Now that the post op chaos has settled down, I feel like I have gotten a bit of a breather for now. Next week is my Oncology consult and Integrative Care consult along with some more lab work. I was happy to have just a few weeks to not be poked at. I also got to take a good mental rest before we had to phase two!
I wanted to share a post op update on something that I was not quite expecting. I recovered so quickly from surgery. The pain disappeared and I regained movement of my arm and for the most part I was back to normal activities. This week I started to experience a lot of random, sharp pains in my breast. I guess I knew this could be a thing, but I wasn’t really expecting it after how great I was feeling. Nerve pain after a lumpectomy is relatively common and can result from nerves being stretched, cut, or damaged during surgery. This is likely the body regenerating nerve tissue and can make you a bit hypersensitive to touch. No fear though, as this is more of an annoyance than anything else. Acupuncture is an option to resolve this and that is one therapy that will be covered in my Integrative Care appointment.
In preparation for my pending treatments, I took a complete leap of faith and took the government buyout that was offered, which means I will be on five months of leave starting mid May. Part of this agreement allows me to continue with my current benefits. This was my opportunity to take a step back in my career and focus on healing and recovery. I am so grateful the timing on this worked they way it did. What started as a hellish year in the workplace turned into a timely opportunity. It was never an issue of COULD I work while undergoing treatment, but more a matter of why SHOULD I? This was a bit scary, being that I am an obsessive planner, but again, this “C” stuff doesn’t allow for much planning. I will hunt for my next role during my time off, but I have faith I will land on my feet well and that the industry will welcome me back with open arms.
This really is a good time to reevaluate my career path. I spent the day chatting with an old college friend who just sold her company and was able to take a small pause. We talked a lot about what drove our early years of career goals to keep pushing to the top and with that, all the burnout that it created. Now we are both here answering the question “What’s next?”. I’ll take a few weeks off before I start putting too much thought into it. Rest, rinse, and repeat.
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