When someone has a stroke or undergoes treatment for a chronic disease, it may be hard to manage daily activities. Postoperative care can help fulfill your needs.  

After a hospital stay, a gradual return to your normal routine is recommended. It’s important to follow doctor’s orders as advised. Keep aftercare appointments and take all prescription medications as ordered.

In some cases, you may not be able to care for yourself right after a hospital stay. If you’ve had surgery, chemotherapy, or treatment for a chronic disease or illness, it may be difficult to manage daily tasks. Postoperative care is the care that you receive following a surgical procedure, which includes pain management and wound care. Postoperative care often starts right after surgery and may continue after you are discharged from the hospital.

If you are planning to have elective surgery, ask your doctor about how long your recovery may be and what you will and will not be able to do. Then call your insurance company, whether it’s a private company or Medicare, and ask about the home care benefits that your policy covers. Your insurance company can give you a general sense of the services to which you are entitled. If you have a long-term care policy, it may cover temporary home care.

Even seemingly straightforward procedures, such as C-sections or hip replacements, can involve longer-than- expected recuperation times. Just because you have been discharged from the hospital doesn’t mean that you are back to normal and able to care for yourself. With postoperative care, an experienced caregiver will be at your home to handle daily tasks like medication management, preparing meals, and changing bandages. Help with these tasks means that you’ll have more time you need to recover at home, often faster than you thought.