About hip replacement?

[hippidyhiphip]

Mother is in her 70s. Her neighbour 3 doors down is 85.
Her neighbour is having a hip replacement in a few weeks time and they are sending her home with no care plan and with no family the day after the operation.
Consultant has said as long as she can climb 3 steps then she's allowed home. My mum is at the end of the phone for her friend, but I'm worried she's taking too much on and she'll be roped into being a carer.
Friend lives in a cottage with very steep narrow stairs to the upstairs floor. She has no bed or toilet downstairs.
Does anyone have any experience of the help her friend may need? She's happy to cook friend meals etc, but not the idea of intimate care etc.
Will she be able to climb up to bed, make food/snacks, get on and off a toilet for example?
Should there be a care package in place?

Admittedly I was a lot younger but was discharged after 2 nights to be home alone. O T arrived an hour later with a raised seat for the toilet and a grabber to pick things up off the floor. They watched me use the bannister to haul myself up the stairs then buggered off. I didn't have any more appointments until the stitches were taken out after a couple of weeks by a visiting nurse and I was discharged four weeks to the day after the operation, where I was passed fit to drive. I returned to work that day too.

Active recovery will go.in or something similar where u live. Its care 4 times per day for 12 weeks whilst assessed and recover its free and facilitates discharge

Ok thanks all. I'll get my mum to check again what is happening re toilet seats and chair raisers etc.

The neighbour may need help for at least a few days with a few things. A great many elderly people cope home alone with no help apart from District Nurse visits and don't need a care plan. Much depends on how provident the neighbour has been and how used she is to coping with restricted mobility. Some 85 year olds will have made all necessary arrangements themselves (stuffed freezer with enough splendid home cooking to last a family of four for three months,hired a cleaner,booked grocery delivery,installed emergency alert system, raised toilet seat and frame,walk in shower,bed and chair at good height ,bedroom mini fridge,kettle,wi-fi booster and TV,] leaving your mum just to fetch ice cubes out of lower parts of the freezer for the G & Ts and help eat the biscuit mountain . The main problems are likely to be the stairs if there are not good handrails at both sides , not being able to bend below waist height,not having raised bed,chair and toilet seat,lack of accessible shower ,the neighbour being completely unprepared. I'd want to be sure OT had assessed the house. Most people seem to find stairs easier immediately after hip replacement although they do need to use the technique the physios tell them.

I had a hip replacement 5 years, my parents came and lived with me on and off for 6 weeks to help. I didn't have ot help but I had to measure my bed, chairs, toilet etc and got a raised toilet seat, gripper and shoe horn.

I ended up staying in 4 nights as my blood pressure dropped to much and I kept passing out when they tried to get me up and moving.

I was only let out when I'd been to loo myself, walked up and down the ward and up and down stairs. I used 2 crutches for first 2 weeks, then dropped down to 1 for another 2 weeks.

I had to keep going back to the hospital for dressing changes as my wound kept leaking.

But it gave me a new lease of life. (Not saying this would happen to your mum's ndn but) I cycled from London to Paris a year later.

Oh and I only had a shower over bath so it took me a week to be able to wash my hair and my mum had to help me. Likelihood of your mum's ndn having suitable bathing equipment is probably high but it would be worth a check. Getting in and out of a bath is a no no for at least 2 weeks

She's asked my mum to take her into hospital and collect her and take her home

I'd encourage her to see what hospital transport is available for going home. If they have one of those minibus type ambulances with a lift at the back, she'll find it much easier than getting in and out of an ordinary low car. My mum was taken home by hospital transport, and then booked it for her first couple of outpatient appointments. I think she was entitled to it for a certain number of weeks after her operation.

If she was coming to our hospital, she would be sent a form asking about her home, support, furniture heights etc etc. She would then get a phonecall from one of our OT team discussing what she is likely to lead and it would be ordered prior to surgery.
Post op, her mobility would be assessed, her ability to do full flight of stairs assessed and her ability to wash/dress herself assessed. Shopping and meals will be discussed and she may be offered meals on wheels for a while if she is worried how she will manage initially. If she struggles with anything there will be help set up prior to her discharge.