Even the simplest and smallest surgery can create a long recovery period, whether it’s a shoulder replacement surgery or a rotator cuff surgery. If your loved one recently had surgery or she’ll have it soon, it’s crucial to know how to care for your spouse after surgery.
It’s an act of love to care for someone after a surgery, especially your wife or partner, and it’s something the other person is unlikely to forget about.
We will cover 4 tips for how to care for your wife after surgery, and these tips apply to any surgery, but especially for shoulder surgery.
1. Be Present During Her Recovery
The first tip for taking care of your wife after surgery has to do with being present during their recovery. This means, being by her side as much as you can while she’s still at the hospital and when she returns home.
Of course, you still need to continue with your typical day-to-day routine, but dedicating your free time to help her with something or just spending time by her side will make the process less scary and disorienting.
When someone goes under general anesthesia, they may have some short-term memory loss or be disoriented. Having a trusted face nearby can help relieve any anxiety.
It’s also simply nice to have someone by your side when you’re recovering from surgery, especially after you arrive home. Being by your wife’s side can help ease her mind and make her feel secure knowing there’s someone who can act if she suddenly doesn’t feel well.
Apart from this, it’s important to check in regularly by asking how she’s feeling. It can inform how you care for her, what you can do to make her more comfortable, and how recovery is progressing.
2. Create a Post-Surgery Recovery Space at Home
A hospital room will be full of equipment to look after surgery patients, in this case your wife. While that’s convenient medically, it may not be the most comfortable setting for your wife to recover. On the other hand, there likely isn’t a dedicated recovery space in your home. That’s why it’s important to create one.
Creating a post-surgery recovery space at home is one of the best things you can do to make her feel cared for and to increase her comfort. It can also decrease the possibility of re-injuring the shoulder or area and compromising the recovery process.
This means find a space in the home, whether that’s the bedroom or somewhere else, that can be temporarily transformed. Depending on the surgery, your wife may need to lay down for a long time or be propped up. The propping up is particularly important for reducing the chance of bed sores.
To achieve this, you can make sure the bed has many different sized pillows, so she can recline different amounts since her comfort will change over time. Another option is finding a small couch or recliner chair that can go into the bedroom or a short distance away.
It’s also important for her to have easy access to all her times post-surgery, so it might require a coffee table or night stand be moved around to be within easy reach. That way, you can reduce the amount of effort she might have to make for grabbing a book, water, fix her pillow, get up, or similar.
3. Make an Effort to Reduce Her Work Load
Whether your wife’s surgery was planned or something unexpected, a disruption in your daily routines will appear.
Certain responsibilities, chores, or commitments she has may have to postpone until her recovery has finished, and it would be ideal for you to lead those. Women often do most of the emotional and mental labor in straight relationships, meaning while they may not do every chore, they will often think through every chore that needs to be done.
This mental load is draining and can make the recovery process more challenging if she’s constantly thinking of what needs to be done in the home or with the kids.
A great way of taking care of her is to take on that mental load, managing her medication schedule, and doing the chores she’s normally responsible for. Especially because, as we’ve previously mentioned, there are some short-term side effects from anesthesia that impact memory and retention.
If that’s something you feel you don’t have time or energy for, after all, you’re now taking on the role of caregiver, it’s okay to look for help if it’s something you can afford. Platforms like Taskrabbit and others make it easy to find supplemental support.
Also, if there’s a particular way she likes things done and it’s not something she can do for herself at the moment (e.g., there’s a specific way she likes clothes folded), it would be a nice gesture to do it for her. It shows that you care about her, even if you may not understand the need for things to be done exactly that way.
It is best if you do it without asking, but if you want to make sure you’re doing things right or want to confirm that she’s okay with you taking care of her things, don’t hesitate to ask. Sometimes, even the smallest question can mean a lot, especially during her recovery period.
However, it’s important to not do everything for her. If there are things she can do and wants to do herself, it’s important to respect that and her desire to keep some independence.
4. Gift Her Proper Recovery Clothing
Our last and most important tip is gifting your wife proper post-surgery recovery clothing. After surgery, especially after shoulder surgery, getting dressed can become a nightmare. The area may need to be immobile and that makes it challenging to put on most clothing, let alone a bra.
A post-shoulder surgery bra can massively improve her life after surgery, even after the initial recovery period. An adaptive bra like the Springrose front closure Velcro bra will allow her to keep dressing independently, without pain, and feeling comfortable.
Wearing a bra after shoulder replacement surgery or post rotator cuff surgery is not recommended for the first few weeks after the procedure, but after that it’s important that she has a bra that won’t cause re-injury.
Putting on a bra after shoulder surgery is not easy, and by far the worst part is having to clasp it in the back. If you’re looking for the best bra for post-shoulder surgery, Springrose has adaptive, size-inclusive, and beautiful models and designs you can choose from to gift her.
This is the bra to wear after rotator cuff surgery and other procedures that might reduce her mobility for a while or permanently.
Other clothes should generally be loose. Her body might be feeling some sensitivity, soreness, or bloating, so it’s important to not have anything that can constrict blood flow. Front closing items and pieces you can step into are ideal.
Final Words
Surgery is scary for anyone, but the recovery process can be made better with a few tips. If you’re looking for how to take care of your wide after surgery, the most important thing to keep in mind is to be present, thoughtful, and attentive to her needs. Everyone simply wants their loved ones to look after them during a difficult time.