How necessary is a post-transplant caretaker?

[enginist]

Because hospitals are germ factories, the doctors here want recipients to be out of the hospital and back home in a couple of days.  They want them to be up and moving, at least as much as the pain meds allow.  They also want the patient to have a round-the-clock care provider for a period of two weeks, which is something I don't want or have immediate access to.  My brother, sisters, and most of my friends are working.  A stranger would be intrusive. 

The whole idea of a 24/7 caregiver is intrusive.  I'm sure that, post-transplant, I'd be able to hobble from my bed to the kitchen or the bathroom.  I live in a studio apartment in a high-rise with elevators.  The neighborhood is swarming with cabs, and the hospital is only four blocks away, so making appointments would be trivial.  Several grocery stores around here offer online ordering and convenient delivery.  I don't cook, but I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and other kidney-friendly foods, which are simple to prepare.  I could get a seat for the shower.  I could also get a medical alert system, like those that are used by the elderly who prize their independence.

So why do I need a caregiver?  What could go wrong?  Tell me, in my ignorance, what I may be missing?

[MooseMom]

Oh, that's a load of old cobblers.

My husband made himself available to take me to various post tx appointments, but apart from the time he took off for those, he went back to work pretty quickly.  My tx was on a Sunday morning, I was home by the following Wednesday afternoon, and he went back to work on Monday.  He employer sent him all the bumph for FMLA, but he didn't bother filling it out because he didn't need it.

But, I can say all of that because I didn't have any complications.  In my personal opinion, transplant surgery is really no different from any other major abdominal surgery.  I had to have a hysterectomy in 2008, and no one said a word about having to have round the clock care after THAT, despite the fact that it was much harder for me to recover from than the transplant.  My transplant was a fun fair compared to that.

You seem to have all of your bases covered.  I will say, though, that while I personally don't think 24 hour care is necessary, it IS nice to have someone around from time to time to do little things, like prepare a quick meal or even just to bring you some water and your meds.  Recovering from any kind of major surgery is tiring.  Maybe you could have a family member or a friend come by for an hour or so each evening for the first two weeks post tx?   Would that work for you?

[justagirl2325]

I was with my husband 24/7 for the first month as he had to continue to live in the city where he had the transplant for a month (over 1,000 miles from our home). 

But he could have got along without me.  I had to argue with him not to drive to his first follow up appointment 

He went back to work 4 weeks post transplant. 

I think the help was most useful remembering meds, doing laundry and cooking.  As the donor I was ok after a week and my mom looked after me that first week.

[enginist]

Okay, thanks.  I'll tell them what the voice of experience had to say.  For some reason, the sociologist is the biggest hardnose.

[UkrainianTracksuit]

I was with my husband 24/7 for the first month as he had to continue to live in the city where he had the transplant for a month (over 1,000 miles from our home). 

That was our situation too but we were away from home for a little over 2 months. They like to keep the SPK patients a little longer. All of that said, if it was a kidney only, I would have been "up and running" so to speak sooner. The pancreas caused the most discomfort, post-op nausea and pain. So, I needed a little help to sit up or get out of bed at times. That's it. I had home care for over a month come in because I had a wound infection to change bandages.

Besides all that, a 24/7 caretaker wasn't needed and I'll admit, got a little too annoying at times. A caretaker served the purpose for grocery or pharmacy runs, cooking, laundry (as noted) but it wasn't as if it couldn't have been done without one. If we were at home in our home city, it would have been a lot easier to go it alone.