Time off work must certainly vary, person to person. I lost my job at Purdue University due to unrelated injuries, but I can assure you that now, 4 and a half months post radiation, I would NOT be able to do the job I was doing. I have recovered physically, that's for sure...but mentally? No. I used to process an enormous amount of data during the course of an 8 hour day. I managed a breeding colony of transgenic mice for Purdue's Cancer Research Center. I can not imagine being able to do that now, only one year after my job ended. I can't remember things well enough to keep track of the amount of data I was responsible for.
I currently attend two classes at a community college, and struggle to retain what I learn long enough to do well on a test. I have to read and reread the material in order for it to sink in. I am not back to "normal"...no, I think for me, "normal" has a new meaning.
I have A's in both of my classes, English and Biology, but feel like I'm barely holding on...it is very strange. I seem to forget things easily. I write lots of notes to myself. I used to have a very sharp memory, only one year ago.
So I can imagine that with certain occupations, three months off work is not unreasonable at all, especially with surgery. We are all affected differently. Something is very different for me, after radiation.
Nancy
As an addendum to this somewhat grim post, I will say this - I'm very happy and feel good! I am grateful that life is good!
