Welcome brisco6 and thank you
@Mojo333
I had an outpatient surgery with a spinal, and my whole experience has been more positive than I imagined (e.g. very happy post surgery). I feel with all the demographic changes, more people will be addressing surgery as "single", and people on this forum shared their experiences, which helped me to scope out my plan.
Looking back the overall feedback to have a plan in place (e.g. friend on call), if things became more difficult was great advice. In my particular situation, the doctor required someone to stay with me the first 24 hours. I debated about hiring home health care, but that would have been an out of pocket expense. The irony is by day 3, more than anything I just wanted to cocoon and sleep. Between a friend stopping by and in-home PT, I felt a bit more stressed trying to be upbeat and hospitable. With your brother, that might feel more comfortable.
I had a very comfy "nest" where I spent almost 3 weeks, which included a lift recliner (which I never used the lift, but it did recline so that I could sleep in it for the first two nights). By the 3 day, my PT wanted me to sleep in my bed. One little trick is she taught me how to loop my non-surgical leg under my surgical leg to lift it onto my bed. It felt like I healed quickly and getting in and out of bed after the first few nights was straightforward. Back to my "nest" - lift recliner, Ossur ice machine, and my doctor provided batter powered "compression" socks, and with these items, I was as comfortable as possible.
As to food, I stocked up on about 2 weeks of Trader Joe frozen meals that I regularly eat, and a few extras like crackers (which was good the first week with all the medication to calm my stomach). Overall my appetite was lower at first, and I am glad I didn't overbuy food. With local grocery delivery (which I didn't use), I knew that I could order more if necessary.
I also read a lot of the recovery stories on this forum, to get a sense for recovery timelines. That helped me to mentally prepare for my journey.
Sending you healing wishes in advance of your surgery!