You’ve made the decision to have your knee replaced. You’ve met with the surgeon. Your lab has been ordered. You have to go to the hospital (or your family doctor) next “Tuesday” to have your blood drawn for labs. Your surgeon might want you cleared by a cardiologist. All the OFFICIAL medical wheels are set into motion so that everyone else is prepared for your replacement.

What about you? Are you prepared? Physically? Mentally? Is your house ready? What about the dog?…

There’s a lot that goes into getting ready for a major surgery like this. There’s a lot to think about, but some pre-planning will make the process easier.

First off you have to realize that you’re going to essentially be out of commission for about 3-4 weeks. Ignore the stories of your neighbor who had it done 2 years ago and was out mowing the yard and golfing in a week. That’s simply not true, and if he did, you didn’t see him rolling around in bed for two days miserable from all the excess swelling. Respect the surgery. It IS a BIG deal and you need to honor that.

OK, so keeping that in mind make sure that:

1. All your shopping is done and you’re stacked up on groceries. And yes, that also counts if you don’t do the shopping. I’ve heard many spouses over the years say “I didn’t know what I was getting into, and I didn’t even have the surgery.” Having shopping done for at least two weeks (and meals prepared in advance, think frozen casseroles) will be such a relief later on.
2. All laundry is done and bed linens are clean and changed. You’re not going to be able to do laundry or change your sheets for at least 2-3 weeks and clean linens are always nice!
3. You have ice packs at the ready. On my website I have a link to Amazon for a Col-Pac brand ice pack that I love, but you can also use a big bag of frozen corn or peas. If you’d like a recipe for a home-made icepack, message me and I’ll send you the recipe. Make sure your knee is protected by a towel and ice that baby no less than 6 times a day, yes 6! (20-30 minutes at a time).
4. Make sure your house is clean and vacuumed. “I hate looking at all that stuff on the carpet and I can’t do anything about it, it’s driving me nuts!” I’ve heard that more times than I care to hear and have gotten out someone’s vacuum on more than one occasion.
5. Please make sure all throw rugs are up, your bed comforter is up and off the floor at the foot of your bed and the floors are cleared. Trust me, you don’t want to fall after you undergo a knee replacement.
6. I thought about leaving this out, but I’ll mention this anyway. You will be constipated following surgery. You know your normal rhythm, so plan accordingly. Don’t overdo it, but be aware that this will be a problem. Your surgeon will advise you on what steps to take if he/she hasn’t already.

Hopefully you’ve found this helpful. All of this information (and a lot more) is available in my book “Knee Replacement Surgery, A Patient’s Guide: Before, During & After” available on Amazon. If you have any questions please reach out to me either on FB or here on my website chriseastonpt.com/contact/. I’d love to answer any questions you have or help in any way I can.

God bless
Chris

P.S. I might have mentioned the dog earlier. Make sure Fido is stocked up on food as well. Those bags are heavy and having it on hand is nice. Dogs (and cats) can be fall hazards too, so please be careful!