Preparing for Open Heart Surgery recovery - gamer edition

Hi @caketron ,
Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am glad to hear you were able to find this site before your open heart surgery and that some of the information you found was helpful.
Yep. You're right...no pushing or pulling heavy objects for you for awhile.

Suggestion: Can you do a trial run before surgery?
Pretend you cannot really use your arms much at all. And you can't lift anything heavier than about 10 pounds. Can you set up your station in a way that would work for you without too much issue?
Set your recliner in position.
Put the monitor in position arms length from you and see if that works?
Have all your computer stuff within arms reach so you can just plop down in the chair, reach over and pick up the things you use, and just leave your chair where it is to get in and out.
Don't think for a second about what others think is or is not essential...this is important to you, so no judgement here!
Can you relocate your station to a better place for you to use temporarily? It's only for a short while, like a couple weeks or a month.
That's about all I can think of, but I bet others have some great ideas too!
When/where is your surgery next month?

Hi @karukgirl. Thanks for the response.
I actually did a trial run which is how I discovered this particular conflict.
Unfortunately I am unable to sit in my recliner without the desk being farther away than I'd prefer without moving it. I know about the 10 lb limit (actually I was told 5), but unsure how that transfers to pushing/pulling and quantifying the amount of force required to slide my desk in front of me.
I've been seeking ideas to better move a desk forward and backwards but have been unsuccessful.

My surgery is sometime in May in Danville, PA. Finishing some tests before final scheduling, but im trying to prepare for what i can while I'm waiting.

Thank you again for your kind words and encouragement.

As a fellow computer lover, (Im more into podcast stuff) Im thinking put your monitrs on a swivil arm. The better ones are pretty light to move. I remember seeing a couple that wanted an easy way to mount there monitors in a travel trailer. So that they could swing them out from storage when they stopped for the day. The keyboard and mouse can be blue tooth and you could have a small desk maybe on the recliner. Ive seen similar ones on wheelchairs. Here are some links to what I am talking about.
go to 3.3 min point and he shows his setup https://youtu.be/UojojSCU0IY?si=mbPUo0U0HnH-SLg6
i would think thats way below 5 lbs of pull. as for the recliner desk maybe something like this similar to what they have at hospitals bedside. This one only weights 13 LBS and your only rolloing it around.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNGMZ19V/
Great plan tho to get ready before your surgery date.

Hi Cake, you will be fine. I had open heart surgery, came home to an empty house and took care of myself. Just don't lift anything. Get a gripper. Maybe arrange for food to be delivered like Meals on Wheels. Make some meals now and freeze them. No real pain, just hurt and sore. Good luck and let us know how you are.

Congratulations on thinking things through ahead of time! Dana and Debra made some excellent suggestions. If your surgeon or hospital is affiliated with an Occupational Therapy organization (most are) maybe request a home visit - they often have really great ideas for temporary modifications that don't necessarily cost a lot.
Good luck - and I understand completely about being "no lifting" - my surgeon 1 pound after shoulder surgery, and when I asked if it was really the limit, he laughed - said if he tells people 1 pound, they'll do 2 pounds, but if he says 2 pounds they'll try five. Now at 5 months I have a 5 pound limit and this time the PA said "this is the real limit until we check you out next month!"

Hello! I was having a little fun thought and thinking it was maybe a good time for a new purchase. This was the FIRST thing I thought of when I read your post. This is one of the cheaper options. Good Luck with everything, I wish you the best.

Since I am new it would not let me post a link- search this in Amazon:
IW 320 imperatorworks Brand Racing Gaming Chair, Computer Chair for Office and Home; Regular for 3 Screens or Upto 5 Monitors with Vibration massasge

Two open heart surgeries here. It's great that you're planning ahead for your recovery. However, baring major complications, I expect you'll be more mobil than you anticipate –enough for you to be able to sit in a typical home office chair at your desk. If I were in your situation, my prepping would prioritize rearranging items on shelves that I might need during those first weeks – particularly in kitchen and bath – relocating then from higher to lower shelves and rear to forward so I wouldn't have to reach. Best of luck with your surgery!

That is great advice @rusjr! This looks like it is your first post to Mayo Clinic Connect, and here you are giving out some awesome tips! I suppose after having two (2!) open heart surgeries, you are more aware of what will work than most.
I like what you said about "you'll be able to be more mobile than you anticipate" because I think that is what gets most people on the higher side of the fear factor scale. I think we think we will be unable to move. Unable to do anything. But it is not true! And you have confirmed that, and hopefully it will help get people closer on the fear factor scale (0-10) from a 10 to at least a 5!
How did you manage to have to have two open heart surgeries?

Wow, thank you everyone for the awesome replies. Was more than i expected given my question. Im gonna try to reply to everyone here since yall took the time to consider my issue.

@danab Thats an awesome suggestion. The monitor mount in the video apparently came with that specific monitor. Im attempting to find a similar one online, however..... my monitor is a rather large ultrawide monitor and is rather heavy so swivel arm mounts are gonna be a challenge, but I haven't given up hope yet lol. I recently got this monitor and im rather attached lol.
As for the table for at the recliner, the amazon link you sent was rather was id like however i cant really get anything to slide underneath the base of the recliner. Im exploring options in that regard and have found some options. Thank you.

@mikaylar and @rusjr Thank you for the kind words and confidence. I am hopeful that I am overthinking and overplanning this out but alas I am an overthinker and all i can really do while im waiting is to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Unfortunately I am newly living alone and know I wont be able to move furniture or build things after the surgery so im prepping all i can.

@sueinmn Thank you for the kind words as well. The home visit option is nice that it is out there but Im invoking my male stubbornness and trying to figure out solutions myself or with the assistance of kind strangers on the internet lol.
Yeah - the no lifting thing has me really concerned and trying to setup things in such a way that prevents that as much as possible. I cant afford to be out of work too long, and in my head im telling myself that every misstep or overexertion will delay my recovery.... might be overthinking a bit lol.

@abealarson4 LMAO yes! i found that as well during my intial web searching before seeking out this forum. That or the many more expensive versions lol. Unfortunately practicality and affordability are gonna make that gaming station not be an option for me. I thank you for the effort tho.

@karukgirl Yall are much more helpful and positive thinking than what Ive grown accustomed to on the internet. I thank you for the easing of my fears at the very least. You may not have dropped it 5 points, but a solid 2 point drop definitely.

❤️