First hand experience

Hi! So I have not written much lately which is probably good. Means nothing bad is happening right? Well in my case yes, but I have other issues going on. I have been having hands-on experience dealing with someone who was recovering much the same way I will be when I have my PAO.

So on the 23rd My sis-in-law was a victim in a shooting. She was shot in her knee and shattered her tibia in several places. When they did the surgery, they screwed the tibia back together, put in several metal plates and then sewed her back up. She has several incisions and a super long one. Her instructions are very much what I assume would be the same as mine post-op. Only toe-touch weight bearing, do movement exercises per day, and rest, along with a ton of pain meds. So she came home to our house 2 after surgery (4 days after she was shot) and I instantly became a home nurse. She was given a walker and moved around clumsily. A couple times she even fell down. Her arms and hands were hurting from the walker and she was trying new ways to use the walker and lost her balance. Not something I want to do. So we picked up some crutches for her and things were instantly better. One week post-op she was using crutches. I was giving her round the clock meds for a few days and at first we decided the laxative and stool softeners were not really needed but then after a week of not having a B.M. we decided to start giving her the 5 "pooper" meds they gave her and she pooped 2 days later. FINALLY! I was getting worried. Another tricky issue was getting into our truck. We have 2 cars but our car was in the shop when she got to our house so at first it was the truck. When thinking about my post-op transportation, the truck seemed like a great idea, just about at butt height to just slide into the seat. But when she was getting into it, we needed to lift her up and put her in there. She and I are the same height, so this will be an issue. When we got the car back, it was much easier for her to get in and out of the car. She has a knee issue, and mine is a hip, so we will just have to see how this will play out once we get there. She also needed a lot of help showering. From the blogs Ive read about PAO, stepping backwards into the shower is the best option. Though I don't know the differences between knee/hip surgeries and doing the shower thing. What we did at first was put the commode into the shower, i lifted her into the shower and slowly maneuvered her leg into the shower. Then we tried putting the commode half in/out of the shower and she sat down on it then stood up in the shower using her good leg. then we moved the commode into the shower fully. After 2 weeks she was showering herself and getting in and out of the shower alone.
Some things Ive learned:
1. use walker/crutches a month before surgery to strengthen the muscles.
2. As soon as possible use crutches, don't fall!!
3. Take all the laxatives and stool softeners prescribed! LOL
4. Overlap pain meds so you don't wake up crying in pain.
5. Don't go to fast, take it easy and try to rest. If you push too hard things will not heal right.