Preparing for Plastic Surgery - Tips for a Simpler Recovery

Plastic surgery can put the brakes on your lifestyle for a while as you recover from the procedure and allow your body to heal. Preparing your household and your family for this transitional time is one of the main ways you can ensure a smooth recovery period and a simple transition back to normal life. You will not regret being prepared!

First of all, you will want to line up any childcare you might need. Obviously you will need someone to care for your children (or pets) on the day of your plastic surgery. However, you should plan for someone to care for them in the days immediately following the procedure. At the very least, someone should be "on call" and ready to come at a moment's notice should they be needed. Also, take some time to arrange transportation to school, sports/music practice, and other activities. Having this cared for ahead of time will relieve a lot of possible stress later.

Next, plan a menu for the week following your procedure. Purchase any needed groceries and prepare any meals that can be made in advance. Do not forget to plan items for school lunches, healthy and easy snacks for yourself, and any special functions that your family needs to attend (with our without you). You might find it helpful to plan crock pot meals that require little effort so that your spouse or older children can handle that responsibility with a little verbal assistance.

You will also want to prepare a space in your home as your "recovery" area. Purchase any needed supplies such as extra tissues, reading materials, a water bottle, heating pad or ice packs, lip balm, etc. and have these things arranged and ready for your arrival back home.

The last aspect of your life that will benefit from some planning is your financial needs. Pay any bills that you can ahead of time, and write out the ones that need to be mailed in the week or so after your plastic surgery. If you pay your bills online, go ahead and set up the payments to automatically occur so that you do not forget while you are recovering.

If you live alone, you may also want to consider having your mail held unless a friend is able to come over and bring the mail in to you each day. You want to remain safe while you are convalescing, and having a lot of mail in your mailbox could lead someone to believe you are not at home and open yourself up to a home intruder or worse.

Following these ideas does not guarantee a complete and successful recovery, but they should help maintain some level of sanity while you are otherwise unable to complete daily tasks and manage your home.