Daily changes since surgery

Obviously since surgery I have had to adjust my daily activities and lifestyle a little as I haven’t been able to move around as freely. My recovery has been a lot better than expected and now I can do most things that I did before surgery minus obvious activities like sport but for the first few months post-op I did have to adjust a bit.

Firstly I still can’t bend properly. I can’t round my back like most people (this is bad for anyone anyway.) Instead I bend from my knees and kind of squat down if I need to bend over. When talking to my physio she said pretty much everyone should be bending like this because it is good for your back and posture and now I’m just more aware of it and that’s how I move all the time now.

Straight after surgery I did tend to stay out of big crowds. I’m fine now and will go anywhere but as soon as I got at of hospital and started seeing more people I tried to stay out of busy places as I was a little nervous about being knocked or bumped by someone accidentally. As I said this isn’t an issue anymore but I thought I’d mention it as it was a small fear I had at the start.

Another change is now at school I take a small suitcase/wheely bag instead of my normal backpack. I can’t carry my school bag as it is quite heavy so instead I have my mini suitcase. I am asked about this a lot at school. Some people just stare at the bag and others that I know may ask me why I have it. Everyone that has asked me have been quite kind about it and are just asking out of interest. In the beginning when I first went back to school I was really embarrassed about taking it in with me but now that I’ve had it for about a term it’s not a problem anymore and it’s just like taking in my school bag. It’s become the normal.

There are other small things that I need to be aware of like not running as I’m rushing to get somewhere or chasing something or whatever it might be. Also not lifting anything too heavy. I can still only lift about 2.5kg, so I need to remember that when I think of moving something.

All these adjustment are really small, simple things that have just become normal for me now. They don’t effect my day much at all, they’re just some things I’m cautious of when carrying out certain tasks. It doesn’t make me any different and hasn’t changed anything at all. I just thought some people may be interested as to what has had to change for me throughout recovery. I’m so lucky that my recovery has been much easier than I expected and if these are the only things I need to change because of surgery then I’m very happy.

‘Life after surgery can go back to normal, it’s just the normal that has changed.’