Traveling out of state - YouLookFab Forum

I live in Northeastern Florida. I will be going near the Charlotte area of North Carolina for thyroid surgery soon. Have family there who will be helping me.

Expect to be in hospital 2 days and staying in the area from two weeks to a month.
Will you savvy travelers and smart packers tell me what to pack? I will be traveling by car. Space for clothes is no problem.
I will need clothes for Dr. appointment day before surgery. What do I wear in the hospital? Hospital gowns are not very cheerful.
When I am out of hospital will stay with family, with almost daily outings. wILL hang out with family at lunch and see several people daily and from time to time. Also I may attend church, there again these same people will be there.
I have visited there before and have met a lot of nice" Southern Bell " ladies.
They are delightful and they will be looking out for me too.
I do have a lot of clothes, mostly white jeans, crops, Bermuda Shorts 2 maxi skirts, numerous tops, and dressy pants (no summer dresses) . I like casual and dressy casual. Two fedora hats, just for fun, enough shoes (do not plan to wear high heels). I don't like a lot if any costume jewelry.
I am not young, but am young at heart, and have always loved clothes. I do so enjoy reading and seeing what you ylf's say and wear. I do dress appropriately
but like to wear fun clothes, and feel better if I put thought and effort into my clothes. My thanks to all of you.

10 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Have you had major surgery before? I think you'll be wanting to take it slow and easy for at least a week. Are you having traditional thyroid surgery? An incision of several centimeters, lower part of neck? I imagine you'll want necklines that don't cover that spot and you won't want anything you'll have to pull over your head.

I imagine you'll need something dressy and covered up for church (a skirt would be most proper but not, I think, a maxi - so I'd opt for trousers). I had a friend, Amy, from AL - she was always so cute and trim and tidy. Pedal pushers, slide sandals, maybe something like a plaid sleeveless button up top.

Truecolors

(website)

Active Member

I wish you all the best with your surgery!

I think you'll want to be comfortable and chic, as the "chic" part will make you feel good about yourself.

Here's what I would do: pack for 2 weeks, then if you stay longer, you can rotate through your clothes one more time. So let's think about 2 weeks of clothes, including recovery and visiting with friends and church.

For church:
- 2 dressy pants
- 2 flowy, long tunic tops (if you like arm coverage, wear 3/4 sleeve)
- 1 wedge sandal
- summery, colorful necklace and earrings (you say you don't like jewelry, but I think it really pulls your outfit together!)
- 2 silk scarves just in case it's chilly, plus it's nice color around your face
- 1 wide-rimmed hat (or your fedora)

For visiting with friends, daily outings and recuperating:
- 3 cropped pants
- 2 long, flowy skirts
- 3 bermuda shorts
- 10 lightweight tops
- 2 jackets or sweaters (for cool evenings)
- several pairs of walking shoes - canvas type shoes, sandals
- 2 pair of loose-fitting lounge pants -

I, too, like to wear dresses in hot, sultry weather. So, before you go, you might look for a maxi dress that fits your style. They're easy and comfortable.

Hope that helps!
Linda

p.s. Check out the Facebook page "FiftyNotFrumpy" or her blog, http://fiftynotfrumpy.blogspot.com/ written by Susan Street. She's a charming Southern lady who loves fashion.

annagybe

I known hospital gowns are not ideal. I work in a hospital. But they allow easy access in order to assess you. Besides, you don't have to clean them.

Kristin L

Are you sure you'll be up for going out every day? I'm not familiar with thyroid surgery, but you may want to plan on resting for at least a few days.

Susie

From the list above, I would remove the necklaces and scarves. I can't imagine you will want to wear anything at your neck, assuming that's where the incision will be. With just two days in the hospital, I think you should stick with the hospital gowns. I also think you should plan on a few days of rest and recovery so your comfiest and easiest loungewear would be nice to have.

Best of luck with your surgery.

bridgie

rachylou and Susie. and KThanks for suggesting I should plan to rest a week. It honestly had not occured to me that I should plan to rest more. I promise I will, all the time thinking about what I will wear when I get out
and about. My two sons will also thank you for your suggestions!

annagybe Never thought about hospital wear that way before. Actually I hate for you people in the hospital seeing me looking so dowdy. (No offence intended. Keep in mind what I said about my age.

P.S. You are one of my very favorite posters. Love what you wear and post!!

Truecolors Thank you. You certaintly picked-up on my style preferences. Chic is the key word in your post. I do like jewelry so will at least add some bangle bracelets and earrings. Thanks for being so specific . Enjoyed Susan Street's blog. I can so relate to her!

Isabel

I am also not familiar with thyroid surgery. Tanya had it done. I say that even if you do not go out everyday, why not pack just in case. I have had a few surgeries and have never felt up to going out right away. Except for a walk down the driveway or something.

The one recommendation that I have is to have a pair of pajama bottoms. I always stayed in gowns ( that is what the medical personnel wanted ) but I like the bottoms to wear underneath.

I also found a bed coat very useful. At the hospital and at home. It doesn't need to be an actual one, but something short to wear when I am sitting up and chilly or just for decency.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF.....or%20women

Good luck !!!!!! : )

Meredith

Just wanted to echo Rachy's point about packing a few options you don't need to pull over your head. I wouldn't give your hospital appearance a second thought. For just two days I'd stick with the gowns. Maybe add some nice pjs for lounging during your first few days of recovery?

https://www.jcrew.com/womens_c...../80295.jsp

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