Before I left for surgery my supervisor, of course asked how long I thought I would be out. I told him that I would only be out for two weeks. So what did he do? He went online and researched recovery time for the procedure I was having. The next day he asked if I was sure because in his research it said it should take about 6-8 weeks to recover. The work I do is not physically demanding. I sit on my butt all day and take phone calls. I was absolutely sure that I would be back in two weeks. So then began the banter between my sup and I. He would say "if " you return in two weeks and I would say "when" I return in two weeks.
Exactly two weeks after surgery I returned to work! I felt great and didn't have any issues working my full shift. I was a little more tired that first shift than I typically would be but I still felt great! Besides that I was happy to be out of my house and not sitting in my big chair. I was getting awfully tired of the perpetual state of numb my butt was in.
Now a funny thing happens when people know that you are going through a major change like what I did. People knew that I was having WLS and so when they hadn't seen me for a while they were curious. I had to find comic relief in the fact that the first thing people did when they saw me at work when I returned, was they would look me up and down. They were not discreet. I mean full on head to toe, check me out, how much weight have I actually lost, do I look any different, look me up and down. I guess because I was open about what I was going through made it OK to just look.
In a way you become like a zoo animal on display. To go along with the checking you out people just stare when you go out to eat with them. The first time I went to lunch with a friend after surgery she spent the whole time just watching me eat. Every time I took a bite, what I was eating, how much I was eating, how long it took me to eat...STARE. I get that people are curious. I am probably one of the most curious people around, but come on, don't just stare and if you are going to, let's not make it obvious. Again, I get that people are interested, ask me questions. I promise there is nothing too personal that I won't answer about what I am going through. If I feel it's none of your business I will tell you so.
By the time I went to work I was on to the pureed food stage. This meant I could add almost anything I wanted to my diet as long as it was the consistency of baby food. I ate a lot of scrambled eggs, applesauce, canned chicken, mashed potatoes, ground meat, and refried beans. Meals were still 2 oz in 30 mins. I had to eat the protein first and if I got full from that I stopped. I was still drinking protein shakes twice a day. When I returned to work two weeks after WLS I was down 22 lbs.
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to work I go...
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