Eleven days after surgery I went back to work.  I didn’t like to take too much time off, as I didn’t know how much leave I’d need during treatment.  The girls at work insisted I just work a short day so I started at 2.30 and finished at the usual 8pm.

I still wasn’t driving and my husband offered to drive me and pick me up.  Being a 30 minute drive each way, I was really grateful.  Work isn’t too physically demanding and I was instructed by a number of workmates to ‘just sit and answer the phone, don’t do anything else!’   It was lovely to be driven home at the end of the day.  I felt a bit weary and was careful to protect my surgery arm and not lift much.  As I work two days a week, I appreciated the two days break till I worked again.  Fridays are usually quiet, but I struggled a bit in the middle of the afternoon on Friday and was glad it was the weekend.  My husband also drove me the next week and after that I was fine and had no issues or discomfort with driving, but did place a travel pillow on my chest so the seatbelt didn’t cut into my chest.

In the first few weeks, I rested when I needed it and didn’t over do things.  Well meaning people suggested I have a sleep each day, but I just didn’t feel like I needed to, unless I’d had a bad night’s sleep.  Even just an hour reading was refreshing some days.

I was looking forward to Saturday as our daughter was having the first fitting for her wedding dress and had invited me to go with her.  It was lovely to spend time with her and share in the excitement of seeing her get into her dress – even though it needed some alteration.  It was so good to have the wedding to look forward to in five months time, although I had a bit to deal with before that.

The following weekend was her ‘Crafternoon’.  It was an afternoon at our place to help make the invitations for the wedding and other wedding  related things.  She had a theme  and bought yellow and white flowers in cute little bottles, made a punch and we had yellow and white stripy paper straws.  Yellow and silver balloons added a festive atmosphere.  I’d made ribbon sandwiches and a couple of her friends came and bought food.   We all had a lovely afternoon being crafty, chatting, eating and having a glass of champagne.  It was good to do something fun and normal.

So far I hadn’t read too much about Breast Cancer.  I’d gone through the booklets I’d been given and knew about all types of treatment and outcomes.  Now I felt like I wanted to know how others felt when they were diagnosed and how they dealt with their cancer.  I downloaded a few books to my kindle.  I found a couple were educational and entertaining.  Another was so bland I knew why it was a free e-book!  I did enjoy reading A Love for Life – by Glenn  and Jane McGrath.  The sad thing was I knew this book didn’t have a happy ending.  After I’d downloaded eight books, I decided I should stop and read some different subject matter before this became an addiction!

I had received a DVD from Breast Cancer Network Australia in the My Journey Kit that is given to all women diagnosed with Breast Cancer.  It was a Pilates program called Strengthen Your Recovery.  It was designed by a breast cancer survivor who is also a pilates instructor.  It’s a great idea and I enjoyed doing the gentle exercises each day.  They were aimed at supporting recovery, regaining strength and easing any post-surgery discomfort.    I was impressed that there were various levels of each exercise demonstrated, and the women in the DVD had been through the breast cancer experience themselves.  The exercises were set out by the number of weeks after surgery and built upon each previous session.  It was  good to get into some exercise clothes and do the DVD program each day.

Four weeks after my surgery I went back to the gym.  I didn’t do much, just sat on the exercise bike and turned the legs over.  It wasn’t much, but it was something and helped me mentally.    I felt like I was on the road to recovery.  The elliptical trainer was too much on my arm and weights were out of the question, but I found it easy to adapt.  Just the fact I could put on my gym gear and go added to the sense of normality and healing.  I also started walking with my training partner.

Little did I know how important it would be to be fit and well for what lay ahead in the coming months.

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