09/09/2019

Surgery is the easy part.
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This was my go to line when I worked with the geriatric community as a physical therapist assistant.
My goal everyday was to see the patient and get them up and moving (or stretching, or strengthening) towards THEIR goal-
Which maybe consisted of
•walking 50ft with a Front Wheeled walker-
Or
•requiring ONE person to assist them out of bed rather than TWO
Or
•increasing their score of a standard balance test.
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(These all may seem simple to us, but working towards these tasks daily was not an easy feat for this population- it requires physical therapy almost daily)
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My reminding them that SURGERY was the easy part (maybe from a hip repair, or knee replacement) was my way of relating to them- saying that their continued work AFTER was (and is going to be) the difficult part- the day in an day out in rehabilitation is far more strenuous on the body and mind than being out under for a couple hours while a doctor scrapes and prodes.
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So here’s my first dose of taking my own medicine-
Remember Jamie- surgery IS the “easy” part, it’s the mental game afterwards that’s the tricky piece.