When I got home, I had the support of my partner and my Mum who could manage all the support needs between them and the help of someone else doing the cooking and sitting with me was definitely a help, although there are always going to be some friction with everyone in the house together! But being in your own bed (propped up) eating home cooked food and sitting in your own front room just helped me to start to feel better.
I found myself just tired all the time - having proper naps of a couple of hours every day. I carried a cushion about so I could support myself with coughing. But mainly I just sat, reading or doing some puzzles to keep my brain active. I started to walk a little bit (15-20 minutes) within a couple of weeks of the op but found myself very slow and also out of breath so it was slow progress building back up. By about 4 weeks post-op I was walking about 40 minutes and taking one of the dogs who is very calm.
I built up slowly - small things like cutting hard veg or onions, which you don't realise use your chest muscles - would be difficult and if I pottered about too much I got tired quickly.
I was back at work 4 weeks post-op - I have a sedentary job so could work from home easily. But it got gradually better and the bruising and swelling went down. I felt on the road to recovery and good in myself, so my progress went well. Until it didn't...
