3 Tips For Helping An Elderly Parent Recover After Surgery

9 August 2016

Jaime Allen

Following surgery, your elderly parent can choose to recover in an assisted living facility or remain home. If your parent wants to recover at home, you and your family need to take measures to ensure his or her recovery stays on track. Complications could mean your parent ends up back in the hospital. Here are some tips for helping your parent through his or her recovery.

Prepare Your Parent's Home for Recovery

Depending on the type of surgery your parent had, he or she might have difficulty navigating through it. Your parent could also have trouble with accessing items he or she needs on a daily basis. Before you bring your parent home, take the time to prepare it for his or her return.

For instance, moving utensils, pots, and pans to lower levels will enable your parent to prepare a meal with ease. You could also install hand railings in the bathtub and near the toilet so that he or she can use the fixtures without the risk of falling.

In addition to these measures, make sure your parent's home is well-stocked with essentials. It is easier for your parent to follow any dietary restrictions that might be in place if he or she has the food in stock.

Get the Family Involved

Caring for an elderly parent after surgery can sometimes be a 24-hour job. If one person is left with that responsibility, he or she can quickly burn out. A stressed out caregiver can make careless mistakes that could be harmful to both him or her and your parent.

It is important that more than one family member is involved in the care of your parent. Work with your family to create a schedule that allows for everyone to chip in and help. Even if the family has designated one person as the chief caregiver, he or she needs occasional breaks.

Know When to Get Help

Despite good intentions, caring for an elderly parent after surgery can sometimes be more difficult than the family anticipated. Unless action is taken, the family can quickly burn out and the elderly parent can sometimes feel like a burden.

In-home nursing care can provide your parent with the daily help he or she needs. In addition to alleviating the stress on the family, your parent might feel more comfortable with a professional, like one from Ameristaff Nursing Services, assisting him or her.

Talk to your parent to learn if there are other measures your family can take to help him or her recover.

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