Monday, May 18, 2015

Sick in Style

Hello dear Friends!

You might know that I've been summoned to a three-week home rest by my doctor due to recovery from a surgery. As someone who is used to going around and be active, both in and outside of my home, it's pretty difficult. If you've been in similar situation, you'd know what I mean. You feel weak. You feel pain all day long. You get tired easily. And you get bored because though your mind is pretty much OK, your body is pretty much still in recovery state. 

I'm not a doctor, but here I will share with you several things that have helped me to spend the past three weeks in relatively serene, happy, and 'productive' state.

Stick to a SIMPLE routine

Don't overdo it. Your body is still in healing state. However, just spending days doing nothing won't speed your recovery period, either. A routine will give you a sense of purpose, that you have something to do, something to look forward to. It's like "Oh, after this, I will be doing this." But keep it simple so you won't get overwhelmed or too tired. 

What I do is trying to wake up, eat, and go to bed at similar time. 

When you're sick, it's so tempting to just stay in bed all day long. You feel like you have an excuse to wake up late and do anything you want. Well, don't. It will make you feel worse and guilty. Trust me. I wake up around 8 every morning (later than my usual habit, bue hey, I'm sick, rite! Haha!), have a light breakfast around 10, lunch around 1 pm, snack around 5 pm, dinner around 7 pm, and sleep around 11 pm. It's a much more lenient schedule than my normal one, but it gives a certain rhythm and order to my days. 

Cleanliness is godliness

Who has the energy to clean the house when one is sick? Well, I am talking about keep yourself clean everyday. Even patients in the hospital get a morning bath by the nurses daily. Usually I shower twice a day, but during the sick period I only shower in the morning. Afterall, I don't go out of the house or doing any activities that will get me all sweaty and dirty. I love the feeling of being clean and ready for the day, even if I get tired again and nap two hours after getting ready! 

When you are sick, you feel bad. Not getting a shower and slop around in three-day-old tattered pajamas won't help you feel better. Take a shower or ask someone to help you clean your body at least once a day, like they do in the hospitals. Wear a nice, clean, housedress or pajamas. Put on some sweet scented body lotion and brush your hair. It's a way to show respect to yourself, sick or not. You deserve it! I don't wear makeup since I think that's a bit too much for someone just recovered from a surgery, but I do put on some tinted lipbalm on my lips so my lips are moisturized and I won't like a pale ghost! A dirty, unkempt sick woman is very unsightly!

Relax and accept (or seek) help

You might be a superwoman when you are healthy. Still, when you are sick, you need help. Don't be afraid or feel guilty to ask for help. Ask your spouse, your friend, your family, your parents, or if you can afford it, pay someone to help you. Get help to clean the house, take care of your children if you have any, do grocery shopping, whatever that can help you not getting to tired. It's OK. You are sick. You DO need help. You can always repay the kindness when you are healthy again. 

I usually take care of the family grocery shopping and meals, but during the past three weeks, I asked Hubby to do that. I don't complain when he bought beef instead of chicken, I was just grateful that I had someone to help me. Also, I am so blessed that my Mom stayed with me for the first week after I got back from the hospital. 

Don't forget to reverse the role and be the helper to the sick when you are healthy!

Eat

You might lose all your appetite altogether and just want to drink water, but your body needs fuel to heal. So eat. Try to avoid junkfood if you can. Eat your fruit and veggies to boost your immune system so your body can heal faster. I make fruit and veggie smoothies daily and just drink it all first thing in the morning. It's the easiest way for me to ensure that I get all the fruit and veggies I'd need throughout the day in the simplest way possible. 

It is normal not wanting to eat when your body is not fit. Just eat a small portion, but with more frequency. Eating in small portion helps the body to digest the food better. Your digestion system is also healing, so eat one big portion might be too big of a job for it at the moment. Eat, whether you want to or not. 

Take supplement if neccessary. I break down my supplement intake (prescribed by the doctor) several times a day. I take multivitamin with breakfast, vitamin C and B with lunch, and antioxidant with dinner. That way, my body will be able to absorb all of the goodness to the max instead of just overloaded with vitamins and flush most of them out. Too much vitamin is also hard for the kidney.

Pray!

The Doctor of all doctors can heal you! Read your Bible everyday, just a little bit, and have a conversation with Heavenly Father everyday!

Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I choose to use these three weeks as an needed excuse to relax, focus on recovery, think of self improvement in mind and body, plan, pray, read the Bible, play with my son, and not thinking too much about work! 


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3 comments:

Judith Kowles said...

I am so sorry to hear that you had surgery recently. What good ideas you have for recovery. Excellent!! Get better soon!!

May 19, 2015 at 10:27 AM
Mom to 3 said...

Thank you for sharing your story and great tips on how to make the most of recovery. I hope that you are feeling much better soon.

May 19, 2015 at 8:16 PM
a joyful noise said...

I am sorry you are not as well as you would like, but your steps to recovery are well written. Surgery can set you back, but eating well (or drinking your smoothie) taking naps and keeping yourself clean and pretty are good advice. Get better real quick and my prayers are with you. Thanks for sharing with us here at Tell me a True Story.

May 22, 2015 at 7:02 AM

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