I am now back at work, at the moment Monday, Tuesday and Friday to a maximum of 20 hours. Reading back to one of my very first posts, AHSCT & Work, I mentioned how much I generally enjoy my work, and how key being a mechanical engineer is to my sense of identity.
I was starting to get restless, it has been great having this time at home to rest and recuperate but it felt like the right time to get back to work. It was more of a process than I had anticipated, I had to see the work doctor, get referrals from my various specialists, and sign a return to work plan. However that has all now come to fruition, and I am part time until probably the end of February then back to my usual 4 days a week. There are limitations on my work, e.g. no site visits for a while, ability to take rests, but these seem pretty reasonable and manageable.
I enjoy two aspects of work; the social aspect and using my brain. Being at home was fine, due to my relatively easy recovery I could be pretty sociable and catch up with healthy people people. It will however be only to see a lot of work colleagues, and have the social interaction of a vibrant workplace. Also I could feel my brain start to atrophy, in the last few weeks. I’ve now been given real, very discrete, work items, which are by no means simple. So while it’s a graduated return to work, it’s real work.
Our new building is fabulous, this is the view from the lunch room on our floor, we can see all the way to Rottnest. Modern, slick, well lit, and lots of plants make it pretty nice to work in.
Today has been my day off, and I’ve kept it fairly quiet. A visit to the beach this morning, which was beautiful, warm and sunny, had to happen. Then this afternoon I went through an MSGym work out with Roz, my personal trainer friend,who was very impressed. I have been fairly tired today, and had a sleep at lunch time, which is a well timed reminder that part time is a very necessary start. Tonight we’re grabbing a quick meal out, somewhere cheap and cheerful 😉
My Longest Journey 