Gee, I'm sorry to hear that your surgery did not go well.
I've used the Golden Threads paper. I stacked layers of it, traced my design on the top layer and then sewed through the stack with a large top needle with no thread. Then I pinned it to the quilt and FMQed over the holes. I could also have swiped across it with a pounce but didn't because the white powder would not have shown on the light colors of the quilt. It worked pretty well but you have to be sure that you remove all pins from under the paper as you can't see them well through the paper. (As me how I know!!
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I've also used Glad Press n Seal. It kind of sticks to the fabric (though I pinned on the edges just in case). Then I drew my design on it. You could lay it over a stencil and trace onto the Press n Seal and then put it on the fabric. I liked this better than the Golden Threads paper since I could see through it. I wouldn't use it for a very dense design but it would work well for geometric or large sized stipples. It pulled away pretty well and where it stuck under the stitches, I used tweezers to pull it out.
Lastly, one of my quilting instructors said that if you lightly spritz your quilt top with water before "pouncing", the chalk will adhere a bit better. Removal is not affected.
Good luck and have fun.