So it’s been just over three months since my rupture. I want to go back to work. I have discussed it with my parents and the DRs. At six months they are going in my wrist to go up to the brain to see how it’s healing and see if anything new has developed. My surgeon is doing that and he did a great job. So we decided to stay out of work until after that.
My job before was traveling during college semesters so I am usually off in the summer already,
At 2 months I hadn’t really been out of the house much and thought that I was ready to go back to work then. But since I have been getting out now and seeing more people and driving (which has all been great help for my recovery) I have noticed some things are different and also have decided I wasn’t ready to go back to work yet.
In two days I am going to meet with my boss and his boss about returning to work. I think they already have a good idea of what I am going to say. They came to visit me in the hospital. My boss told me I would have a job when I was ready. HIs boss had a long talk with my mother telling her that he will have work for me and knows it will be different then what I was doing before. As for what my Dr’s have said I am going to start part time and work my way towards full time if I am able. Which I want to. I am going to tell work that. They have been great and have told me all along to focus on getting better and not worry about work. I am about to turn 43 and have always been a busy person and liked to work and liked to go out to concerts and things. This is all new for me. I realize in a lot of ways it is like starting over. But since they found my rupture I know now how I felt that day and no more warning signs like stroke, etc.
I guess I am asking if this all sounds reasonable? Is there anything I should bring up to work when I see them? I have noticed my math is a little off and other things. I can be around people but I don’t think I can work in a large crowd again. There are other things that i have noticed that do scare me but hopefully they will get better. I have realized how crucial it is not to push myself. It’s just a hard adjustment. I appreciate this group!
@R1ck
I don’t know if I have any good advice on what you should say to your boss, but I can tell you one thing. Based on my own experience with a ruptured aneurysm it takes time to heal, longer than you think. You are so early in your recovery and you are already doing well and that will continue to improve. I remember that my neurosurgeon told me that most of the healing process in the brain happens during the first year, but he also said that it doesn’t stop there. He also said that whatever deficits we might have, we will be better with time to accept and learn how to live with them.
This is exactly what I have experienced, I am now 2 1/2 years away from my rupture. I also noticed that the physical recovery came first and after a while I started to process all the emotions and memories of what happened that day….the day that forever changed my life.
Make sure that you don’t push yourself too hard, it won’t help. Listen to your body and rest if you need to. It seems that you have a very understanding and supportive boss.
I hope other members will answer your post and give you some advice.
Take care and remember that we are all survivors.
It sounds like you have done a good amount of communicating with your workplace/boss and have been able to set some expectations for your return. I will say, having returned to my job as an RN way too early after my rupture, that it was a massive struggle for me (I was 2 months out when against my surgeon’s general advice, I went back)… even with some accommodation, I was not prepared for the cognitive fatigue and how my brain would react to sensory overload (bright lights, continual noise, etc). For my 1st year back, all I could do is work and I had uncontrolled headaches,I was completely shot by the end of the day and slept or vegetated most of my non-work hours, which was a bit depressing. Please take your time and be patient, ask for help. I had no idea what my limits were until I got back into the work setting and because I seemed pretty normal, after a month back I think people just expected the old me… 4+ years post rupture I have not “regained the old me”. The new me is a-ok though…
We appreciate you as well! I think telling your bosses what the doctor has recommended about returning part time would be a great start. When I first ruptured I couldn’t be around too many people but that has gotten a lot better. That first year, I wanted to go back to work but it wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t carry on a conversation, my words were all scrambled when they did finally come out and I was physically exhausted all the time, I was overdoing it and didn’t listen to my body, a bad mistake.
I think it was around year three or four, we went to a Mary Chapin Carpenter concert outside up in Asheville. There were hundreds of people and I had a phenomenally great time, even though BH and the couple we went with were more than concerned. Everything gets better, it may just take more time for some than others. You are leaps and bounds ahead of me in such a short time, I truly believe it will all work out.
So I met with my boss and his boss today. We discussed a plan of going back to work part time at the office locally after I have my six month check up. So it will probably be closer to 7 months by the time I start. They are going to come up with a plan that will work for me and them. The next semester will be starting and the road staff will be going back on the road so I think it will be a good fit for us.
They have a Memorial Day luncheon planned and told me if I want to come that I can. I talked to another one of the directors and he told me his mother in law had a brain aneurysm and she lived to be 95. He said he remembered what she went through and said it kind of took her 2 years to get back to being herself. So it’s good to know that he has that insight and knows that I won’t be 100% and it will take me some time.
In august before the semester kicks off each year we have a week of meetings and company parties and get the road staff cabins to stay at. They told me I am welcome to come to what I want of those and they will get me a cabin if I want to stay with the other road staff that I worked with in the past. So I plan on doing that. It will be good for me to see everyone.
. It was a good meeting and to see the people that I did see today
That’s excellent! Sounds like a lot of fun to get to see the road crew and join in the festivities. All bosses should be so kind. When you get around everyone, it will be ok to walk away and get some solitude should you need it.