Preparing for Surgery: How I Prepped My Home

Author of How to Prep When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course

As many of you know, I’m undergoing a major surgery on my ankle this week that requires tendon grafts, screws, and bone saws. It’s a lot more extensive than I ever expected, but I want it to be fixed right so I can eventually get moving again. As an active person, the past year’s limitations have been very difficult. Preparing for surgery has been interesting (and a little bit expensive.) I have been prepping my house for the aftermath, during which I have weeks of bed rest and more weeks of non-weight bearing.

I am keeping the equipment because I think that it could also come in handy post-SHTF. We always expect to be hale and hearty throughout those times, but life certainly has a way of happening, and there are a few items that may be of assistance then. Below, I’ll tell you how I’m preparing for the weeks of immobility.

Preparing to eat healthy

I have been cooking up a storm and freezing meals that only need to be thawed and popped into the microwave. I’m putting them away in batches of two servings. Chili, soup, casseroles, and meat dishes are all in my freezer. I have a nice variety of frozen veggies to have with them.

Preparing for surgery should also include giving you the best possible nutrition for recovery.

I prepped a week’s worth of fresh vegetables in my fridge, and my daughter will restock that tray for me. I’ve always thought it was super important to focus on nutrition while you’re healing, so my focus is on high protein and lots of vegetables.

I have a cooler that will go beside my bed for little snacks like veggies or cheese and to keep drinks cold. The cooler fits into the basket of my little knee scooter, which I’ll tell you about in a moment.

Preparing the bathroom

I live in an apartment with a relatively small bathroom. There’s a shower, toilet and sink in there, obviously. I had been keeping my cat’s litter box in there, too, but it would make it really difficult to get in and out of the shower with one foot while that was in place. I relocated the litter cabinet to an out-of-the-way spot.

I made a few purchases for the bathroom. I have a little stool like this one, which fits nicely in my shower. I already had a nice grippy loofah shower mat to add traction. I have a reusable cast cover to keep the surgery site and the splint dry (so much easier than trash bags). I invested in my friend’s suggestion of these rinse-free sponges that she uses when camping.

I also got a safety rail thing that attaches to the toilet to help me get up and down while one-footed. Because I rent, installing stuff into the walls would of course be a no-go. This provides the support I need for the first little while and can be easily removed when I no longer require the assistance.

Preparing the bedroom

I will be mostly in my room for the first few weeks so I made some modifications to make life easier. First, I moved the furniture around where there’s a straight shot from the side of the bed to the bedroom door. I put some wide-legged, jammy bottoms and comfy tee shirts in a basket so I don’t have to go digging through drawers or closets.

I repurposed a wheeled cart as a bedside entertainment center. It has puzzle books, little hooks to organize cords for devices, markers, pens, sketch pads, novels, yarn and crochet hooks, and an embroidery project. The top shelf holds medications, moisturizer, and other small essentials, and also has room for a drink. Small baskets hang off the cart to hold the television remote and my phone.

I have a really great lap desk that I use regularly. I’ve had mine for a couple of years and it’s always useful. Some trays we’ve had for years that remind me of school lunchroom trays will help keep any crumbs or spills corralled. I have lots of pillows, including one of those reading pillows with arms. I think it’s important when spending this much time in bed to differentiate some between night and day.

Finally, on the recommendation of my surgeon, I got this leg elevation pillow. It was far cheaper on Amazon than on the medical site on which he showed it to me.

Preparing for surgery in the rest of the house

I have moved furniture in the rest of my apartment to make nice wide pathways. I pushed the kitchen island against a wall to make the route across the kitchen easier and I turned my desk the other direction to make more space there as well. I have a smaller elevation pillow I can use once I can sit in the living room again.

Upon a reader’s recommendation, I got a reacher-grabber like this. It will help pick things up off the floor or grab things from high shelves as needed.

The big purchase was a knee scooter for getting around more easily. They did dispense crutches, but those can be a real bear to get around with. A knee scooter will allow me ease of motion and I can transport things easily in the included basket. I was shocked to find that the place for my knee is rock hard, so I added this washable memory foam cover for it.

Other preparations

I did a deep cleaning of my apartment to get everything spic and span before the big day. Medications for pain relief, as well as antibiotics, have been picked up from the pharmacy and loaded into the pill organizer. Ice packs are in the freezer, the fridge is cleaned out, and I’ve done everything possible to get as prepared as I can.

My budget is tight, so spending money on things like this as I am preparing for surgery was a bit stressful.  Some of these purchases were expensive, but I felt like they would really help in the long run. Also, they can be put away for later if a family member or I need these items again.

This will be my last post for a little while. My daughter will let you know tomorrow or Friday how things went, but I’m going to take a few days to get a handle on things before I post articles again. The Saturday Shenanigans post will definitely be going on this weekend, but there won’t be a Survival Sunday email.

In answer to two questions that have been in my inbox:

My PO Box mailing address for cards is:

What about you?

Have you ever had to prepare for a long-term recovery? Were there additional things that made life easier for you? Do you have any recommendations or suggestions? What would you do if you were preparing for surgery?

Let’s discuss it in the comments section.

About Daisy

Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2)  The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.

Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.