Pre and Post Surgery Mama Nicole Tips and Protocols:
(For Out Patient Surgeries)

Pre-Surgery:

1. Cook up several soups and have them frozen and on hand in freezer.

2. Get ice before you have surgery so it is ready to use in the ice machine for home use. If you don’t have this machine, buy it from the surgery center or on-line BEFORE you go to surgery and bring it with you. It absolutely is worth it. Make sure you bring the ice machine with you to surgery and let the staff know so they will pack your injured area in the correct way directly following surgery. You can also liberate a cooler from somewhere in your closets and keep ice in the cooler on hand if your freezer is too full.

3. Schedule friends to cook meals and do errands for you ahead of time, ask a friend to do this for you so you don’t have to think about it and just tell them you want one, two or three meals a week delivered and let them handle that for you. Make sure you have a simple list of food allergies or preferences that you can email or give to folks, also coordinate picking up and dropping off times ahead of time.

4. Have house cleaners or friends come right before your surgery and perhaps schedule them an extra time during your convalescence. Important to have really clean home when healing.

5. Have massages and acupuncture scheduled within one day of surgery. Moving the blood through your body will help the toxins from general anesthesia move through and out of your body. Good practitioners will come to your home for the first week post surgery since moving you is not a good idea. If people want to help you and don’t know how ask them to donate $ for these services. If a lot of friends chip in, it won’t be too much for you or your primary partner to cover.

 What to Pack on the way to Surgery:

1. Ice Machine and all the parts connected to it.

2. Organic apple juice or sparkling cider to drink in the recovery room when they offer soda or something sweet which will have corn-syrup or other chemicals and not be what your body really needs, but it is important to have something to drink that is sweet to help your body adjust and wake up. Have your preferred drink ready and tell the nurses this is what you want instead of whatever they will offer you.

3. Some nuts or crackers that are for post surgery also, dried fruit or sliced apples with some lemon and cinnamon on them. The lemon and cinnamon will delight your taste buds and help you emerge from the post surgery fog/misery.

4. Stuffed animals, pillows, scarves, or whatever you need around you to feel safe and comfortable in the vehicles you will be traveling in.

5. Water bottle

6. Rescue remedy for yourself and your care-giver.

7. Music device or phone with play list and smaller ear-buds for during surgery. You can also record positive affirmations to have playing during surgery. This is really important and will also help you recover.

8. Favorite essential oil to help soothe and calm senses before and immediately after surgery.

9. Small nice bag with little notebook for medicine journal so you can write down when next pain pills can be taken and record all your medicines in one place instead of on various scraps of paper or on your electronic device, which may run out of juice or battery or whatever and not be handy when you need to know. This journal and bag will live next to you on the bed at home and all your vitamins and medicines will be in it, so they are in one place. The bag can hold also the essential oils and rescue remedy or homeopathic remedies you may be using.

On the Way to Surgery:

Remember to breathe and be sweet with whoever is your companion. Repeat positive affirmations like: “My surgery will go well and I will recover fully.” “Everything is going to be good. I am safe and in the hands of good doctors as well as the Holy One.” If you want to sing the angel song, surrounding yourself with angels on all sides, this is a great and calming thing to do on the way to surgery. Prayer of any kind or songs or music that is calming. Less talking and just holding of each other and calm energy are the best way to prepare. There is an excellent book out now called Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster by Peggy Huddleston that you may want to look into.

Immediately following Surgery, waking up:

Remember there is a wide variety and continuum for how people emerge from surgery. Some folks fall on the very far end and it is painful, confusing, scary and hard for them. These folks will need to have some food and drink available to help them ground as soon as possible, also perhaps something that smells really good, like a lavender dream pillow or essential oil that they love. Holding hands or touching the person as much as you can will also help.