I knew recovering from a craniotomy would take awhile and be tough in the beginning, but kept reading how between 6-8 weeks later you begin to “return to normal activities.” It was so hard to do much early on I found this hard to believe.
But this week will mark 8 weeks post surgery and I finally feel like I am “returning to normal” and picking myself back up. I am able to walk more and do more each day and am getting out and not only does it feel good physically but it’s been huge mentally.
Because I was so mentally scared and distracted early on I didn’t focus on what I could do and got caught in my own head. Now I’m focused on the moment and being engaged. I’m enjoying TV and movies and flying through books. I’m getting back to my blog and writing. I’m looking up activities for us to do as a family when we can.
It’s even simple tasks that were so hard initially but now feel great to be able to do again. Showering was a challenge early on and as gross as this sounds, I wasn’t doing every day as I wasn’t doing much. Now I’m showering on my own (with my shower chair) and back to a somewhat normal routine.
I’m doing a walk each morning, now without a cane. I actually got up to a mile for the first time this weekend. And the exercise is also part of a normal routine.
This may sound silly especially because of how terrible they look but I painted my fingernails over the weekend and was so excited to do this simple task. I had cleaned out a bin of polish I had with Reese and figured it’s time to continue to make yourself feel good.
I picked a very neutral color (Almost Almond) that barely shows to start simple in my first time wearing polish in months. It was actually a very good occupational therapy task for my left hand (the weak side) as I continue to work on getting it stronger.
I have never been good at doing my nails so if it’s sloppy now, it’s not any different than it’s been! But this weekend it felt like such a treat to do. I felt a little special even though I had no occasion to paint my nails for.
The reality is that I’m allowing myself to take a step back and not get caught up like I was in all the scares and worries I initially faced after my brain surgery. I’m taking things day by day and focusing on doing what I can at the moment.
I’m learning to appreciate the simplest things even sloppy painted nails. There’s still a lot I worry about and admittedly there are still times I get caught in my head, but I have gotten so much better over the past 2-3 weeks.
Little things do make a big difference and the simplest of tasks are a big deal. Initially after my surgery I struggled to see how I could get back to “normal” activities as so much was so hard, but I’ve been getting there.
I will continue to focus on staying positive and on the small things. On being in the moment and enjoying simple things. After all I’ve been through painting my nails sloppily felt like the best salon treatment.
And I look forward to the next color and appointment….I may even try a little more bold color next time!
#brainsurgery #craniotomy #smallthings #allthesmallthings #nails #paintingnails #returntonormal
