Hospital requires me to have someone accompany me out of the hospital following surgery.

They won't operate on them if they don't have a ride home in place.

Where are you located. I’m willing to help.

Try not to make a scene. If you have bad thoughts when they put you under you may be in a foul mood when you wake up and you'll say stuff you regret.

I went in for a minor procedure (camera shoved down esophagus) once and apparently made a big scene when I was leaving because I refused to be put in a wheelchair. They were about to restrain me and somehow my wife calmed me down enough to get me out the door and into the car. I always attributed that to being upset before being put under. I apparently also told them I was a heavy equipment operator and planned to go back to work as soon as they let me out which they didn't find funny.

I'm always amazed at how widespread LRC posters are.

Someone will post about best running locations in the Swiss Alps or BF Missouri and not long after there will be 3-4 people chiming in with the best routes.

Call a home health agency. They have health aides who do this sort of thing all the time.

homewatchcaregivers.com

After-Surgery Care | Post-Op Caregivers

With Homewatch CareGivers, recovering at home is safe and comfortable thanks to our experienced post-surgery caregivers. Call us today for more information about our post-op care services.

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homewatchcaregivers.com

After-Surgery Care | Post-Op Caregivers

With Homewatch CareGivers, recovering at home is safe and comfortable thanks to our experienced post-surgery caregivers. Call us today for more information about our post-op care services.

Open link

Aargh, LRC is the worst. If you give two links in the same post, the first link appears twice and the second one doesn't appear at all. The second link in my above post was:

wikihow.com

3 Ways to Get Home After Medical Procedures As a Solo Adult

Undergoing a medical procedure is never fun, but can be even more of a hassle as a single adult. Ideally, find a friend or family member to accompany you to the procedure. In addition to companionship, you may need someone to...

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O.P. here. I'm in NYC. I'll figure something out. I thought an arrangement with an Uber driver might be a simple solution, but perhaps not. I appreciate many of the suggestions.

Which hospital? What day?

If you don't have the thing set up they won't even do the surgery. They won't admit you without this person.

He is probably not going to be in any position to just walk out. Typical procedure is to wheel out the patient to their waiting ride.

OP, you are not the first person in this situation. It's probably more common than you think. Ask the hospital or your health care provider. There is most likely a service available that can be arranged.

My god. So many deleted posts. What snowflake has been given control over this? You must be a blast at parties.

Please be careful with LR posters trying to help. My are still living in their mom's basement and would love to 'help' but then steal your copy of OAR when you fall asleep.

Stay in the hospital overnight until the anesthetic wears off. Check to see if the insurance covers it.

I had a colonoscopy a couple years ago. I wanted to drive myself both ways, but had a back-up plan for my brother to drive me home. The nurses insisted that I call my brother for a ride home. The sedatives they gave me -- valium, percoset, whatever -- were so strong, I have absolutely no memory of being driven home, then slept for five hours.

Yes, take a Uber, whatever. Just plan it out and don't try to drive home like a drunk.

One of my posts was deleted. In it, I told OP to call a home health agency because they have home health aides who do this sort of thing all the time. Then I linked to a description of the specific kinds of services home health care agencies offer.

OP, if you google "ride service after surgery New York CIty" or "non-emergency medical transportation NYC" you'll see there are many transport companies in NYC and the NY metro area that provide exactly what you need.

BTW, your situation is totally normal. Even if you had lots of friends and family nearby, they might not be able or willing to take time off work; they might have little kids to care for; or if they are free time-wise, they might be limited in their capacity to help you out in this specific way coz they have health and mobility issues of their own.

Also, many people who make great friends overall still might be ill-suited to help out in this exact sort of situation. Hospitals, health procedures and the health issues of others don't alway bring out the best in people.

I don't know where you live but any medium or large city has medical transport services which handle this type of situation. Cost is usually not that high.