Needing to have surgery is something that can make anyone feel anxious. Even if you’ve done your research and asked all the right questions of your doctor, the fact that you don’t know exactly what will happen and that you have to trust someone else – or rather, a team of other people – completely is unnerving. Plus, your health is so important that anything that relates to it can be nerve-wracking.
So that you can feel calmer about any surgery you might need, it’s best to prepare for it as much as possible. This will help you feel better about everything that’s about to happen and help soothe your fears. If anything were to go wrong, even though it’s unlikely, you can get advice and help from malpractice attorneys like Greg Hoag, so there is always going to be somewhere to turn, and knowing this can be a comfort, to begin with. Read on to find out how else you can feel better about undergoing surgery.
Make Travel Arrangements
If you’re already nervous about your surgery, you don’t want to make things worse by making yourself more stressed due to your transport issues. As soon as you know when your procedure is booked for, look at ways to safely get to and from the hospital to ensure you can arrive on time and ready for the operation.
If you’re staying in the hospital to recover, then you might be able to drive yourself and leave the car in the parking lot until you’re fit to go home or use public transport if you don’t drive. If your surgery is a day case, it would be better to have someone help you and drive you to and from the hospital. Whatever you prefer and whatever makes sense, arrange it well ahead of time and know precisely what time you need to leave home.
Pack A Bag
Just as you should arrange your transport as soon as you know when your surgery date is, you can also put a bag of essentials together and leave it, fully packed, so you simply need to pick it up on the way out of the door.
This bag will contain everything you’ll need for your hospital stay, including comfortable nightwear, toiletries, a change of clothes, your wallet, medication, chargers and devices, and a book, as well as anything else you might want to take. If this is ready ahead of time, you will feel much calmer when leaving the house.
Follow The Rules
In all cases of surgery, you will receive information in the form of a letter or email from the hospital detailing exactly what you need to do in order to be ready for surgery. Whatever the rules are, you must follow them exactly. In this way, you know you have done everything you can to be prepared.
Some rules could include how far in advance you should arrive for your surgery and whether you should eat or drink beforehand (and if not, when is the latest you can have your last meal and drink before your operation). Following these rules might not make much sense to you, but it’s crucial you do it; the medical professionals have deemed them necessary, so they must be there for a reason.
