GIST Support WikiGreat that your resistant GIST is operable!! Despite the hardship, view the surgery as an oportunity to beat this disease.
HOTEL: What I remember most of all, was having to recover a few days in a hotel room before I could fly home. Request a HOSPITAL STYLE BED in the hotel room. A flat hotel mattress is not going to work right after liver surgery. You can't lie down on it. I ended up sleeping propped up in a barrel style chair with hotel pillows all around. When we thought that I was going to need another liver surgery, we were prepared to get a hospital bed for the hotel room...
AIRPLANES: I flew home a week after liver surgery. (Los Angeles to Tulsa). Some things that help--take advantage of pre-boarding. Request an aisle seat.
I wasn't in pain per se, but my torso was delicate and swollen, and sudden jarrings caused a deep ache. I used a lot of airline pillows to stuff around my seat and hips to make a padded zone that would hold me up. Overall, I was not really uncomfortable. I did have one surgical drain tube remaining by the time I flew home. Elastic waist pants are a must...
HOME: When you get home...again a flat mattress is not going to work immediately. An overstuffed recliner chair is good...you can sleep in it, and the position transfers your weight to your hips and away from your torso.
If I ever needed liver surgery again, I would do it without hesitation.
Marina