1) Determine your last day at work and ask for record of employment (ROE) from your employer. You need this for your employment insurance (EI) claim. Once you completed or close to your last day, they may be able to send it to Service Canada electronically (prefered) and/or they may mail it to you.
2) Determine if you will have to pay for your employee benefits while you are absent. I did! The shower chair, crutches, wheelchair rental were mostly all covered.
2) Determine if you will have to pay for your employee benefits while you are absent. I did! The shower chair, crutches, wheelchair rental were mostly all covered.
3) As soon as you stop working, apply for Employment Insurance. For information see, Service Canada EI Online Application.
4) Day of your surgery bring two forms for the surgeon to sign:
a) Medical Certificate for Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits
b) Accessible parking permit . Sign your organ donation card while you're at this website!
a) Medical Certificate for Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits
b) Accessible parking permit . Sign your organ donation card while you're at this website!
5) Purchase at Shoppers Home Health Care:
a) shower chair ( I bought one without a back because the thought of my hair touching the chair razzles me.)
b) aluminum crutches
c) shower bag to protect your cast by Seal-tight
6) Rent a wheel chair with a leg extender for the operated foot. And/or you can opt for a knee walker and it can be purchased or rented at kneewalkercentral.ca I used the wheelchair for my first surgery and the knee walker for my second. My benefits covered the rental of the wheelchair and the purchase of the knee walker. This does not replace crutches. Crutches are a minimum.
7) Educate yourself. Find out what procedure you are having and visit footeducation.net which was a website designed to educate patients by Orthopaedic surgeons.
8) Purchase regular strength acetaminophen and an anti-histamine for an itchy cast such as Benedryl. Be prepared to stop at the pharmacy on the way home from surgery to get your narcotics.
9) Have someone stop by and help you or stay with someone that can for the first week.
10) If you don't have a someone to help you, especially the first week, prepare your meals. It is very frustrating trying to move around the kitchen.
11) Put a high stool in your kitchen so you can sit if you need to cook etc...
12) Borrow movies, books etc... you will be bored.
13) If you would like to exercise and don't have equipment at home, invest in two things:
i) Two Power Block Sport 2.4 handweights which can be purchased at Canadian Tire and are the same weights used at fitnessblender.com
ii) Incline Fitness Exercise Mat which can be purchased at Amazon. It's very thick and comfortable.
14) Watch this video:
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