No Restrictions of Any Kind!

Ahh, those are glorious words to hear from your doctor at the six-week check after surgery! I can lift my daughter! I can push a vacuum! I can carry a load of laundry from the bedroom to the washer! I can do a push-up or two! I can run along the beach in the nude while pulling a . . . OK, maybe there are a few restrictions, still.

It seems like silly stuff to want to do, but man it stinks to see something that needs to be done and not be able to do it! I also don't have a particular love of doing push-ups, but when all forms of exercise but walking are forbidden, all forms of exercise but walking seem mighty interesting.

I must say that, all-in-all, the recovery went really smoothly. I haven't felt much pain in the last several days. I haven't needed regular naps in weeks. I still get tired at times. I felt pain a lot longer than I expected, but after the first three weeks it was often spaced a few days apart. But, honestly, I cannot believe how quickly six weeks passed. Those early days and weeks seem surreal. They were over so quickly and utterly survivable. Would I recommend it to anyone? No, way. But if a body is as messed up as mine was (the doctor mentioned again today what a terrible mess I was inside), a world without that constant pain is indeed worth those weeks of more intense suffering.

I have great memories from the recovery period. I received so much help from my family, friends, and church. Brishen was so helpful, sometimes when I least expected it. Basia was so caring and nurturing. I love that my family is now in the habit of taking regular walks together. It started out when I couldn't be trusted to walk to the end of the street by myself, but now we all walk up to three miles a few times a week together. I learned to let some things go. I wasn't able to do it all, and I had to learn that maybe it all didn't need doing after all. I also was able to prove to myself that I could be forced to start back at barely being able to make it to the end of the block and fight again to pack the miles back on. I could have given up that first day when I realized how hard it was. I didn't. I pushed myself and am now doing regular 5-mile walks again. I'm still a fighter. And, Jon, what do I say about Jon? He took such good care of me, the kids, the house, and all the little things that he had to take over around here. He never complained. Wow. I doubt that I would do so well taking care of him.

There will be moments and even days when my life is still affected by that day six weeks ago, but there will be a lot more moments and days from this point forward that are just plain NORMAL. The favorite thing that anyone has said to me during this recovery period is that I will start to feel better, then I will get to feeling like my old self, and then I will start to feel even better than that old self used to feel. That is great news indeed!