My dad played college football back in the ’80s, so knee surgery has always been something he knew he might have to go through someday. But when an injury earlier this spring accelerated his need for a procedure, he and my mom were quickly forced to make a plan.
Something they soon realized is that while knee surgery brings with it a host of medical concerns, it also creates a few logistical problems in the house. They were facing down a lengthy recovery process that would require them to entirely change the way they lived in their home— at least for a while.
Here’s how knee surgery changed the way my dad lived during his recovery and everything my family did to get the house ready for his post-surgery life.
The Problem: No Stairs
The biggest problem presented by knee surgery is that you simply can’t go up any stairs for a couple of weeks after the operation. “Any major change in elevation is a problem,” said my dad. “You feel every bump in the floor.”
For anyone with a multistory house like my dad, that means you automatically lose access to a huge chunk of your home. Knee surgery meant my dad lost access to his bedroom, closet, and the attached bathroom. Luckily, there was a small spare room on the main floor available and ready to be transformed into an apartment for the soon-to-be recovery patient.
This perspective is also important to keep in mind if you find yourself in the luxurious position of designing a home you want to grow old in. Stairs can become a major pain as you age, making ranch or rambler style homes better options for seniors (or anyone looking to buy a home while approaching AARP-card age).
The Solution: A One-Floor Life (For a While)
Moving my dad’s entire life onto one floor was not a small feat. It involved setting up a futon in the room (and making it comfortable enough for sleeping), moving a chunk of closet to the main floor and creating a station in the corner for the many (frequent) icing stations required for recovery.
One thing they didn’t realize until after the surgery was exactly how much space it takes to operate a walker, which my dad needed for the first few days of recovery. “Any obstruction in the hallway was a problem,” said my dad. “You just need more space to move around.”
Other Challenges Presented By Surgery
Recovering from surgery is different for everyone. For my dad, it meant spending a lot of time watching the World Cup with an ice pump strapped to his leg, circulating freezing water around his knee and the impacted area. Comfort was the main priority. If you’re planning on getting your knee surgery done in the middle of the summer, make sure your air conditioner is in peak condition. Any outage and a heat wave will have you regretting a lot of life choices.
There are some things you can’t really know until you’re living through recovery. It’s a long, personal process, and you learn a lot about yourself. “Make sure you have access to things to do,” said my dad. “Things get monotonous when you’re stuck in one room of your house.”
It’s also important to make sure you have a small area prepared for light exercise and physical therapy. My parents spent some time before surgery cleaning out the garage and insulating it to create a place my dad could do his exercises (and get out of his room).
The key is to try and anticipate as many of your future needs as possible so you can be as self-reliant as possible.
“I had to think about what I needed in advance just in case someone wasn’t around,” said my dad.
He’s still recovering, but these days he’s moving up and down stairs with less pain than he did even before the surgery. And yes- he is very happy to have gotten the rest of his house back.
RELATED:
- 7 Signs You’re Over-Decorating
- 18 Cheap Decor Ideas That Look Expensive
- 9 Creative Home Hacks That Will Improve Your Life
The post My Dad’s Knee Surgery Changed More Than His Health—It Changed How He Lived at Home appeared first on Family Handyman.
Article source here: My Dad’s Knee Surgery Changed More Than His Health—It Changed How He Lived at Home
No comments:
Post a Comment