Once home after surgery, how long (if at all) should one have a family member around?

I am lucky enough to have a wonderful wife- she does have to travel fairly often for work and was wondering how long after surgery, when one is home, does one need a family member around? She wants to cancel a huge swath of work commitments and I am trying to convince her that it's not necessary because many people manage by themselves once released- Of course I will set up a few ostomy nurse visits for the first week to get the hang of things in case my learning curve was slow in the hospital. But am I right or is it a bad idea to fend for oneself too soon. I plan to stock up on appropriate low residue GI food in advance.

I had no help and managed just fine. I drove (was off all pain meds), grocery shopped, cooked, did laundry, and took care of my pets.

Sue

remember jackieOMG...she had the takedown and the same day she went to some party. w.t.f. lololol

Ref recovery- "like sue(bear), I want to be like sue(bear)."

@liz- that's awesome re the lactose intolerance. I am likewise intolerant with my colon- hoping that will change too. Chocolate would instantly flare me now, to boot. If all that happens post colon for chocolate is a faster flow , that will be a treat to enjoy again occasionally.

I had an abscess a week out and spiked a fever.... my partner's daughter went up to get the thermometer for me (I felt that lousy that I didn't want to go upstairs), and then my partner took me to the ER when she got home (and I was admitted for 4 more days).... otherwise, my partner only took off the first two days from work, but was on call.

I think it's good to have a plan for what you'll do in an emergency like that, as it's relatively common to have such complications. For me it was so bad because of all the pred I was on (why the fever hit so fast).

So, you probably won't need her every minute of every day, but you do need to know what to do if suddenly you feel awful and need to go back to the hospital.

Upon discharge you will be given some instructions like not drive for a few weeks so if she is away you will need to have someone available if you need to be taken somewhere.

Having some in home nursing care for a week or two will be probably be a help if your wife is away. We found we knew as much if not more than they did...lol but it was a little extra help providing the nursing service sends someone knowledgeable about ostomies.

You will be "fagged out" and tired for awhile so have simple things around you can have on hand to eat if she is not there to wait on you. We are both retired so it is different in this house so hubby had me at his beck and call so to speak.

Protein is your friend to help you heal so if you can tolerate protein drinks they are a big help in the beginning to get the protein in you when your appetite isn't all that great. We used the slim fast which gives 15 grams of protein with a glass of milk and can either shake it up or put it in the magic bullet and make it like a frappe with ice cubes...the chocolate one is great.

Drink lots of water, chew chew chew of course and little meals and avoid the foods that may be more difficult to digest especially in the beginning.

Hubby's surgery was 2 1/2 years ago...just got back from another cruise last week and had a blast. Had an incredible day at a fantastic beach in Tortola. He was very sick for 5 1/2 years before the surgery and so wished he had done it sooner.

He has been lucky. Had a great CR surgeon @ Mayo clinic, he healed very well with no complications even though his surgery was a tough one. His stoma does not protrude a lot (not flush but not the inch that is preferred from what I gather here) and uses light convexity wafers. After some trial and error as his skin does not like adhesive outer edges he found a wafer that is "the one" for him. His life and mine are so much better now and I pray that will also be the same for you and your wife as well.