Get ready before surgery day
The week before shoulder surgery is the time to set up your home. You’ll have one arm for several weeks, and sleep is usually the hardest part. Here’s what patients say they were glad to have, starting with how you’ll sleep.
1. A way to sleep that isn’t a recliner
Most patients are told to sleep propped up for weeks. Decide now whether that will be a recliner after shoulder surgery, a wedge pillow for shoulder surgery with extra pillows, or a support made for shoulder surgery. Restore You supports your back and holds your arm so you can sleep in your own bed; order it before surgery so it’s ready the first night home.
2. Clothes you can put on with one arm
Button-front or zip-front shirts a size larger than usual, loose pants with an elastic waist, and slip-on shoes. Put the operated arm in first and take it out last.
3. Help in the shower and bathroom
A shower chair, a long-handled sponge and a pump bottle of soap make one-handed washing easier. Ask your surgeon when you can get the incision wet.
4. Ice packs and a few small things
Ice packs your surgeon approves, a phone charger with a long cable for the bed, and pre-made meals for the first week. Skip anything your surgical team already gives you, such as the sling.
Buying for someone having shoulder surgery
If you’re shopping for a husband, wife or parent, the most useful thing you can buy is help with sleep, because that’s the part patients talk about most. Restore You arrives ready to use with free standard shipping in the U.S. Order it before surgery day so it’s on the bed the first night home.