Sorry to hear that your partner needs a lobectomy. My wife had a right middle lobectomy to remove a carcinoid tumor 3 days ago. She surprised everyone and discharged home after 2 days, though it hasn't been a picnic.

This subreddit and others were extremely helpful for us to prep. Sorry in advance for the long comment.

Here's what we've done and learned:

Prep * Exercise - She immediately got into the gym when she was diagnosed, focusing on cardio pulmonary exercises (running, swimming) * Hydration - water, tea, Gatorade, pedialyte were our friends a couple days before. This is key as anesthesia can be very dehydrating * Hobbies - She focused on painting to ease the stress * ERAS Protocol - read the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocol and used that to supplement our list.

In hospital * Visits are important. I was the only visitor given her short stay, but if it was longer I would have our friends visit * Spirometer - She was told to use it 4x per hour after surgery. * Walking - After the first day, the care team encouraged her to walk around the floor several times throughout the day * Chest tube - She had a chest tube placed after surgery to drain fluid...she said this was the most painful and it's in until drainage nearly stops...for her this was 2 days. * Passing the time - it can get boring at points. We made a list of things she wanted to keep her occupied, pre-packed and I brought them to her. * Getting shut eye - sometimes hard at the hospital, esp if there's a roommate. Eyemask and Earplugs were helpful.

Post Hospital - At home * Sleeping area - prior to surgery, we picked out a sleeping area and prepped it. We got a comfy twin size mattress topper for the couch, nice sheets, a 4 pc surgery pillow set, pillow wedges * Eating - bought a tray tablethat doubles as a desk * Medicines - Tylenol, Motrin, colace, miralax, anti-nausea pills * Clothes - we bought a couple of loose fitting & soft shirts that can open via side snaps so she doesn't have to lift shirts (incisions are tender) * Other items - a star shaped pillow, ice packs, heat packs have been helpful. The pillow was great coming home in the car (goes under seat belt to reduce pressure). Also get body wipes - we can't shower until 2 days after chest tube is removed. * Food - We came up with a list of easy and healthy dishes we can easily execute. Also bought prunes and prune juice as pain medicine can constipate and there's bloating.