How Do You Get Back To Your Normal Life After Surgery?
I just got back from hospital after having brain surgery, I have no idea how to get back to my normal now. Yes, it still hurts like hell but I want nothing more than to get back to my normal life. I am only 14 and I really really need to go back to school and get back to being normal. I have my exams in a few years and life to get on with.
Has anyone else ever been through the same thing, or perhaps something similar like going back to work or something.
x
February 1st, 2010 at 10:18 am
I had an operation last year and was off work for 5 months. For me personally, I was quite happy to have the time off, but I agree, that not feeling ‘normal’ took a lot of getting used to. I was noticeably weaker for a long time, I’d lost a lot of weight ( not a bad thing necessarily, but I looked very different to how I did before the surgery). Once I felt a bit more like my old self, it was time to try going back to work.
It was hard at first. Things had changed while I had been off. New people had started and I felt a bit alien to the environment for a while. Silly as it sounds, it can be hard coming to terms with how easily everyone has got on without you. It took me a while to find my feet again and to be honest, I had to be quite firm with myself and decided I wasn’t going to worry too much about how I saw myself fitting in again and just got on with my job. It soon fell into place again.
I can understand how hard it must be for you. It must sometimes be enough to deal with that you needed to have the operation in the first place. Now it’s done and over, it must be hard coming to terms with how it still seems to be impacting on your life. I guess you just want to get on with things now. As cliched as it sounds, patience is the key.
As for your exams, for now try not to get too worried about them. Your school should give you all the help you need to make up the work you may have missed, but til then, just concentrate on you. If you rush things now, you won’t be as effective at dealing with your future as you could be, physically or mentally.
The advice about having a sense of humour about it is very good. For example, it’s the standing joke at work now how I ‘nearly died’. I find that humour useful as it allows me to acknowledge what happened without getting too bogged down in it. In a way, it also helps that it shows people care if they’re prepared to have a laugh about it. So long as it’s WITH you and not AT you.
Good luck. Hope it all goes well.
February 1st, 2010 at 3:30 pm
You get back to normal life one day at a time dear. First you concentrate on recovering physically and healing. In the process of doing that, you will gradually get involved in most of the things you did before having the surgery done. I bet it is tough being 14 and eager to put all this behind you. I can’t say I blame you at all. I suggest you get clearance from the doctor to go back to school, and simply start back in where you left off at. It will still feel odd the first bit. If you had a lot of hair removed for the surgery, then be prepared for questions about wigs and hair cuts. You might even get questions about what you had done exactly. I think the easiest way to deal with that is honestly, and with a sense of humor if you can manage it. Folks generally don’t mean to be insensitive, and it’s a grand chance for you to educate them. The worst of it may be having people worry about you getting hurt or something, and you can handle that by simply reminding them you are getting better and aren’t going to explode any time soon. Otherwise, just try to be patient with them and yourself. Take it all one day at a time, and don’t worry about what hasn’t come yet. The days will pass fast enough, though not fast enough to suit you at first. But they will pass, all the same.
February 1st, 2010 at 10:26 pm
The recovery time varies from 1 to 4 weeks. Full recovery may take up to 8 weeks. Rest and take medications as recommended.
You may email me.