{"id":1297,"date":"2026-02-01T00:01:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T00:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/02\/01\/dans-healing-the-weeks-after-surgery\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T00:01:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T00:01:51","slug":"dans-healing-the-weeks-after-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/2026\/02\/01\/dans-healing-the-weeks-after-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Dan\u2019s healing: The weeks after surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today marks nine days since Dan\u2019s hernia surgery.<\/p>\n

From my perspective, he is healing like a champ. Each day he is a little steadier, a little stronger, and a little more himself. His pain is easing and watching his body recover has been a genuine relief.<\/p>\n

And still, this week has been about more than Dan healing from his surgery.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Dan
Pre-op Dan Digmann, smiling to give me (and himself?) some comfort. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you live with Multiple Sclerosis, your life typically runs on a carefully planned schedule. Dan and I know how to navigate fatigue, uncertainty, and the choreography of care. Adding surgery to that mix didn\u2019t just slow things down; it shifted our daily balance and routine.<\/p>\n

One of our biggest challenges has centered around transfers into and out of my power wheelchair. You know: the trips to the toilet, into the shower, or into bed.<\/p>\n

These are the transfers that Dan and I have mastered<\/a><\/strong> over our two decades of marriage. Yes, this involves me standing briefly so I can pivot-transfer, but it always depends on Dan\u2019s strength to lift me to standing.<\/p>\n

No one else has the strength or skill to singlehandedly do what he does to make this happen for me anymore.<\/p>\n

So when Dan was ordered by his surgeon not to lift anything over 10 pounds for the six weeks following his surgery, that put the pressure on us to secure caregivers who could cover for what Dan has done for me all these years.<\/p>\n

The craft of transfers and the challenges they carry<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fortunately, we have equipment like a Hoyer lift and a sit-to-stand to make these transfers possible for properly trained caregivers.<\/p>\n

With Dan unable to help, my caregivers face pressure to transfer me. Pressure to make bathroom transfers quick and frequent, due to my pesky neurogenic bladder<\/a><\/strong>, thanks MS. And sit-to-stand transfers put more strain on my arms and shoulders.<\/p>\n

The pain is real and intense.   <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t share that to complain, but to explain that this is part of Dan\u2019s recovery I\u2019m living with.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

It is also where the importance of support becomes unmistakably clear.<\/p>\n

Dan feels for me and is sympathetic to my pain, but we could not be navigating this recovery without my caregiver, Jen. Her strength, skill, steadiness, and deep understanding of Dan and my reality have made a profound difference. <\/p>\n

Emotionally, there is also another layer.<\/p>\n

Dan instinctively wants to help me. He wants to step in when caregivers struggle with my transfers. But he can\u2019t do anything, not without risking his own recovery.<\/p>\n

So, we find ourselves holding back for each other\u2019s sake, both aware of our limits, both wanting to protect one another. That restraint is its own form of care.<\/p>\n

Because Jen isn\u2019t available to fill all shifts, seven days a week, for the six weeks of Dan\u2019s recovery, this week required meeting several new caregivers. This meant sacrificing more of my personal privacy. But hey, that\u2019s life with a chronic illness, right?  <\/p>\n

It also brought a familiar kind of tiredness\u2014tired from meeting new people, tired of telling diagnosis stories, tired of teaching how to use the equipment so I don\u2019t get hurt. I\u2019m so tired, and once again, that\u2019s life with a chronic illness.<\/p>\n

Five more weeks to go<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tired but thankful at the same time. Grateful for the caregivers’ care and for their wanting to know more about Dan and me. It\u2019s that usual balance.<\/p>\n

Nine days later, Dan continues to heal beautifully. I continue to adapt and accept help.<\/p>\n

And the truth is, we still have five more weeks to go.<\/p>\n

Five more weeks of healing, pacing ourselves, and hoping nothing tips the balance too far. It\u2019s a vulnerable season, and we\u2019re meeting it with honesty, support, and as much grace as we can muster.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not there yet. But we are already looking ahead to week six and the return of a balance that feels a little more like home.<\/p>\n

Source: acoupletakesonms.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today marks nine days since Dan\u2019s hernia surgery. From my perspective, he is healing like a champ. Each day he is a little steadier, a little stronger, and a little more himself. His pain is easing and watching his body recover has been a genuine relief. And still, this week has been about more than…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1298,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11,15,9,8,13,14,12,10],"class_list":["post-1297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-multiple-sclerosis-research","tag-brain-repair","tag-marburg-type-ms","tag-ms","tag-multiple-sclerosis","tag-myelin","tag-neuroregeneration","tag-oligodendrocyte","tag-remyelination"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wickedsister.evit.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}