This year I have had three different major surgeries; In January I had a full hysterectomy, in June I had a right ACL reconstruction plus a meniscus disc re-anchored and finally last week I had a left ACL reconstruction. All three have felt very different on my own pain scale but one thing they all have in common is that the time to be”fully recovered” is one year. However, each surgery has a different physio programme to follow. The programmes are a set of different exercises and potential milestones but I was assured that each person is different and milestones will be reached exactly when my body can reach them.

Thankfully I spent a good year becoming the fittest I could possibly be before my first surgery, I lost a lot of weight and toned up. Following my hysterectomy I was then able to do post op physio ready for my planned bilateral ACL reconstruction surgery planned for June. However, the surgery didn’t fully go to plan because when they went into my right knee there was a lot more damage to fix hence why I had to go back for my left knee.

But what does this have to do with the trauma recovery I really want to talk about? Trauma from being coercively controlled by my ex husband.

Hystorectomy Selfie Post Hystorectompy Surgery ACL Leg and Meniscus Disc ACL and Meniscus Disc Brave Bird Pants Post ACL and Meniscus Disc Surgery ACL and Meniscus Disc Back of Knee Post ACL and Meniscus Disc Wound Post ACL Surgery Selfie Post ACL 1 day Post ACL side Post ACL Post ACL 2 week swelling

Well, this year I have seen for myself just how long it takes to recover from these individual surgeries. What surprised me was the ACL reconstructions, they didn’t seem like the most invasive surgery you could end up with for your knees. But, my legs ended up swelling up and the bruising on my chin and the back of my knee was just as bad as my knee itself. Then there was the ability to put your weight onto your leg after this surgery. I’m sure you are getting the picture.

This has opened my eyes to how much the body can take but also what it needs to do to repair itself, including the energy it takes from you physically. My body has suffered immense trauma this year and I am doing everything in my power to repair it because I know how important it is to me in the long run. It feels like an almost holistic approach, every patient is different, every patient is on their own pain management and physical recovery journey.

Why then did I not consider the amount of time, patience, help, support or guidance needed for emotional trauma? It will be even longer than the physical trauma my body has gone through this year. When I started to think of it like this I started to feel lighter and asked myself why haven’t I been kinder to myself?

Upon this conclusion I realised that…

My mind needs its own physio therapy to exercise through the flashbacks, negative automatic thoughts and unhealthy habits.My heart needs the presence family, friends or connections to help learn to love and trust again.My soul needs guidance and the tools to be able to open up and be kind to myself.

Everyone is different, one exercise might work for me but for someone else it might not. We talk about a holistic approach but when you see how it works in a physical trauma way, you realise that it’s still missing.

Going back to my recovery from the surgeries, post surgery I had phone calls to check up on how I was doing at home, I had appointments to check my wounds and mobility, I had the pain management side and more. Some weeks I had five appointments face to face. Correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I know we don’t do this for those who have had an emotional trauma.

Even physical trauma to the body can relapse and so it’s important to also remember that healing is not linear with surgery. I can definitely say that I’ve been doing well with recovery for a couple of weeks and then suddenly I’ve been over confident and climbed an extra step or walked around a corner faster than I should, it’s then put me back a week.

Emotional trauma can come from situations or events we find traumatic and can include how we’re affected by our experiences. Everyone has a different trauma response, so you might notice that it effects you quickly or a long time after the event. Being verbally or emotionally abused is one of the most common forms of emotional trauma, it takes many different forms and can go unrecognised for years.

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The post Trauma Recovery: Physical and Emotional appeared first on Jennifer Gilmour.