My husband just had colon surgery, and we were just told by the doctor that he no longer needs to stay in the hospital.Are we really going to be able to manage his care at home?

71. My husband just had colon surgery, and we
were just told by the doctor that he no longer
needs to stay in the hospital.Are we really
going to be able to manage his care at home?

With training and reinforcement from inpatient staff
and/or visiting nurses, patients and their family caregivers
can learn to do injections, manage the intravenous
infusion of fluids, and operate feeding tubes or drains
on their own.

Nancy’s comment:

A visiting nurse can show the caregiver and family simple
nursing skills that they can use when home healthcare persons
aren’t present. These include using a draw sheet to
move a patient in bed, how to pick up someone who has
fallen, helping the patient with a bed bath, or how to give
a massage. It’s important to know how to do these things
properly, particularly if you’re caring for an elderly person
or someone who is physically frail.

In recent years, hospital admissions have gotten
shorter, in part because patients can now be sent home
to manage their care themselves. With training and
reinforcement from inpatient staff and/or visiting
nurses, patients and their family caregivers can learn to
do injections, manage the intravenous infusion of fluids,
and operate feeding tubes or drains on their own.

Sometimes this is for a short time, until the problem
resolves and the patient no longer requires the treatment
or care. Sometimes, when there are permanent
physical changes, as in the creation of a colostomy that
diverts solid waste through a surgically created opening
in the abdomen, the care regimen can be permanent.

Take steps right from the beginning to prevent yourself
from becoming overwhelmed. For example, meet with
the nurses and physicians in charge of your husband’s
care as soon as possible during his hospitalization
and establish realistic goals. Keep in mind that your
husband’s psychological and physical adjustment to
surgery—and your adjustment as a caregiving partner—
are not going to occur overnight. Pace yourself. If your
husband has the medical need, he will most likely have
a home care nurse visit, and possibly other care services,
after he is discharged from the hospital to provide
additional instruction and support. Furthermore, community
support groups such as the American Cancer
Society (ACS) and other agencies can help you and
your spouse adjust to body changes after surgery and
other treatments.

It’s not uncommon for patients and family caregivers
to be anxious prior to discharge from the hospital.

They are losing the emotional safety net of round-theclock
care from doctors and nurses. Going home and
assuming responsibility for your loved one’s care will
be less intimidating if you focus on getting answers to
the following questions before you leave the hospital.

If a nurse’s visit at home has been arranged, it pays to
go over the following questions with the nurse again:

• What can I expect at home?
• What will I have to do?
• What are the potential problems that could arise?
What are the warning signs?
• When should I seek professional help, and whom do
I call?

These questions are based on a problem-solving
approach advocated by American Cancer Society in
one of their publications, Caregiving: A Step-by-Step
Resource for Caring for the Person with Cancer at Home
(2000). This book, which we highly recommend, also
has numerous chapters devoted to physical conditions
(such as pain, fever, and diarrhea) that might occur at
home and explains how to manage them.