Re: Post-Op Care

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/11/2004 9:13:08 AM Central Standard Time, davisjj@... writes:

My THR is scheduled for the end of August. I live alone and don't have anyone who can stay with me at home after I'm discharged

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If you're on Medicare, you've got it made, as they'll pay for a short period of Rehab in a hospital or nursing home rehab facility. If not, many insurances approve homecare P.T. Call the hospital where you're going and ask to speak to the discharge planner/social worker, and ask what your insurance allows for.

y

[Guest guest]

Post-op care takes several forms depending on the patient, condition,

resources, kind of insurance coverage, etc.

You don't state your age or physical condition so my comments are

only general.

When you say no one can stay with you, do you mean no one can come

and stay over night or for a couple of days? The reason I ask is

because you may not even need someone to do that. Having friends

drop by, bring you groceries, take you where you need to go, check

in on you in person or by phone, may be all you need.

Your insurance or medicare (if you are on that) probably covers home

visits by a visiting nurse and maybe PT for at least a couple of

weeks. Also, when you have visiting nurse, you can call them any

time you have a concern. Usually when you schedule a THR, you are

informed of these things. Has no one mentioned it? Also sometimes a

PT checks out the patient's living arrangements to assess for safety

issues, etc.

Similarly, your surgeon may prescribe and your insurance may cover a

brief stay at a rehab facility before you go to your own home. This

is sometimes used for those who live alone and have no social support

system or have comorbities that would warrant this kind of

attention. The downside of these institutions is the elevated risk

of post-op early infection. It's actually safer from that standpoint

for you to be in your own home than in an institution.

It is possible to hire someone to give you personal care if you need

it. If you're on medicare, the cost might be on a sliding scale

dependent on income. It is also possible to hire someone to do

weekly house cleaning, yard work, whatever chores you are not able to

do right away although no insurance is going to cover this type of

help.

My experience: At age 59 I went home directly from a 4-day hospital

stay and was alone most of the day at home except for occasional

visits from a nurse and a physical therapist over a 2-week period.

My husband was able to stop in at lunch time for the first 2-3 days

and fix my lunch and he fixed supper for the first few days. I had

shopped beforehand and had easy-to-fix meals prepared and frozen.

You may be surprised at how you well you do on your own. It's natural

to be apprehensive if you've never been through THR surgery. By all

means relay your concerns to your surgeon and his staff. They have

dealt with this before and can point you to sources for the kind of

help you need.

> My THR is scheduled for the end of August. I live alone and don't

> have anyone who can stay with me at home after I'm discharged. I

> need to make some arrangements for some type of care or assistance

at

> home until I'm able to take care of myself. I don't have a lot of

> money, so I need to figure out something that my my insurance will

> pay for, if possible. I have no idea where to start. Has anyone

out

> there encountered/solved a similar situation?

[Guest guest]

Hey Jim, I also live alone and had the same worry but it has not ben bad at all. Before I left the hospital they made sure I could get around pretty well with my walker. I`m lucky enough to have some good friends who came by and checked on me, took me to the store and that sort of thing. The first week was the only week I really needed any help. I will be three weeks post-op as of next Monday and I started driving last weekend, no longer use the walker and only use the cane for longer walks. It just did`nt seem like I had to depend on others for very long at all and was better than I expected.

Hope all goes as well for you!

Take Care,

Jim <davisjj@...> wrote:

My THR is scheduled for the end of August. I live alone and don't have anyone who can stay with me at home after I'm discharged. I need to make some arrangements for some type of care or assistance at home until I'm able to take care of myself. I don't have a lot of money, so I need to figure out something that my my insurance will pay for, if possible. I have no idea where to start. Has anyone out there encountered/solved a similar situation?

[Guest guest]

Hi jj,

I would find a place like a hospital I had a TRHR and a TRKR and I ended up in two differant nursing homes and I think they are bad for people who had replacements so really try to find a good hospital . good luck.

Susiescottyzpt@... wrote:

In a message dated 6/11/2004 9:13:08 AM Central Standard Time, davisjj@... writes:

My THR is scheduled for the end of August. I live alone and don't have anyone who can stay with me at home after I'm discharged

_____

If you're on Medicare, you've got it made, as they'll pay for a short period of Rehab in a hospital or nursing home rehab facility. If not, many insurances approve homecare P.T. Call the hospital where you're going and ask to speak to the discharge planner/social worker, and ask what your insurance allows for.

y

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/13/2004 1:53:02 AM Central Standard Time, juneflower60@... writes:

I would find a place like a hospital I had a TRHR and a TRKR and I ended up in two differant nursing homes and I think they are bad for people who had replacements so really try to find a good hospital . good luck.

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For me it makes no particular difference. having been a therapist in nursing homes, I am well aware that there can be very good therapy done there. Many people coming for rehab are bothered by having to see a lot of elderly people who aren't very appealing and remind them of where they might be someday. I, obviously, wouldn't have that problem.

The problem with hospital rehab (and nursing home to a lesser degree) is that they follow a set of regulations that insist that you need both PT and OT. There is no earthly reason that i would need OT. The nursing home is supposed to have to give you OT as well, but they are more lenient on this, and might just go with the fact that I have arthritis in my fingers and a couple of them are painful when using a walker. Those with THR rather than TKR will have the problems with dressing related to hip precautions, so they do need the OT.

y tomorrow is the day.