SCAR ALERT
Anyone who has had any type of surgery knows it's a long road and not a pleasant one at that.
My recovery time in terms of restrictions was 5 weeks before I was off enough medication to drive and 6 months before I was back to 95-100%. in some respects I am still recovering now 14 months later. I don't mean physically, physically I am back to normal (excluding weightlifting) but I mean mentally and emotionally. Mentally this journey has been a lot tougher than I thought it would be, I had no idea of the toll it would take on my mind.
I held it together pretty well through out the whole thing, considering (I credit blissful ignorance for that) the only time I really remember the feeling of being overwhelmed by it was after about 4 days in hospital, I just wanted to be at home, I was in pain but at least home was familiar (and the food is good!) after a week and a half I finally got to come home. This meant slow strolls and lots if rest but even doing everything the doctor told me to do I still found myself being hyperaware of every little thing, things that I hadn't noticed before. I would find myself counting how many times my heart was beating and how far I stretched and not putting pressure on my scar (mine is on my back rather that my sternum 🙌🏻) In the end I was so focused on small things that I didn't need to that I missed the one symptom that landed me back in hospital.
I had said to mum a few times, my fingers feel like there swollen, and we assumed it was from my body adjusting to the new pressures, but it persisted, and then I would sweat really easily. After a trip to my doctor and yet another X-ray it was determined I had fluid sitting only left lung causing problem with my breathing and causing the swelling.
This resulted in another stint in hospital and more surgery (minor I comparison) to have chest tube inserted to drain it all. If you haven't had a chest tube before it's hard to describe what it feels like but it is painful and you can feel sitting on your ribs.
it drained 2 litres by the time it was done and once the tube came out I instantly felt better. What upset me was not that it happened, there is complications with all surgeries but it was that I wasn't told, if I had been premed with that information maybe I would have shifted my focus and we could have caught it before a chest tube was necessary.
Never the less the doctors and nursing staff were incredible, bringing me hot drinks and snacks at 4am when they knew I hadn't eaten and ensuring I had my pillows set up right so I could sleep.
I still to this day find my self second guessing everything I do and its a huge toll on my mind. But slowly over time I am learning to manage this with mindfulness and recognising the signs of needing help. PLEASE don't ever feel like you can't reach out to people, they are your support network, lean on them!
I am now back to living my life and able to use my experience to help others heading down the same road.
Jess xx
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