Back to work

Some people may be itching to get back to work. How long it will take before you are able to get back to work will depend on a number of things including whether your work is physical or sedentary, how invasive your surgery was and your employment contract. Here’s a few things to think about before you rush back into it:

Firstly, take as much time as you can. Your body (and mind!) have just been through a lot, and you may be surprised how much it has taken out of you. I thought I was going to be back at work within four weeks. I’d even lined up a job interview (haha) in about week four or five of my recovery. Needless to say that didn’t happen. I eventually went back to work after 9 weeks. So take your time, rest up – you’ll be back at work before you know it.

Secondly before you do head into the office for work, go in for a coffee or lunch one day. It will give you a chance to answer questions and catch up with people informally before you have to do any real work. There will be lots of people who want to hear your story and it’s nice to get this out of the way before you officially return to work. There will still be questions later on, but it gets some of the awkwardness out of the way. It also gives you a chance to get used to the work environment again.

Thirdly When you do to work start back part time for a couple of weeks if you can. It is surprising how exhausting even that can be. It also gives you a chance to continue working on your physical rehabilitation, without the pressure of full time work. I found it much easier fitting in my rehabilitation classes, daily walks, doctor’s appointments etc, without the pressure of a 9-5 job.

Finally, if you can try and reduce the amount of stress or responsibility you have in your work. Take a less demanding role for a while, make sure you stick to the minimum hours and prioritise your health. I have done that for the past twelve months (although I changed jobs during this time, it is a much less stressful environment and the management team are incredibly supportive) and  I’m just starting to feel now that I can take on more. I’ve heard other people who have been recovering from a major illness say the same thing. It isn’t that you can’t handle the same level of stress anymore, it’s just that your “bucket of stress” is already quite full – just think of what you’ve had to deal with both from a medical procedure and a mortality perspective! That’s bound to create a little anxiety.

So be kind to yourself, take your time, acknowledge what you have just been through and ease back into work.

Pilates

This is just a short post to say I’ve found an excellent Pilates studio in Wellington – Body Magic Pilates. The Pilates method they teach is Stott Pilates.

I’ve been thinking about doing Pilates for some time, and thought it would be good to help strengthen my chest and regain some flexibility. I had a lot of cutting through the muscle in my chest as they used a couple of arteries from there for my bypass surgery. I had thought about the mechanical stress of having my chest opened up, but not the scarring from harvesting the arteries. So the Pilates is great on two fronts – 1. it focusses on the placement of my ribcage (which obviously got a bit out of whack – and 2. it focusses on stretching the scar tissue.

I’ve had a few sessions and I’m feeling great. I know there’s staying on top of my aerobic fitness and fat burning etc, but this is a great foundation. I’m having 1:1 sessions with Bruce at the moment and will probably keep that up for 6 weeks or so. The team and setup are really professional, and they know their stuff. I’m not sure what I’ll do after that. hopefully I’ll be able to maintain a regular Pilates routine.

This has been a great find as I haven’t found any one place that specialises or is experienced in working with people who have had open heart surgery. I know there are classes run by Massey University, but they are over the other side of town and are early in the morning, which makes it impossible for me to get to.

Anyway, I’m very happy to have found Body Magic Pilates!!!

Recovery Stage 3 – staying on track

Out of the system

I’d be interested in hearing others thoughts on this, because personally I found this stage of my recovery the most challenging. There are a number of things that I think combined to make this time so difficult:

• The support of the hospital rehab programme is no longer there. This was a regular exercise and education programme that kept me motivated. Without that external motivator it was up to me to keep on track with my recovery.
• I chose not to join one of the local heart clubs. This was perhaps a mistake, but at the time I was determined not to be defined by my heart disease and thought that participating in a heart club was a step n that direction.
• Despite having been confronted with my own mortality, the further I got from the main event, the more my motivation flagged. It’s difficult to recreate the motivation you have when first told you are going to need a quadruple bypass!
• It was also a time when I was starting to get back into a “normal” routine with work, family, exercise etc. Staying focussed on healthy eating and staying active seemed to much. It was very easy to let my own health priorities slip in favour of other commitments or priorities.

Finding support

I recently attended a seminar run by the New Zealand Heart Foundation. They were traveling the country with the aim of helping people like to me stay on track. They had a range of presenters from cardiologists to everyday people sharing their experience with heart disease. One of the sessions was on motivation and goal setting. One thing that struck me was that I’m a bit of a drifter – I don’t really set goals. And so setting a goal of healthy eating, monitoring it and having some kind of reward system seems like a good idea, but I have just never managed to stick at it.

If this sounds like you one of the presenters suggested finding your motivation externally. That is, find other people who can help you stay motivated. For example, arranging to meet a friend or group of friends before or after work for a walk, run or swim. Or finding a coach that you have to report in to every week or month. I have a friend at work who offered to be my coach, however she’s a seasoned multi sport athlete and more than a bit of a hard arse – so I politely declined 🙂

One thing I have found useful is the Green Prescription available here in New Zealand. More information is available on the Ministry of Health’s website. You can aso check out the Green Prescription Wellington’s Facebook page for more information. Basically it’s a recommendation from your GP to make exercise part of your ongoing health management. The Green Prescription entitles you to discounts on health providers and some council run facilities, such as swimming pools and gyms. As well as the discounts you are assigned a case manager, who will ring and talk through what actions you can take, send you information and do research on your behalf. They will also keep track of your goals and help you stay on track. I’m fortunate enough to have a case manager who has been through the hospital cardiac rehab programme as part of her exercise science degree, so has a good understanding of my situation.

So for the first time ever I’m going to make a list of goals and stick them on the fridge. I have no idea if it will work or not – I’ll let you know!