… Continued from Part 1, Part 2

New Challenges

Getting back home was a great feeling!  As with any surgery, there were risks and potential complications.  Fortunately, nothing untoward happened in my case.  Going home within a week from surgery was confirmation of that.

The next two weeks would be an effort, to say the least.  In hospital, I used to get a sponge bath each day; I remember, the day after surgery – when I couldn’t move at all – a simple sponge bath took one hour.  Seriously.  Now that I was getting some mobility back, things improved a bit.  But, coming home brought with itself a new set of challenges, and some old ones.

The bulk of my 24 hours was still spent lying in bed – My entire backside had heat boils and was sore.  Digestion was still a problem, at least for the first 3-4 days.  15 tablets a day were only adding to the problem.  The bed at home was lower than the hospital bed, making it more difficult to get out of.  The phone was constantly ringing.  I couldn’t call a nurse by pressing a button, which meant someone in the house needed to come and help every time I needed something.  Nevertheless, I was determined to get back on my feet again.

Making Progress

Slowly and steadily, I started making progress.  At first, getting out of bed was an exercise in itself.  Then, I started walking a few steps around the house.  Initially, sitting up for a few minutes was too painful.  Soon, I started having a meal at the dining table – sitting up for fifteen minutes at a go!

I also decided to make the most of my time in bed, by catching up on my reading.  Throughout the last two months, with multiple episodes of being confined to bed-rest, I had already got off to a good start.  During the week after surgery, I could not do much as I was drowsy from all the exhaustion and medication.  But now, I was reading like a madman!  Tuesdays with Morrie, The Wal-Mart Way, Einstein’s Luck, Survival Is Not Enough, A Short History of Nearly Everything, Why We Buy, The Turning Point (still reading) and Maximum City (still reading)…

A week had transpired by the time I returned to the hospital to get my stitches removed.  I still hadn’t seen the wound.  When my wife saw it for the first time, she nearly fainted – It was a scar nearly 3 inches long, with metal staples running across its length.  But, the physical examination was worth the effort – The doctor said I was making good progress.  This was good news!

Today, it’s been about two weeks since I came home from the hospital.  I can sit up for about an hour without pain or discomfort, and walk around several times a day.  Over the past couple of weeks, I have been well enough to sit up and write this lengthy series of posts!  Each day has been a steady progress…

Key Lessons

Having shared all this with you, I think it’s appropriate that I also share what I regard to be some of my key learnings from this experience :

• Family Matters : What helped me most throughout all the fear, apprehension and pain was the love and support of my family – mainly, my wife, BossLady.  Without it, I would not be able to do this.
• You Need To Be Prepared : Surgery is not as easy as doctors sometimes suggest.  You need to know what it involves in entirety, and be prepared for the struggle.  (Hence, this post!)
• Now, Exercise is going to be a lifetime thing :  The doctor made it very clear at our last meeting – There was no denying the fact that for someone with my history, exercise was going to be a lifetime thing.  Or else, I would be back on the surgeon’s table!
• The Decision Has Got To Be Your’s : No matter how much you research and how many “experts” you consult, in the end, the decision on the course of treatment has got be your’s – and one that you have to live with.
• You Must Want To Get Well : I believe it is crucial for a speedy recovery that you have a positive outlook and a strong desire to get back to “normal” as soon as physically possible.

May the force be with you.

Also Read: Under the Knife