Hoping someone has some advice for me My 84 year old mum had surgery 2 weeks ago and although eating well has lost a further 1.2kg after coming out of hospital. She was very active prior to surgery and did quite a bit of walking (albiet slow) with her wee dog. She has been in bed most of this time and is only walking a little each day up and down the hallway. Is this normal? She thinks she is doing quite well and keeps telling me "its only been 2 weeks". I also think the anaesthetic has made her quite muddled. Im not sure how to proceed with her as im happy if she needs this extra time to recover but dont want her to lose her strength. She has post polio effects as well. Should I push her more to get up and dressed etc. She is staying with me at the moment and although she wants to go home I dont think she is up to it yet. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
At her age, your Mum knows what she is doing. She has had major surgery. And, the anesthetic can muddle older folks. It can take a long time for it to work its way out of her system. Each person recovers from surgery differently. Let her recover at her own pace. I can understand that you don't want her to lose her strength--but pushing her to be more active could do more harm than good. Remember that for some healthy people of a reasonable age the change is so sweeping that they need many months to recover!
As for wanting to go home, she's probably not up to it. I suggest that you give her a bit of space and see if she changes her mind about wanting to leave. It's good that she wants to be independent, though.
Thanks Lynda, great advice, just wanted to know if im doing the best thing for mum to aid her recovery
I'm sure you are! Do you have her little dog there with you? What's the dog's name? I love dogs!
Yes I do....hes gorgeous!
Well, it was good of you to let her bring him. Many people wouldn't have! xx
Oh gosh yes, never any thought of him not being there with mum. He is a gorgeous devoted wee toy poodle and we have 3 of our own plus two cats lol and a huge house, so no problem at all. They all play together and I walk them at nights after work at the park
How wonderful! Hope your Mom gets well soon!
Thanks Lynda...Mum is getting stronger every day
For the first week at least after my surgery I didn’t really go out. Just didn’t feel like it. Took a good couple of weeks to start to feel like myself and have more energy. I’d say the weight loss is probably because her body is using calories to help her heal. I basically lived on toast and soups for a good week or so.
Definitely wouldn’t push her to do any more than she feels comfortable doing. Let her take things at her own pace but maybe give her some space to make sure she doesn’t feel like a burden. That way she may stay longer which is always good 👍🏼😘. Hope your mum gets well soon xx
Thanks Scottie, I know you are right, she needs to heal at her own pace. She does appear to be getting stronger. Thankyou for taking the time to write