Prepare for worst-case scenario
Make sure your will is up to date and current, finances at least organised so that if someone has to sort them out, it won’t be too big a battle. Consider investing some money into a funeral fund.
Prepare for the far more likely better-case scenario
Have a think about what you’ll do during recovery, when you’ll have little energy and possibly a short attention span.
- Where will you sleep (if you usually sleep with a partner, you might want to make other arrangements for a few weeks)?
- Who’ll do the housework, shopping, cooking, and running around making your every wish come true?
- What will keep you entertained?
- What can you do to stay feeling busy and/or useful?
The last point may seem laughable – but it’s common for people recovering from open heart surgery to undergo periods of depression. The change in lifestyle is quite pronounced for most people, and the recovery time is long. For others, the depression can kick in not during the official recovery time, but later, when they’re ‘recovered’ but not yet back to feeling ‘normal’. I’m hoping to write an article dealing with the topic of post-op depression soon… once I get some ideas together.
Spiritual organisation
For some, this might be as simple as getting someone from church to visit at hospital and at home. For others, there may be specific religious rites to go through, or a general confession/cleansing. You may want to ask people to pray for you or send healing energy. For the non-religious, consider simply asking people to keep you in their thoughts. There’s something reassuring in just knowing that your loved ones are thinking about you.
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