Back to Work!! and Surgeon's Appointment

Well, after 8 weeks away from work, I made the big step and started work again on Monday 10th December. My manager had worked out with me a gradual return to full time work. So, in my first week back I am working for 5 hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I wont have my full client group again until I am back full time, which is planned for January. I am doing other paper work and assessments on new clients and getting them started.

Well, I got up on Monday ok, I didn't feel any worse than normal, but still have the tightness around my hips and a bit of soreness in different places. Andrew pulled the doona over his head as I started the manic phase of finding something to wear!!! "Does this look good?" "Is this ok?". Andrew knows the routine very well and tried to avoid saying the wrong thing!!! Of course he always says I look gorgeous in anything I wear! ooohhhhh. Well I decided on the outfit I have on in the photo, and despite Andrew calling me a green tree frog, I know he thought I looked nice. I am conscious of the bits that are still swollen, and the parts of my tummy that still need work done. (I will get to that bit of news soon!). The girls at work were great. Very welcoming and complimentary and looked after me like the true nurses that they all are!!! I managed the 5 hours ok, but was stiff and sore and a bit tired at the end of it. My biggest concern was my emotions. I was on the brink of tears so many times. I had a little cry just before leaving home, which worried Andrew enough to ring work without me knowing to check that I was ok and to let them know I was a bit fragile!! He did also ring me to see how I was. Then while at work, everything seemed a bit too hard for me, and my coping wasn't at its usual level. I held back the tears because I know they would have bundled me up and sent me home again. I was just so overwhelmed! It didn't help that I had to get my head around a new laptop and I couldn't get the new technology of logging in with my finger swipe to work! I gave up for fear of really losing my emotions!!! Anyway, I found a safe job of wrapping all our client's Christmas presents!! Well, someone had to do it!!! I had to spend my 5 hours at work changing from sitting to standing and then walking around. Sitting up straight still causes a bit of discomfort. As the numbness around my back is going, I am finding my back is aching a bit. Anyway, despite the emotion of it all, I will go back on Wednesday and get stuck into the paper work that awaits me.

My other news is my last visit to the surgeon. He drained more fluid from my swollen part. I wasn't expecting this at all, but he did it. We also spent a bit of time discussing the next set of procedures he would like to do. He is keen to finish what he has started with me. I cringe every time he talks about the next surgery. But he assures me I have been through the worst of it now. I knew he would do some liposuction on my tummy next time, but he completely shocked me when he said he would take another fold of skin from my tummy. I could have fallen off the chair then!!! But he assured me it is just a small surface of skin to be removed and nothing like what I have just had done. This procedure would only need about 10 days healing and recovery!! (I have the thought to double anything the surgeon says about recovery time!!) He would also remove the extra skin from my arms and legs. All up he thought about 3 weeks recovery time. Anyway, a lot to think about and I am finding it hard to work out when to get this done. So, no major decisions just yet. I see the surgeon again next March, so plenty of time to consider my options. I do want to finish what I have started and I don't think I will be completely satisfied until all the procedures are done. I feel like such an odd shape at the moment with the extra skin on my legs causing them to be big still. They are smaller than 3 years ago of course, but the skin isn't a good look. I need a small size pants for my waist and hips, but then the cut of the leg is too small. But to go through recovery again is very daunting when I haven't completely recovered from this first surgery.

So, I will just concentrate on getting back to work, and having a full recovery from the surgery I have already had.