Question for the single peeps???

If you live by yourself, how long did you have a "support" person stay with you after you got home from the hospital?

I'm not single, but my partner works away from home for 3 weeks and then is home for 3 weeks.

We scheduled my surgery for his 3 weeks home, just in case I needed additional assistance, but I was doing the majority of things on my own within the first week. 

About a week.  My boyfriend and my mom took turns. He stayed in the hospital with me through Monday. My mom is here until Friday.  My boyfriend picks back up on Friday through Monday.  Then, I'm on my own. 

I have some friends, a retired married couple, who are nomads - they travel around the world, find a cheap apartment and stay for a few months, and when they're in the U.S. they'll usually stay with me for a few weeks.  I asked them to come and stay with me for my post-surgery period, and they did, but it turns out I didn't need their help at all.  They were here and took care of my pets while I was in Mexico having my surgery (a total of four nights), and during that time they went to the drugstore to get a couple things I thought I might need when I got home.  But once I did get home, I was fine.  I stayed in the hospital for three nights after surgery, though, and I think that made a difference.  It's once of the reasons I picked the surgeon I did.

No. The last thing I wanted was someone getting underfoot, or even sitting around and looking at me sympathetically. I certainly didn't want to feel responsible for entertaining someone, and I didn't want them to feel like they couldn'****ch tv or listen to music or something if I was napping. Plus, it was good and healthy for me to take care of myself and my pets rather than parking my butt in a chair/in bed and not moving as much as I should.

The one thing I did make allowances for was changing the kitty litter. I didn't have clearance from my surgeon to lift that much for a few weeks after surgery, so I had my housekeeper come by for an extra visit to change the kitty litter. I also made sure that all my laundry was done, the floors were clean, the yard care was up to snuff etc. right before surgery so I didn't have to worry about anything too taxing.

Now, I am a very independent person by nature -- I prefer to live on my own and find having other people in my house pretty annoying after a few hours (it's been nice seeing you - now get out!) so if you really enjoy company, you may have a different take on the issue. I will say my surgeon encouraged me to do as much as possible for myself rather than having someone "care take" for me, whether or not I had someone at home with me.

My partner was with me and I really only needed help days 1-4.  Good luck. 

My mom was just going to stay 3 days after the surgery, but I was super super weak and she ended up staying two extra days.  By day 4 out I started feeling a lot better.

I didn't have anyone stay with me, I made sure my fridge and kitchen were fully stocked with broths and soups and water and juice and that was it. I'm a pretty independent person in general though. 

I live alone...but my son and his sweet wife absolutely insisted I stay in their spare room for my first week. It was wonderful and I am so glad for that time. I could probably gone home after 3 or 4 days but they felt better having me there.  😊

My mom came and stayed with me.  She got there on Sunday (for my Monday AM surgery) and left on Thursday.  I came home from the hospital Tuesday afternoon.  I live in the basement apartment of a home and my landlord is a friend.  She and her daughter were there as a safety net if I needed them, but I was pretty good.  I made sure I had everything I needed before the procedure.  I'm pretty independent, so I didn't want people fussing over me (weird, since I'm a nurse!).