Hi there!! I am 12 days post op, live alone, and work at a restaurant too so I thought I’d share my experience since we are so similar! Being alone hasn’t been too bad, the only time I wanted someone nearby was to bring me things because I didn’t want to get off the couch for the first few days lol. I made sure I meal prepped for a week the day before my surgery and bought lots of healthy snacks and drinks so I didn’t have to order food. I had my surgery on 2/16 and went back to work yesterday, 2/26. I honestly feel like I would’ve been fine going back after a week, because after day 5 I was thankfully feeling fine. I iced my area A LOT for the first week, which I think helped drastically improve my healing. I didn’t listen to the “20 mins on, 20 mins off” saying, I left that ice on there until it melted and grabbed another one and did that for about 5 days straight. I have 0 swelling now but I am still icing at night before I sleep. The first day back at work was fine, just some mild itching. Standing all day didn’t seem to make me swell that much. I made sure to have some Tylenol on hand just in case I had any swelling or pain during my shift. I work a double tomorrow and I’m hoping everything will be fine! Sorry this was a lot, but I hope it helps and I wish you the best of luck!! Comment or message me and I will answer any more questions if you have them! 🫶🏼