Your Discharge

Your doctor will determine the day of your discharge and your healthcare team will help plan it. Please make arrangements for your transportation home prior to this day. If you are having difficulties arranging for transportation, a social worker can assist you. Please notify your nurse. During your stay, your healthcare team will discuss the details of your post-discharge care with you or your family, including your medications, wound care, instructions on specific activities, and any special dietary needs. They will also provide you with information on the resources and services available to assist you with your during your recovery.

Tips for returning home

Following spine surgery, returning home can present many challenges. You will likely be limited to the amount and type of activities you can perform. You may not be able to bend, twist, lift, or sit for long periods of time. This may make getting around the house a difficult proposition. Some things you will just have to forgo, but with modifications and assistance, you will be able to make life a little easier.

The car ride home:

Have the person picking you up from the hospital place a plastic garbage bag on your seat. This will assist you in getting in and out of the car, because you can slide instead of twist.

Bathing tips:

Use a bath mat so you won’t slip. Place a shower chair inside the shower, if possible. It will make showering much safer since you won’t be so steady on your feet. A long handled back brush will make it easier to scrub those hard to reach places. Instead of a bar of soap, use soap-on-a-rope or liquid soap. It’s too easy to drop a slippery bar of soap. Put your bathing necessities in a shower caddy, in an easy to reach place. That way, everything you need while bathing is in one place, within arms reach. A raised toilet seat will assist you in getting on and off the toilet with less discomfort.

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