When you know you’re about to walk into a hospital to have major surgery performed on your ankle, you might only be focused on one thing: imaging what life will be like after you have your ankle surgery.
If you’ve never had ankle surgery before, then you might think that your life will be on pause for the next few months. And in a way, it will be. You’ll definitely have to get used to moving around your home and office. You may have to find new modes of transportation because your ankle cast prevents you from driving around. And you may even have to put those beach vacation plans on hold – after all, no one deserves the torture of getting sand in their cast!
But if you think that life after ankle surgery will be grim and miserable, take heart: if you prepare for the surgery, recovery can be relaxing, hassle-free, and – dare we say it? – even enjoyable.
So if you want to breeze through your ankle surgery recovery time, you need to make the most of ankle surgery preparation. Luckily for you, we have a checklist that will put an end to any questions you might have.
Read on, take note, and start your preparations – and you may even actually enjoy your ankle surgery recovery time!
Transportation to and from your home, as well as the hospital. You may know that you need someone to drive you back from the hospital, but what about all those times you need to run errands or go to work? Work out a carpool plan with a generous coworker or enlist a family member to drive you around when you need to run errands. Try to limit the amount of activity you’ll need to do directly after your ankle surgery, as you may not be ready to deal with transportation and mobility a week after your procedure.
Preparing healthy meals before your ankle surgery. Let’s face it – the last thing you want to do when you groggily stumble back from your procedure is to deal with cooking a meal in the kitchen. If you live alone, consider cooking up a massive batch of meals ahead of time. You may want to make a massive pot of pasta, bake a pound of chicken breast, and cook up various sauces. Buy pre-made salads, boiled eggs, and granola for easy-peasy breakfasts and lunches.
Call up your insurance company to ask how much of your prescriptions, follow-up appointments, and mobility devices will be covered by your plan. Be sure to get an exact outline of how they’ll cover these expenses and what your responsibilities will be. After all, you don’t want to encounter any nasty financial surprises when you discover that your prescriptions cost as much as a weekly paycheck.
Get your chosen mobility device well ahead of your ankle surgery procedure; in fact, if possible, we suggest that you leave at least a few days between receiving your mobility device and the procedure. That way, you have enough time to accommodate for potential late deliveries and any mistakes by your insurance company.
Splash out on movies, TV shows, and other forms of entertainment. Let’s face it – you’re going to be stuck on the couch for more than a few weeks. Make it an enjoyable time by catching up on your favorite shows, movies, and reading a few books on your must-read list!
When it comes to ankle surgery preparation, you don’t have to go in blind. Use this checklist to ensure that your recovery time will be a restful and relaxing one.