any tips for settling into home after surgery?

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digger54

any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby digger54 » Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:16 pm

Hi; As I type this my 87 year old father is having his colon removed due to severe blood hemorrhaging (history of diverticulitis). Bleeding is so bad they cannot determine where in the colon. I was briefed he will spend a few days in ICU before being moved to rehab then eventually discharged. I plan on traveling down to help him get settled in to his house after discharge. Are there any recommendations for changes/additions to the household/bathroom to accommodate his new life style? He was already relegated to a walker/canes due to bad knees.

jep
Posts: 260
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2017 7:45 pm
Location: New England, USA

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby jep » Tue Oct 23, 2018 8:05 pm

I'm not sure if this will help, but my husband had me go out and buy 6 new big pillows, as he needed to prop himself up to sleep . . . he was basically sleeping sitting up in our bed, and he could not sleep on his side for a very long time . . . you may also want to plan to have high protein shakes available, as solid food didn't go well with my husband for quite some time . . . the high fat/high protein shakes helped him keep some weight while he was on a restricted diet . . . also, lots of comfy pants/jammies that are baggy and stretchy so that they can been worn w/o pushing up against any tender areas, or maybe even a nice new robe . . . not sure if any of this helps, but I wish you and your dad the best . . . here's to a speedy recovery . . .
jep
Stage IV CC 5/16/17
Loc: recto-sig
Type: Adenocarcinoma
Size: 7.4 cm
Grade: G3
TNM: T3N2M1
LNs: 8/20
BL CEA: .9
LVI: present
Perineural invasion: present
LAR margins: clear (w/in microns)
Folfox (8/17-1/18)
Scope 6/18 - CLEAR! - 2 polyps
PET 10/17/18: 3 pos LNs
Irino + Vecti (11/18)
CEA: 1.7 (2/19)
Xel + rad (5/19)
Surgery: 8/21/19 (aborted)
P1 Trial 10/19 - 12/19
Bypass 12/6/19
Folfox + vecti 1/2/19 - 4/3/20
Kid Fail 5/1/20
Folfiri + Avastin 5/20 - 6/20
bypass 6/29/20
Stivarga 7/18/20 -
Home 9/10/20

Lee
Posts: 6207
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:09 pm

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby Lee » Tue Oct 23, 2018 9:12 pm

Hi and welcome,

The best advice I can give, make sure he walks, walks, walks those hospital halls and when he get home. Yes it's hard in the beginning, butt it really does help in the healing process, especially as the weeks from surgery become farther and farther apart.

While in the hospital, a wrap around robe is great for easy way to cover the back end of those lovely hospital gowns, not to mention probably IV tubes in his arm or where ever. Padded slippers are also a good idea.

Follow a low fiber diet for a few weeks once home.

Remember one day at a time.

Lee
rectal cancer - April 2004
46 yrs old at diagnoses
stage III C - 6/13 lymph positive
radiation - 6 weeks
surgery - August 2004/hernia repair 2014
permanent colostomy
chemo - FOLFOX
NED - 16 years and counting!

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby NHMike » Wed Oct 24, 2018 9:06 am

jep wrote:I'm not sure if this will help, but my husband had me go out and buy 6 new big pillows, as he needed to prop himself up to sleep . . . he was basically sleeping sitting up in our bed, and he could not sleep on his side for a very long time . . . you may also want to plan to have high protein shakes available, as solid food didn't go well with my husband for quite some time . . . the high fat/high protein shakes helped him keep some weight while he was on a restricted diet . . . also, lots of comfy pants/jammies that are baggy and stretchy so that they can been worn w/o pushing up against any tender areas, or maybe even a nice new robe . . . not sure if any of this helps, but I wish you and your dad the best . . . here's to a speedy recovery . . .
jep


I bought one of those memory foam triangular pillows from Costco. I was propping myself up with pillows but they moved around a lot. The triangular thing helped me sleep on my back and kept the bag tilted downwards to reduce the odds of leaks and ruining the filter. This was for an ileostomy and I'd guess that the OP's father doesn't have one of these so it may not matter for this thing. But the triangular pillow is quite nice for doing this.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

mhf1986
Posts: 158
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 8:30 pm
Location: near DC

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby mhf1986 » Wed Oct 24, 2018 8:01 pm

Night lights in the bathroom and on the way there.

