Lose Control: Resource for Surgical Preparedness & The Importance of Being Informed

When the topic of surgery comes up, we all immediately cringe in terror. The most confident of persons lose their wits and worlds turn upside down. However, exactly what frightens us and how could this ever so familiar fact of life be made into a more digestible topic?

The facts of life are what they are: we born, we live, then life ceases. Along the way, we encounter the many nuances of what this life deals us. Illness is just another one of those facts of life. Through life’s many unknowns, humans panic due to the lack of one thing: control. When we lose control, or never gained it, we often spiral into a freefall. Some may be able to cope better than others; however, it is a hard pill to swallow knowing that no matter how hard you try, there is nothing that you can do to stop the train from derailing.

I have a personal connection to this feeling that manifested itself when my mother had to have emergency open heart surgery in 2015. For a woman who has never been extremely ill and always cared for the individuals around her, this was a terrifying blow. Not to mention that there was over 600 miles separating us at the time, as I lived in New York and she was still in our home state of North Carolina. This was also especially scary because we were unable to properly plan. What we assumed was a long bout with Bronchitis ended up being a leaky heart valve and needed to be immediately replaced.

As for surgery, one of the most effective ways to get a grasp on the situation is through preparation. Thankfully, though we weren’t able to plan as much as we would have liked, my mom was able to pull through the daunting surgery with only a little extended recovery time to remember in hindsight. However, had we known what we were facing, we would have been able to chart out her surgery and better prepare for that recovery period, void of any complications of course.

To help others facing upcoming surgeries or just interested in gaining knowledge on this topic, Weiss & Paarz Medical Malpractice pulled together a great guideline of average operations and recovery time which has information on procedures as common as Vasectomies, which take only 30 minutes to perform and a week to heal, to a Lumbar Spinal Fusion, which takes 3-4 hours to perform and 3-6 months to heal. Knowing your immediate outlook after surgery can help your healing process by preparing you mentally and allowing you to grasp a bit of the control you so desperately need.

Now for my fellow control freaks, this information is considerably valuable. Procedures such as Cesarean Sections, Total Knee Replacements, and other more common, less petrifying operations are covered as well. But what does this mean for you, fellow control freak? If anyone we know is due one of these surgeries, we can create a step-by-step recovery calendar! I'm talking food prep, monitoring visitation once your loved one returns home, the whole nine yards- down to the very hour! Though our methods are a touch of OCD mixed with a deity complex, our loved ones will that thank us in the end. Who better to care for them than you?