As with any surgery, the best thing you can do is read up on it a bit and get in as good shape as you can be. One calms the mind the other helps you heal faster and with fewer complications. While this will vary as everyone reacts to surgery differently, not being overweight and being fit really helps you get back on your feet and moving. It also helps with swelling and pain. I attribute the fact that I was already walking (albeit tenderly) 30 minutes at a time before I left to my fitness level when I arrived. I was also able to sit off to the the sides of chairs at mealtimes the last few days. Running and a rounded core program really helped. It takes time after to get back to that level but it also helps healing if you get moving ASAP and get back to cardio as soon as is comfortable. Walk a LOT before during and after.
As others have said, the staff will take good care of you. It's all very systematic from the time you arrive at the clinic and through the recovery centre. Follow all their instructions carefully and ask lots of questions of the nurses in each section (the surgical centre has a separate staff whom you won't see much of when you move to the recovery area). All are very helpful and some have been there many years. I saw some people cut corners with dilation and not follow the spirit and letter of what they were told about care. They had more discomfort than necessary. The nurses did their best to warn people, but some of the patients were a bit less than cooperative and I could see nurses get a little frustrated. You will not see much of Brassard or Belanger post op. The senior nurses are your primary caregivers and have seen it all. They also are the ones who check up on you after you leave. I might add that it does help if you can at least understand some French. Their English varies, though they all speak it, and some of the translations were iffy. You can get along fine without French, but you may end up re-asking questions different ways. I just found even my limited French helped me understand better.
As for what to take: Be sure to contact Suzanne closer to the date and get the most recent list. Don't buy much until then. They changed and simplified number of post-op procedures not long before I was there -- things like using tubs for sitzbads instead of seats for toilets and changed some of the needed supplies (they told me to bring a reusable douche but they providing that). In the course of 5 months prior I was given three conflicting lists of what I would need there and after, and bought way too many things that I ended up not using. They will provide you with everything you need medically for recovery there. The only things I found I needed were personal hygiene items -- but that included unscented body wash for the sitzbads (you put it in the water and soak). They don't provide that and you'll want a large bottle. You'll be in no state for a few days to walk or bus to the pharmacy up the road (though you can get something there before surgery). I brought a comfy cushion thinking I'd need it after but I never ended up using it. As for after at home, I found that I used more pads to sit on for dilation than I expected and was glad I bought three big bags of XL. I also bought extra waterbased lube. You will end up using all that lube and more as dilation is for life. I didn't need any of the dressings, ointments etc., but that was me. I did and do go through a lot of panty liners.
I found having a analog travel clock helped me time dilating and I also took a lot of music on an iPod and headphones. The dilating schedule becomes your life as soon as they unwrap you. You want distractions and not all their TV's work (in addition, they are wall mounted and in the shared rooms noise gets to be an issue). Some people took ipads and kindles, which also helps distract but remember you have to be able to use things one-handed. I read online and messaged on my iphone a lot -- they have a wifi set up. I expected to read more, but never opened the two books I took. You'll want a lot of rest at first, then you may get cabin fever. I found that shortish (as in thigh to knee) nightgowns and a washable cotton nightgown worked best for me for sleeping and dilating, though I was there in summer. I didn't want to wear even yoga pants.
I don't know where you are being put up prior to surgery, but I also was lucky in that the two women I stayed with before hand at the B&B were great and we bonded. We stayed together the entire time up until surgery and kept each other company after as much as we could. At any one time they have patients in various stages of their stay -- meaning pre and post op and recovery. Making friends early really helps. It's the luck of the draw, but makes a big difference as you go through something like this. They become your support group and you tend to remain in contact after. The really are the ones you can turn to. You share common meals with the larger group, but that's just a sliver of your time and there are always people arriving and leaving. The small group you coincide with the whole time is only two or three people. Some come through for revisions and only stay a day or two. You'll meet both MTF and FTM. When I was there it was something like 60 % MTF and 40% FTM.
