My neighbour is very elderly (about 90 I think). She is quite remarkable for her age, does all her own cooking and cleaning, takes herself off for days off etc. She is incredibly independent mostly because she's perfectly capable but she's also got the classic older person stoicism - she will bite your head off and tell you she is not old if she senses you're questing her ability. She almost never accepts help when offered.
She has pretty much zero family except for her son who lives with her. He works away for weeks at a time but, even when he's there, he's useless. He's a grade A dickhead - he doesn't even take her to the shops or get food in for her in the dead of winter. We can pretty much rule him out of offering help, despite the fact he lives there.
So, on to the point! She is having a hysterectomy in a couple of weeks. I believe it will be laparoscopic & vaginal removal which is good news as I believe that has a quicker recovery time. I have no experience of this either personally or with anyone else I know. Can anyone give me an idea of how well/unwell she will be when she comes out of hospital? How long will it be before she can get around for herself? Will she be able to get out of bed or go up/down stairs? If not for how long?
Secondly, apart from shopping & cooking for her, is there anything else I should do either because she will need it or just because it's a nice thing to do for someone in this position?
I am massively out of my depth with this sort of thing so any thoughts or advice is welcome. Thanks!