1. Someone will need to stay with you the first couple of nights: You will need help with basic things such as showering, going to the bathroom and changing clothes. My parents stayed with me. I remember calling out to my Dad to help me get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I consider myself fairly tough but this surgery will humble you. After a week or so you should be fine if someone comes over and checks on you a few times of day.
2. Get a toilet seat riser and stool: The hospital provided the toilet seat riser for me. Your leg will be locked out straight so you will need the stool to prop it up when you go to the bathroom. Also you will need to have a shower stool to sit on in the shower if you don't not have a bathtub. Standing up to take a shower will not be possible for at least 2 months. Here is my bathroom set up:
3. Stock up on books and movies: Boredom will set in and that has surprisingly been one of the most difficult things for me to deal with.
4. Get in good shape before surgery: If you need to lose some weight, lose it. If you need to work on strength and conditioning, do it. This will take a toll on your body and months of inactivity following the surgery will lead to atrophy.
5. I recommend yoga prior to surgery: You will be on crutches for at least 8 weeks. During this time it's essential not to fall or stumble on your bad leg since the graft is very fragile. Having good balance is of the utmost importance. It highly unlikely that you will never stumble or trip while on crutches so having the ability to balance will really help with this. Also, practice with your crutches before surgery if you've never used them. A fall in the early stages could damage the graft.
6. Going back to work: I will have had 2 months off from work. During the first 6 weeks you will be in a constant passive motion (CPM) machine which will bend your knee to stimulate cartilage growth and prevent scar tissue. My rehab protocol said I need to do this 8-10 hrs a day. So with PT sessions and the CPM I didn't have time to go into work. However, I physically felt like I could sit at a desk somewhat comfortably for a few hours a day at 3 weeks.
7. Driving: I would have felt comfortable driving after about 3 weeks. However, you need to be off narcotics to drive. Also my surgery was on my left leg. As far as the right leg I would think it would be several weeks before you could drive. I have a manual car so I will be buying a new car since it will be several months before I am able to safely push in clutch without damaging the graft.
8. Pain medication: Take at the first on set of pain. Don't wait until it gets really bad. It is much harder to get rid of pain when it is very uncomfortable because the pain meds take awhile to work.
9. Have a social network: Invite friends/family over. Although you may feel bad and think you look terrible (I didn't shower much in the beginning) don't turn down social visits. They will help overcome feelings of depression and loneliness. I had my surgery and first 2 months of recovery out of town from where I lived but my parents were there to help out and keep me company. Communicating with friends over the phone was very helpful in keeping my spirits up.
10. A wheelchair is handy: See if your insurance will cover a rental. I had a wheelchair with a trough that allowed my leg to rest in an extended position. The wheel chair allowed my to get out and do a few things.
11. Stairs: If you have stairs in your house I recommend moving to one floor. Stairs are doable on crutches but if you can avoid them, it's better. It's not worth risking a fall and damaging the graft.
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