I had my one month follow-up appointment with my neurosurgeon on Tuesday - got told again: “gold star for recovery” so far! They are very happy with my progress, and gave me clearance to start physical therapy, allowed to take baths/start walking in pools, increasing weight I can lift, doing a bit more, and increasing amount of time sitting. Still no dog-walking, vacuuming, dishes, lawn-mowing, or most laundry for another month or two though - too much strain when being pulled, turning, and bending over. I am so far 100% happy that I went through with the surgery - I am so much better off than I was with the back and leg pain from the get-go.
So all week, I have been working on the amount of time I can sit at once at a chair, while just getting up to walk around every 15 minutes or so, but avoiding major laying-down sessions (which always relieves the pain around the incision spot).
I’ve been able to improve quite a bit, so following doctor’s suggestion, I am going to start going into office today, finally. I’ve been working at home full-time, but for next week or so, I am going to switch to half-days in office, half-days at home, with physical therapy 2x a week as well. That way, I continue to push towards getting back to “normal” (which may take 3 months or so to fully feel), can continue to be productive at work, yet still provide my back some down time by taking advantage of the comforts of working from home, while at the same time having face-time to work with my team and others. My body will tell me when it’s ready for full-time days. Hopefully soon, but the doc did caution me to take it slow and steady.
I am excited to get back - it’s been a long path of pain and recovery!
E-mail I just sent to work:
“Hey All…
Just a quick update on my status.
Recovery is continuing to go well, and I am now able to sit long enough to make it worthwhile to start working from home again (so I can work from both chair and laying flat as needed, as too much sitting is still not good for me). Trust me, I am getting bored not working :)
As such, my plan is:
1) I am going to come into office for an hour this morning to catch up with everyone, and to figure out where all of the projects are at (so I know where to focus on for working from home)
2) I’ll be working from home starting today, until at least July 8th (next Tuesday), when I have my one-month followup with the neurosurgeon. I’ll know more about my medical clearance to work from office once I meet with him.
3) I’ll be available via phone and email while I am at home. Feel free to call me for anything needed and to call me into any meetings I am needed at.See you this morning!
- Aaron”