How to Prepare at Home for Knee Surgery
How to Prepare at Home for Knee Surgery if you know in advance and it is not emergency surgery. I had to have knee surgery and I was at a complete loss of what to do. I mean I am the mom and organizer of the whole household. I manage all of the kid’s schedules, prepare all of the meals, do everyone’s laundry, pack lunches, clean the house and the list could go on and on. I was nervous wreck thinking about everything the kids had going on, but luckily, I snapped into and got busy prepping everything.
This particular surgery was going to have me down and out for two weeks, but then I would slowly be able to get back to getting into a routine. It did take me a full seven weeks to recover, but I can say that I am now good as new! My knee surgery was successful and is buying me some time before I need a complete knee replacement surgery, which unfortunately is in my future as some point.
I had been having knee pain for a long time, but it got so bad I went to see a specialist. After several tests and an MRI. My doctor told me I had no cartilage behind my knee cap. This was due to my long softball career of being a catcher. I will need a full knee replacement, but the doctor and I both agreed that I am so young to try and go in and clean up the knee and add fluid behind knee cap. So, I agreed and set my surgery date out for three weeks to give my husband time to let his work know and for us to make plans for the children.
How to Prepare at Home for Surgery
So, the first thing I did was make a list of meals I wanted to make and freeze. That way my hubby could just pull from the freezer and either put in the slow cooker for the day or put it right in the oven. You can see some of the recipes I made by clicking –> 20 Freezer Meals in 4 Hours. I only made about five of them and then I picked some from –> Oven Ready Freezer Meals. This was a huge help to my husband since he was taking on a lot more.
Next, I Made the boys lunches and had them prepacked so all they had to do was grab the bag and put it in their lunch box with an ice pack. To make it easier I bought lunchables so I knew nothing would go bad. The boys really liked this, and it made them feel as if they were helping by getting their lunch into their school bag each morning. I made arrangements for all the boy’s extra-curricular activities by getting rides from other parents and getting help from the grandparents as well. I made a list of emergency numbers and gave them to important friends and family.
For myself I made sure to have some comfort food items I may want after surgery. I got comfortable pajamas and clothes that would be able to wear over my leg. I also purchased dry shampoo because I knew I wouldn’t be able to shower for a couple days afterwards. The day before surgery I drank a lot of water to help with being dehydrated from the anesthesia. I also purchased a book since I knew I would be cooped up with my leg up.
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Shelley is a boy mom, marine wife, and is blessed with an amazing family. She loves sharing recipes, travel reviews and tips that focus on helping busy families make memories.
I will be getting knee surgery in a few weeks and I want to be as prepared as possible so that the recovery will be easy on me and the rest of my family, so I am glad that I found this article. You make a great point that you can find ways to prepare food beforehand and this would save me a lot of time and stress when I am recovering because dinners will already be ready. Also, it would be great to find some books that I have been wanting to read because this way I won’t get bored and depressed during my recovery.