It is definitely more common to have a friend who has had knee or hip replacement than total shoulder replacement surgery, reverse or not. We might even have visited the knee or hip patient in the rehabilitation facility where many of them went when they left the hospital. While we all would rather be home in our own surroundings under these circumstances, sometimes a nursing home, Rehabilitation facility, can be the best choice. If we live in a multistory home, if we don't have someone at home to help us immediately post op, or if we have concurrent health issues that make our recovery more complicated...we might be better off taking advantage of our medicare allotment for inpatient nursing care. Even in spite of my hospital orthopedic coordinator's admonition that one's risk of contracting post surgery infection is greater in a nursing facility than at home!
But, we shoulder surgery patients insured by medicare do NOT qualify for this coverage! Unlike the knee or hip patient, we are considered perfectly ambulatory. Our shoulders might hurt, it might be hard to dress, we might be sleeping in a recliner for a while, we might even feel a bit wobbly for the first few days. But we can walk and that makes all the difference. So clear a path from the bed to the bathroom, remove those hazardous items from the stair steps, and pick up that throw rug that everyone trips over.
As a matter of fact, your recovery will be faster and easier the more you walk around. Just be careful.
http://youtu.be/RGQmvPSjrpk
Archive timeline: 2014: May and June - preparing for surgery, July - surgery and post op problems, August - recovery and physical therapy, September - thinking medically, October--
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