A neck or spine surgery can be exactly what you need to get back to doing all the activities you love, but that process isn’t going to happen overnight. In fact, it oftentimes takes weeks or months for someone to become completely independent again after a spine surgery, and it’s important that they have a good support system for this period when they may need some help with certain tasks.
If you have a loved one that you want to help after a neck or spine surgery, you’ve come to the right place for advice. In today’s blog, we share some tips for how you can help a loved one following a neck or spine surgery.
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Whether they’ll admit it or not, your loved one is going to be physically limited in the wake of their surgical procedure, and that can make daily life a lot more difficult. Here’s a look at some of the ways you can offer them assistance or support them in their recovery.
- Prepare Healthy Foods – Cooking likely won’t be easy after a spinal procedure, and that can mean that your loved one will rely on delivery or flash frozen options, which are oftentimes high calorie foods. Combined with the fact that they’ll be less active as they recover after their procedure, and it’s a recipe for easy weight gain. Help them get essential nutrients from food sources by taking over the cooking duties or preparing some healthy and easy to reheat options.
- Run Some Errands – Odds are your loved one had some daily or semi-regular duties that will be a lot harder or impossible to do in the immediate aftermath of their surgery. Offer to take over these responsibilities so that they can focus on their recovery. Whether that’s shopping for groceries, shuttling kids to and from school or practice, walking the dog or taking the trash out, help with some of these daily tasks that are currently much harder because they are recovering from surgery.
- Listen – Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone who is recovering from a surgical procedure is to simply provide an ear to listen to them. Whether you have conversations about anything other than their operation, or you listen to them talk about their frustrations or goals in regards to their surgery and recovery, being there to listen to someone can provide immense mental and emotional benefits, which are an essential part of a physical recovery. Give them a call or ask how they are doing semi-regularly so that they can talk about anything that’s on their mind.
- Help With Their Prescriptions – You can also be helpful by managing their prescriptions for them. Whether that means running to the store to fill their prescription or making sure they take their medication at the proper intervals, offer to help ensure they handle their medications appropriately.
- Be Optimistic And Encouraging – It’s not uncommon for patients to be a little sad or anxious following a surgical procedure because of their physical discomfort and limitations, which is why it’s so important to be a voice of optimism and encouragement. If you notice progress, let them know! If they start to focus on some of the negatives of their recovery, turn the conversation towards something positive. Remind them of all the things they’ll be able to do again once rehab has run its course. Let them know that you believe they can make a great recovery if they stick to their rehab plan. All of these comments can go a long way in improving their outcomes.
- Be A Chauffeur – Finally, offer to give them rides to appointments or other places if driving is difficult or impossible during their recovery. Let them know that giving them a ride is no problem so long as you know about their intentions as far in advance as possible, that way you can plan your schedule accordingly. Offer to drive them if they need help getting from Point A to Point B during their recovery.
If you do all of the above and your loved one trusts their operation to a skilled spine and neck specialist like Dr. Jackman, we’re confident that they’ll do great during their recovery. For more tips on helping someone after head or neck surgery, or to talk to a specialist about a spinal issue that you’re dealing with, reach out to Dr. Jackman and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.
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