should be asking my surgeon and didn’t want to waste his time asking stupid questions.
What to pack? You won’t need much because you’ll be too miserable to care about hair and make-up and in my case even brushing my teeth. I packed the ipad but shouldn’t have bothered as I was too off with the fairies to be bored although it was nice to receive a few text messages so don’t forget your phone charger. Shorts and singlet are easy as pj’s with a very loose wire-free bra (if you bother with one at all). Crop tops and racer-back bras are way too hard. To leave the hospital you need slides coz you can’t do shoelaces and a loose t-shirt or singlet with elastic waist pants. Tights may be comfy but they are too hard to pull on one-handed.
Surgery day, Cut your fingernails and toenails short! I found information that suggested preparing frozen meals etc before the surgery but missed any brief about nails. Hubby was not good at doing nails at all. Next, make sure you are wearing cotton knickers (not just a cotton gusset). I spent a good 10 minutes holed up in the toilet while various nurses came in to ‘feel’ my undees before deciding they weren’t suitable and exchanging them for a embarrassing pair of see-through paper pantaloons.
Recovery, Grab a travel neck pillow! Seriously this little gem made life so much more comfortable. Use it to prop your neck and head up a little while you are stuck sleeping on your back for months, hook it around your arm to hold it at just the right height or use it to support a book on your stomach as you turn pages with the other hand. You might appreciate an electric toothbrush especially if you can’t use your dominant arm. You also need something for the heat rash, I used Aussie Butt Cream, (no I’m not sick and twisted) this stuff is the bomb for triathlon/cycling ‘issues’! it’s soothing and the tea tree oil gets rid of any nasty bacteria.
Other notes, you will sleep – a lot! That’s ok because your body is healing. I was also excessively thirsty and drank litres of water daily, not sure why, maybe flushing out all that medication? Strataderm cream is good for scaring so rub this stuff in daily. Massage also helps to break up the scar tissue. I got on my trainer and treadmill in week two but my heart-rate would go through the roof even with the easiest walking incline or resistance. Give yourself permission to recover gently and ignore the numbers, they will improve when your body is ready.
Crutches or arm sling – which is worse? Ok so back to the original question, I have spent the equivalent of a year of my life on crutches and it sucked. I couldn’t get around and my crutches got in the way constantly. Escalators were terrifying and rain made me nervous but the humiliation of having someone else wash your hair and cut up your dinner in a restaurant sucks more than poor mobility. So for me, having my dominant arm out of action was definitatively worse, but I guess it’s a matter of perspective and maybe if I wrote this after my knee surgery, I may have given the opposite answer.
tommy the travelling turtle 