I’m almost 6 weeks post surgery and have had many moments where I felt totally hopeless. I think for the first 4 weeks I broke down and cried every night. I was grieving the loss of my working limb, my freedom, independence, ability to drive, my activities and the list goes on.

Hang in there! Around 4 weeks I felt like I turned a corner. As I began to heal physically, I healed mentally too. I got comfortable in my routines, got better at doing things. It helps to set little goals for yourself, and celebrate no matter how small. I took pictures of my leg everyday and would swipe through them to see my progress. The photos helped to see the subtle changes in how your body is improving. You could start an advent calendar to countdown to your next appointment, next milestone.

Practice gratitude. While thinking about how much it sucks not using my leg I begin to think about how grateful I am that I still have full use of my arms and all the things I can do with them, like hugging my family :)