hiatal hernia surgery recovery

[Anonymous]

Cross posting here since I wasn't getting any response in the Health Forum

My mother will be 80 next month and is going to need hiatal hernia surgery in the next few weeks. She has been in horrible pain for the past year and has had two doctors tell her that surgery is needed. Does anyone have experience with what recovery will look like? She has been told she will be in the hospital for one night and then sent home. The challenge is that my parents live on their own and my father has very limited mobility so my mom does 95% of the day to day work. I live 10 hours away by car so I can't help on a daily basis. I plan to go and stay with them for a week when she has the procedure but I'd like to figure out what type of help they might need after I need to leave.

While I am at their house I plan to cook up a storm and fill their freezer with meals that they can easily reheat. I know what meals they would normally like but I'm wondering if there are meals that would be better for someone recovering from stomach surgery that I can fix as well.

[Anonymous]

Talk to her doctor about the recovery process as it depends upon how the surgery is done (open or laparoscopic). She may be very limited in her movement for a while, need help bathing and dressing, need the incision taken care of. Most likely, may not be allowed to lift anything more than a pound. If your father is very limited, then he'll need help, too, right? So between the two of them, they may need full-time help. You may need arrange for home nursing care.

[Anonymous]

Research home caregivers near them and broach how to pay them with your mom before the surgery. This will make you all more comfortable.

[Anonymous]

OP here- Thank you for the feedback. I will find out which kind of surgery she is having and broach the idea of having an aid come in. My mom will be open to the idea, my dad will resist the help. I will focus on that the help is for her and hopefully this will be a way to get someone into the house on an regular basis. They do have a cleaning lady that comes every other week. I will aim to increase that to every week and add in her doing the laundry. (This is a service she offers so is an option) I am also going to line up yard care for the spring/summer. Up until now my mom has been doing a lot of yard work and that needs to stop. They live on a wooded lot and there is a continuous need to pick up fallen branches and rake leaves. I'm making lists and starting my research now so I have options to show them when I get there in 2 weeks.