8 days and counting

Hi, a fellow sister told me about this site and it's wonderful. a lot of my questions have been answered. i am 8 days away from surgery and getting a little apprehensive. i worry about my kids who are 8 and 3. they are worried about me. my mom is coming for release and taking the kids with her for 1st week after surgery. the second week is spring break for my son and i will have both kids at home. my mother in law is coming to help that week. will i be able to return to work 2-3 weeks post op. i have a job where a lot of people depend on me and am worrying about help screwing up while i am out. I know that i need to worry about healing but can't help worrying about everything else.

karen

When you return to work will depend on the type of surgery you are having, and how well you do during recovery. The recommended recovery period for an abdominal hysterectomy is 6 to 8 weeks, and for a vaginal hysterectomy is 4 to 6 weeks. And believe me, you will need that length of time.

While I know you are worried about your job and your replacement not being as efficient as you would be, please keep in mind that returning too soon can have adverse effects on your health, which could necessitate your being out of work even longer. You need to make sure that you are fully recovered before even thinking of going back. You only get one chance to heal properly, and this will be it. You are more important than your job. Take the time you need to heal right the first time, and you won't be faced with problems down the road.

Best wishes and s,

Lisa

Hi from another Karen. I too am counting the days til surgery. I originally thought I would only take 3 weeks as I m having a LAVH. But after reading all the post on this site, I am rethinking my game plan. I want to take time to heal and be the best that I can be. When I get back to work, I am sure I will have things to "fix", but who knows maybe not. Anyway, I decided to make my recovery period be "ME time" because if I don't take care of me, who will?

I'm scheduled for a TVH on April 21, 2003, and my doc said 2-3 weeks recovery time. However, I've also been reading a lot on this site, and believe that a slightly longer recovery time may be needed. I guess everyone is different.

Hi Karen!

We have the same date, and it sounds like our work situation is similar. My boss decided to bring in a temp to help out while I'm gone - she started this past Tuesday, and, while she seems to be doing well, I'm finding it difficult to train her in such a short amount of time. Of course, she won't be doing everything I usually do, but even the simplest things take time to explain. I truly didn't realize how very much I do. I feel kind of selfish for thinking this way, but I'm sort of hoping my group at work will run into a situation where they need to call me at home to ask me where something is. I don't want things to fall apart while I'm gone, but I do need to feel needed. That's the way I've always been, though. I think I was just born with the belief that if I'm not needed I'm worthless. Anyway, our home life sounds quite different. I do have children - 4 and 5 years old, but my dh is going to have to take care of everything. My mom is having surgery on her hand this week, so she won't be able to help, if she even would, and my mother-in-law is about 700 miles away, so she can't help; although, if she were here, I know she'd take care of everything and then some. My sister has offered to help but she has the busiest life of anyone I know, so I know she won't be able to do much. I'm feeling kind of sorry for my dh right about now. Don't worry- like it's that easy - we're both going to be just fine....even better when we reach the other side.