Hi Dijo, and welcome to the board! :wave:
Your questions are good ones! I'm glad you're preparing ahead of time and thinking practically.
As far as equipment, you may or may not need a walker. I don't know if the hospitals in Australia do things like they do here in the U.S., but here the physical therapists in the hospital work with you for several days before you're discharged to make sure you'll be able to be self-sufficient when you get home. They'll make sure you can get up and down stairs and if you need a walker, you'll learn how to haul it with you on the stairs. Once you get home, will you be alone?
I did not need help getting into or out of bed at all. It wasn't easy, but I could do it. I also never needed help in the bathroom. Again, it wasn't easy, but I took my time and did just fine. I was not able to shower everyday due to low blood pressure issues, like passing out, but on days that I couldn't shower, I was able to wash at the sink without help.
The very most important tool to have is a grabber. Spend the money to get a good quality one. You'll use it often! Mine was worth its weight in gold the first day home! With your grabber, you'll be able to pick up things you drop, reach things from your bed that have slid out of reach (like those all-important remotes), and do a lot of things that you'd otherwise have to wait on someone else to do. I used my grabber to pick laundry out of the hamper an item at a time, then to transfer into the washer the same way. I also recommend having a satin or slippery type bottom sheet for your bed so you can slide to turn instead of fighting friction. It will be much less painful! Since you're having an anterior incision, get a firm little throw pillow or a folded up blanket to have over your stomach incision. Whenever you need to turn, cough, laugh, or sneeze, press down on it firmly but gently to "splint" your incision. That will also help to keep your pain down. A raised toilet seat is a great help, especially if you're tall. Read the thread at the top of the page called, "Post Surgery Tips," and you'll get a lot of other very practical suggestions.
If you'll have family merabers around, make sure they leave you food and drink (with a bendy straw) where you can easily reach them if they go out. They will need to be making meals for a while, not you! If you're going to be alone, stock your freezer with meals you can easily put in a microwave. You won't be able to bend, twist, or lift more than about 5 pounRAB for quite some time. Use paper plates so you don't have to wash anything. Keep it simple. I was sometimes alone and sometimes not, as my kiRAB are homeschooled but also have jobs and my husband only took off work for my surgery day. They were pretty good about making sure I had food, and we got dinners from people in our church for 3 months. But if I didn't have a family, I wouldn't have felt the need to receive meals. I could have put something small into the microwave if I had to. I could not have prepared meals for the whole family! If you have bottled drinks, I recommend loosening the caps ahead of time. You may not have the strength it takes to twist off a tight cap after surgery.
You'll be on pain meRAB after surgery, which tend to cause constipation, so make sure you have high fiber fooRAB available. I ate a lot of prunes! Since you're concerned about weight, get the high calorie fooRAB out of the house before you even go in for the surgery. Replace them with low calorie fooRAB and when you want to eat, get a reasonable portion and put the rest away, then go lay back down to eat it. You won't want to be getting up over and over, as that's the hardest part of this, so you won't be tempted to go get another serving. You need to eat as healthy as possible, as your body will be trying to heal, so don't diet, just eat reasonably.
There are a lot of us here who have had fusion surgery. If you have other questions, we'll do our best to help you. We're not doctors, but we have lots of experience!
I wish you the best,
Emily
