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You did everything you were supposed to do. The surgery happened, and you followed every instruction. Physical therapy was on your calendar, and you did your exercises. Through all of it, you kept showing up for work and everything else that still needed your attention. Then someone told you, “You’re doing great.” So why don’t you feel great? Maybe your surgeon has cleared you. You might be nearing the end of physical therapy, or you’ve already been discharged. But you’re still not back to...

Six weeks after my knee surgery, I woke up on a Saturday morning and felt almost like myself. The ever-present, oh-so-familiar ache was gone. I stood up without holding onto the nightstand, made my tea, and didn't think twice about my knee. So I did what any reasonable person would do. I made up for lost time. First came my PT exercises, and they felt so easy that I did them twice. Next, I folded two loads of laundry. After that I walked to the end of the street, and since that went fine, I...

The calendar in my head My second hip surgery landed right in the middle of COVID lockdown. I don’t need to tell you what was going on; the world had gone quiet as most of us stayed home. No one was stopping by my desk or checking in to ask how the hip was doing. Nobody could see how long any of this was taking. You'd think that would take the pressure off. Unfortunately, it didn't. A clock was running in my head. I spent over 50 sessions in PT for that hip. Every one of them had to fit...