Absorbent, disposable cloths for under sheets (medical supply house has them in boxes, unfold and put under sheet on mattress).

Books, magazines, puzzles, whatever his favorite is to keep mind engaged.

Table by bed or chair to hold everything.
Caregiver to DH, dx @ 50, mets to liver/lungs, MSS, wild
9/16 CEA 114, blockage, left hemi, perm. colostomy
11/16 port in, FOLFOX + Avastin
6/17 CEA 15, 5FU + A only due to neuropathy
11/17 CEA 38, CAPOX + A
1/18 CAPOX = hi bilirubin/bad hfs, back to FOLFOX + A
5/18 growth; Vectibex + 75% Irinotecan
7/18 CEA 23, shrinkage
10/18 CEA 28, growth of 2 liver tumors/shrinkage of few and lung nodes
11/18 Lonsurf, looking at spheres, proton, trials
11/19/18 Peace

Levalore
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2018 3:29 pm

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby Levalore » Thu Oct 25, 2018 4:10 pm

I’m an occupational therapist and have worked in rehab for a while now (taking a break while I deal with my own diagnosis). I would say that when he goes to rehab, make sure to talk to the OT as much as you can, bring up any concerns about the home. If you’re unsure, you can request a home evaluation where the therapists will go with him to the home and see if he has trouble with any basic tasks. The OT will make recommendations for adaptive equipment and strategies. They may also recommend home care. At least where I was, we were pretty diligent about asking about the home environment on admission.

I hope that helps and let me know if you have any questions!

digger54

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby digger54 » Wed Oct 31, 2018 11:57 am

Thanks for all the responses. My 88 year old father is not doing well. He is having complications and not sure if it is a result of the extended hemorrhaging with following colectomy or a fall he took shortly before the colectomy but he has been intubated/sedated since the surgery a week ago. He currently is experiencing acidosis of the blood and they are bringing in a kidney specialist today to try to evaluate if the kidneys are involved. They have to get his blood stabilized before they can remove the intubation tube. Palliative Care tried to contact us earlier today so I am not sure if that is standard due to his present state or a red flag.

digger54

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby digger54 » Wed Nov 07, 2018 7:06 am

Apparently at 87/88 the surgery was too much for my father and he never recovered. He passed away on the 3rd.

Thank you all for your responses. I will close my account now.

User avatar
CRguy
Posts: 10473
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:00 pm

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby CRguy » Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:20 am

Please accept our heartfelt condolences, for you and your family, over the loss of your father.

respectfully
CRguy

mhf1986
Posts: 158
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 8:30 pm
Location: near DC

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby mhf1986 » Thu Nov 08, 2018 8:40 pm

Sending you prayers and hugs.
Caregiver to DH, dx @ 50, mets to liver/lungs, MSS, wild
9/16 CEA 114, blockage, left hemi, perm. colostomy
11/16 port in, FOLFOX + Avastin
6/17 CEA 15, 5FU + A only due to neuropathy
11/17 CEA 38, CAPOX + A
1/18 CAPOX = hi bilirubin/bad hfs, back to FOLFOX + A
5/18 growth; Vectibex + 75% Irinotecan
7/18 CEA 23, shrinkage
10/18 CEA 28, growth of 2 liver tumors/shrinkage of few and lung nodes
11/18 Lonsurf, looking at spheres, proton, trials
11/19/18 Peace

DarknessEmbraced
Posts: 3816
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2014 4:54 pm
Facebook Username: Riann Fletcher
Location: New Brunswick, Canada

Re: any tips for settling into home after surgery?

Postby DarknessEmbraced » Sun Nov 11, 2018 10:58 am

I'm so very sorry for the loss of your father!*hugs* My deepest condolences for you and your family.
Diagnosed 10/28/14, age 36
Colon Resection 11/20/14, LAR (no illeo)
Stage 2a colon cancer, T3NOMO
Lymph-vascular invasion undetermined
0/22 lymph nodes
No chemo, no radiation
Clear Colonoscopy 04/29/15
NED 10/20/15
Ischemic Colitis 01/21/16
NED 11/10/16
CT Scan moved up due to high CEA 08/21/17
NED 09/25/17
NED 12/21/18
Clear colonoscopy 09/23/19
Clear 5 year scans 11/21/19- Considered cured! :)


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