What to Pack

Here it is, finally after months and months of promising it, the list of what to pack for the hospital. After having three PAO's and two screw removals, I have narrowed down what worked best for me and my needs. All three of my surgeries/recoveries were COMPLETELY different so my needs were also quite different. My first PAO I lost 10lbs, was tired and weak for my entire hospital stay and fluctuated constantly with fevers. My second surgery (5 months later) I was wide awake and had the biggest appetite during my hospital stay and my third I was in a little more pain, more awake and ran no fevers. Even when I thought I was prepared, I wasn't!

I posted this back in June before my PAO, but it is also very helpful for this post. Here are (what I think) are the necessities to have at home. A lot of people rent hospital beds, walkers, mobilegs and a zillion other things they think are needed. They aren't. You need a commode (or raised toilet seat with handles), a shower stool or chair (I bought this one and just left the back off) of some kind and crutches (which were given to me at the hospital). My doctor also REQUIRED me to come home with a wheel chair which was a complete waste of my time as I didn't use it once. All stores, malls and grocery stores have motorized scooters or wheelchairs that you can use. Not to mention, the hassle of lugging that thing in and out of the car which is impossible for most women, let alone ones on crutches or their mother's staying with them. But, you may want to use one just in case if you are unsure of yourself walking distances with crutches. Luckily (or not luckily) we had most of these already as my Mom has had multiple hip surgeries and needed everything!

Next. My necessities were two-size-too-big underwear (you will be swollen, have a bulky bandage and definitely will not want anything tight to be around you. My first surgery was in January so I packed a Snuggie - yes, I had one. My brother bought it for me as a gag-gift for Christmas but it ended up being the BEST thing ever. Hospital blankets suck. The snuggie was perfect - even for my June surgeries. A neck pillow and eye mask. Nurses come in every hour to check vitals...you don't need to talk to them or open your eyes so the eye mask is great to block out the lights from the hallway or god forbid, your roommate.

And just to prove I really did use these things...here I am with my Snuggie (in June) and neck pillow.

Night before surgery packing all of my goodies. Shower won't happen for a couple days so I always throw in a hat for those not-so-nice hair days!

Some other good things, face wash wipes that come in the package, showers and sponge baths are less than fabulous so these will help you feel a little fresher all over until you can go to town in the shower. Large/comfy PJ pants/shorts, slipper socks are provided by the hospital, grabber (more for when you're home alone and need to reach something), Pillow Pet - call it strange, call it whatever but it was a lifesaver. A fellow hipster came to visit me after my third PAO and brought me a bag of goodies which included a Pillow Pet. I thought this is cute, but I'm 28 years old. She's like no, this is great in the car to put on your hip where the seat belt crosses the incision, or to sleep on, as well as hold tight when you have to cough or sneeze. I don't know why I didn't know about this sooner. It was amazing and I send these to all my hip friends during recovery. Also a must is some kind of mindless magazine. You won't want a book because you'll most likely be tired and groggy and won't want to pay attention or focus on anything. Get some kind of crappy gossip magazines, they're a great attention stealer when things get rough. Last but not least, an iPod. I know iPhone's are an extension of our hands now a days but it's most likely going to be one thing you don't want to pay attention to right out of surgery. I had my iPod fully charged with some new tunes. Put my headphones in, throw on my eye mask and I was good for hours without being interrupted too badly.


List:
Commode (or raised toilet seat)
Shower Stool
Large Underwear
Snuggie or Blanket
Neck Pillow
Eye Mask
Cough Pillow (compliments of my Doctor)
Pillow Pet (can take the place of the cough pillow)
Face Wash Wipes
Large/Comfy Clothes/PJ Pants/Shorts
Slipper Socks/Rubber sold slippers/Sneakers
Grabber
Magazine
iPod
Pillow to sit on

I originally packed other things, but didn't really get to use anything else. Brought other clothes and some makeup in case I felt so inclined but that was not happening. Brought my laptop one time and that was just a waste. I did end up "permanently borrowing" some towels and pillows from the hospital so perhaps bringing something like that for when you get discharged. I am 5'8" and so my my legs were bent more than 90 degrees when in the car or wheelchair so I sat on a hospital pillow for the first few weeks of my recovery and time I sat in a chair other than my recliner.

This is MY list of hospital must-haves. Everyone is different and everyone's surgeries are different. These are the basics...and basically everything that was in my suitcase for the hospital. Even for my first surgery I packed very light not knowing what to expect.

I hope this list helps! If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments below or email me directly, DRemond1@gmail.com

Happy Packing!


~*~ Also, see my "what do I ask my doctor" questions added to the tabs at the top of this page. ~*~