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Sequin98's Pre-op Journey

Hi. That would depend on your individual height. I think ideally you want the mattress to meet just below the bottom of your bum and your feet to reach the floor when you are sitting on the edge of the bed. I know you wouldn't want to have to lift yourself into the bed or need a footstool :) You also don't want to have to get up from a very low position. Useful Link (I think)




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Actually our bed was fairly high and probably not ideal but I was able to get in and out ok. I think you could use a low stepstool if you needed. We bought one for me to use to get into our pickup. I used it to come home from hospital but that was it as I was able to step on step bumper after that with no problem. I think the main problem with a bed would occur if your bed is too low. It is very difficult to get up from low down after surgery. When my husband asked the doctor about me getting into a pickup to come home, the doctor assured him it would not be a problem. He said it would be much easier to get in and out of a truck than it would be to get in and out of a sports car.

If possible, I'd recommend using what you have unless it is very low. I'm sure others will be along with their opinions but this is mine. I wish you all the best and please ask any other questions you might have.
 
@sequin98 I agree with @GrannyC about too low not being as good as too high or just right. @MyAussieGirl will tell you about recovery sofas that she couldn't get out of by herself because it was so low.

My own bed was way too high after I put a new mattress on it. I'd already gotten one of those aerobic stepper platforms to act as my very very safe stepstool that I could not possibly fall off of in the middle of the night, and it was a good investment. I haven't fallen off it yet!
 
Hi you...rang? Lol yes on bed height go too high...too low can be dangerous. I could not get up off my sofa unless hubby picked me up so yes too low ouch. Plus it's mega easy to break the 90 degree rule with too. Personally, I'd wait on any new furniture
 
@sequin98 They will teach you all the tricks of getting in and out of bed, going up and down stairs, etc. before you leave the hospital.
 
You can't really own a cat...lol

How long before you could clean the cat box without help?

Thank you!
Liz
 
That's one job I am happy to reassign to my husband for as long as possible!!
 
I found a long handled scooper online at Amazon...so, no bending. Can't figure out how to put bowls on the floor after filling them without bending. Any ideas?
 
I saw pet bowls with a long handle attached to them - I think on Amazon.
 
@ChoirGirl You can do the "golfer's reach" where you keep your operated leg straight behind you while bending the knee of your good leg and reaching down. I do this now to reach things on the floor. Keeps you from breaking the 90 deg rule on your operated leg.
 
Golfer's reach is quite handy for feeding animals during recovery. You will find a "how to"in this thread.
 
I moved my cats feeding station to the end of my dining room table (with water proof cloth over the table) - so no bending needed. They didn't mind a bit :) As for litter box -- I reassigned that to house mate and house cleaner - but with a long handled scooper I guess it would have been doable.
 
A long-handled pooper scoop is a godsend in the first few weeks! It also does double duty for disposing of those little ‘gifts’ some cats like to bring home (there were a few dead mice for me to deal with as two of my cats are keen hunters!).

I bought some lightweight plastic cat food bowls with indentations on the base, which meant I could pick them up and place them down using a long-handled grabber. It worked but it was quite cumbersome (and I’m sure the cats found the whole thing amusing)! I wish I’d thought of @Gretel’s dustpan idea - that sounds much better! Quite early on I found it easier to use the “Golfer’s Reach” instead so I switched to using that to feed the cats and to pick up the litter tray when it needed a complete empty/refill.

Good luck, and don’t worry - you’ll probably find you’re able to do more (and sooner) than you expect!
 
Thanks so much for your encouragement! Happily, my 18 yr. old cat is not interested in outdoors and mice! The long handled dust pan does sound like a good plan and I've been doing the golfers reach already when I bend as it is the only thing that works for picking things up. What approach did they use for your THR? I will be having the mini posterior.
 
@ChoirGirl I just had a giggle about having a mini posterior. There’s nothing mini about my posterior lol
I can’t use the golfers reach cause I had both done. I’ve been using a grabber for months cause my backs been so sore so I’m well practiced with it.
 
Is there a type that is better than others? Brand?

Thank you for your answers!
 
BTW, this was my cat during my (knee) recovery!

[Bonesmart.org] Sequin98's Pre-op Journey
 
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