Hi Tinkerbelll! I had this surgery in 2006 when I was in my early 40s.
You are being a great sister for thinking this all out! Let me tell you about my experience. This will be long, but hopefully helpful!
I had the surgery and was told to be face down 14 days for 20 hours a day. Pretty much I sat up to do all the eye drops (TONS of them), eat my main meal, and hit the rest room. A sports bottle with straw is a great idea. My insurance covered the chair and the device on the bed. The bed device had two ways of hooking it up -- one was under the matress with the face hanging over the edge (not for me) and the other was on the bed with my nose an inch away from the bed (which is what I did). It sounds awful, but I was so tired and drugged up that I had NO problem sleeping in that position. I did have a body pillow next to me to "keep" me on my face. I was sure I would wake up on my back or side but I never did.
As for the day time -- please check with your sister. My doctor did not allow me to read or watch tv (even with the mirror). He said that even though I had the eye patch on if my "good" eye was moving than my other eye would move as well -- and he did not want that to happen. So I had two forms of entertainment - friends and books on tape.
I had a very good friend that set up a schedule for friends to visit. We decided to have two people visit at a time, that way if I was tired I could just listen to them and didn't have to "carry" the conversation. It worked out perfectly!
I also listened to Books on tape. Now I had two girls while I was going through this (2nd and 4th grade) so I was careful about what I was listening to on the boom box. Also, I was very tired and drugged and would fade in and out of concentrating. So I listened to ALL of the Harry Potter books on tape. Since I had read them I could "catch up" on all the action if I zoned out and my girls could sit with me. The guy who reads them is awesome!!!! I received several other books on tape that I just didn't listen to.
Even after the 14 days I was very restricted on TV time. For the first week out of the chair I was allowed ONE TV show a day. It was almost harder to sit on the sofa doing nothing than to sit face down.
The thing that caught me off guard was how "nervous" my hands were. All my pent up energy went to my hands and the first days I was strumming, etc. My friend got me a worry stone and a squishy stress reliever and I CONSTANTLY had them in my hands. It seems silly to say a small stone was my saving grace, but it was!
Gifts -- obviously I loved all the meals that came in. It made me worry less about my husband and kids. Our school's food committee sent meals twice a week and we had friends send stuff at least once or twice a week. It was a godsend. I also had someone send in a personal massager and while I loved it (and I really did!!) the next day I couldn't move! It was almost too much for my body. I also had a friend who thought about my family - she sat with me on a Saturday night while her husband and daughter took my hubby and kids out for pizza and bowling. But the best gift was the friend who walked in with a cleaning crew! 3 ladies - 2 hours and I had a sparkling clean house!!!! For later on a cool pair of sunglasses is essential! Her eye will be swollen and then droopy for quite a long time (4 to 5 months). It will also be more light sensitive.
People - I really needed someone with me almost all of the time. I was really dizzy and couldn't do much for myself. Luckily my mom lives nearby and she came over every day around 10:00 to help me eat, eye drops, and do my laundry. I was so surprised when I went out for the first few times -- my depth perception was totally off and I was walking into walls. You get used to your house but then are all out of wack when you are out in public. Even though I was allowed to drive (since the surgery was only in the one eye there are NO driving restrictions) I didn't drive for almost 2 months. We took me off the insurance to save some money!
Time -- this surgery takes a long time to recoup and will be very frustrating to your sister and later on to those around her who are wanting her to get better. As you know, her eye will be filled with a gas/liquid which slowly acclimates to the eye. She is face down for 2 weeks so the gas won't press against the eye lense. Then two weeks after that I still couldn't do much (reading or tv). So at first (after you get the eye patch off) you see nothing out of that eye -- it is very cloudy like vasoline. Then as the gas/liquid changes to your regular eye liquid, the level of the "vasoline" goes down. So you can see "clearly" out of the top 10% of your eye, then 20% etc. It is like looking through a glass half full of water. So it is very headachy to be seeing part and part. And then when the gas bubble is smaller it "bounces" around your eye whenever you move! Very annoying! For me it was a three month process before the gas bubble was gone. Also your eyeglass prescription changes and you can't get that until the bubble is all gone. After the three month time your eye muscles need to start working again. I volunteered in our school library and tried to go back in there at 4 months. Well, the constant focusing in at the book spine and then out at the shelves had me a real bad headache within 20 minutes! And the computer was also really bad at the beginning -- lots of eye strain. It takes about 6 months to "get back to normal" -- I was sleeping hours more than I used to before the surgery.
Other - after sitting up I worked on getting my photos in regular albums. Another good activity would be knitting or crocheting -- you can work on it without a lot of eye movement.
Good News! -- my vision is at 20/20 with my eye glasses. And while it was a tough time in my life I really found out who my "real" friends were. It allowed me to slow down which I think I really needed. I learned how to say "no"! This may sound silly, but I enjoyed spending time with myself. I was always so busy volunteering and running around that I had never spent time with myself. Five years later my eye is good and healthy - the only thing that bothers it is too much computer time (several hours). I will get a headache behind my bad eye.
Good luck to your sister! This will be a tough time, but if she listens to her doctor and does what she is suppose to she will be so happy with the results. She needs to understand that taking care of herself is the best thing to do for those around her that love her. Sometimes I felt almost selfish, but it won't do anybody any good if she regreseses.
If you or your sister have any questions please feel free to PM me!
