Re: Sleeping on Side
Gringo, DEFINITELY go for the two beds. You might be moving around a lot during the night. Some of us actually had to get up and walk around at all hours.....laps with the walker....oh boy! If the room is small, you might even be tooling up and down the hallways. There was a group of us recovering at the same time last winter and we would write to each other in the middle of the night....night stalkers!
And now that you mention your plan to stay in a hotel, here are some things to consider purchasing. You will need a means to ice your knee frequently. If your room will have a full size refrigerator with a freezer, you could purchase 4 of the large gel packs at WalMart or a drug store. I used two at a time on my knee with a towel in between the pack and your leg (so you don't overchill your skin). Or....you can purchase a machine that pumps ice water to a pad that velcros around your knee. Polar Care and Aircast Cryo Cuff are two brands. You can get them new or on eBay. Just be sure they come with all the parts you need if you purchase on eBay...and that the cuff is the right one. You can use cubed ice in them, but they work better with large chunks of ice like a Cool Whip container filled with water and frozen into a giant cube. If you have one of the machines, pack some type of container to freeze the blocks. Some hospitals provide the machines for their patients, so you might check on that. They can be a little expensive. If you don't have a full size frig in your room, your wife is going to be really busy getting ice because you will need it a LOT. I kept those gel packs on my knee all night long.
With knees, I'm not sure you'll be given a special pillow. But you'll be making full use of all the ones the hotel provides! You must elevate your knee above your hips and heart throughout the day and night. You might consider purchasing a body pillow (again, that's something you can get for about $10 at Target or Walmart). It's a long narrow pillow that you can literally wrap your body around. Many of our Kneesals swore it was the greatest thing ever to get comfortable sleep.
I'm a side sleeper too and could only make it on my back for a few nights (with lots of drugs). After that, I placed a pillow at my side (near the lower back) so that I could be on my side kind of and yet lean back into that pillow. You'll need to experiment and find out what works for you. It's not that you will do anything to your new knee joint by sleeping one way or another. It just may be painful for a while to sleep on your side. I found I could sleep on my operated side easier by not having my knees one on top of the other. You'll move around a lot anyway and you do need to be elevating your knee at least part of the time your asleep.
The hospital will likely provide a walker or crutches. You'll have to decide which is more comfortable for you. If not, they can be rented from a medical supply store or many drug stores (or WalMart, I think).
If you go straight from the hospital to the hotel (no re-hab facility), you will likely need the services of a visiting nurse and possibly a physical therapist. You might want to ask some questions about how that might work since you will have a hotel instead of a home for them to "visit." I don't think there will be any problems, but it would just be good to know that.
Since you mentioned you were staying in an "extended stay" hotel, I hope it has a kitchen too. Having a microwave and stove will help your wife as there will be times you will want or need a little something to eat at odd hours. You don't want to have to rely on room service all the time. Especially at first, things like Jello, pudding, soup, mac and cheese.....all those comfort foods tend to sound good.
I'll keep thinking about it.....may have more ideas for you. Your situation is definitely different from most by having to come back to the USA for the surgery.