Surgery

The goal of any surgery is total recovery - to come out better than you were before. 

Some patients heal quickly and feel immediate relief. 

For others the healing happens gradually, and it's not until months or even years later that you realize you don't hurt anymore. 

So the challenge after any surgery is to be patient. 

But if you can make it through the first weeks and months, if you believe that healing is possible, then you can get your life back. 

But that's a big if.

The first 24 hours after surgery are critical. 

Every breath you take, every fluid you make, is meticulously reported and analyzed. 

Celebrated or mourned. 

But what about the next 24 hours? 

What happens with that first day turns to two and weeks turn into months? 

What happens when the immediate danger has passed, when the machines are disconnected and the teams of doctors and nurses are gone? 

Surgery is when you get saved.

But post-op, after surgery, is when you heal. 

But, what if you don't?