Approved for Surgery - At the Same Time Major Life Changes are Happening! Need Advice!

Physically I was fine after surgery and I could have done it within a matter of days but that being said mentally I was still in a fog for the first 3 to 4 weeks. If you have to be at the top of your game then I wouldn't recommend doing it until you can dedicate the time to it. Unless if they called you tomorrow and said can you be here, I would reschedule.

I had the same thing happen. I interviewed for a job in a city two hours away from where I lived, was given an offer I couldn't refuse, then got my surgery date which was a full month AFTER I was supposed to start the new job! I told organization that I was having major surgery which was approved and ready to go with my existing health coverage, but that I should be able to work starting two weeks after. They pushed back a little, but not much and scheduled my start date for 3 peeks post surgery. I wouldn't have had paid leave from the new employer if I started that month so they really did understand. I told the new employer that I would need to work remotely on the days of my follow-up checkups and that was fine.

I had surgery on a Wednesday morning, was back at my old job the following Monday afternoon (had my post op appointment that morning) and by the third week I was MORE than ready to start my new job.

Now I've just hired a new employee for my team, and she accepted the offer in early July, with the caveat that she wouldn't be starting until the last week of August. I didn't ask why (or I should say our recruiter didn't volunteer it) but I think she's weaning her youngest. Either way, I'm excited to have her join my team and waiting another month is not an issue.

Tell them and give them your new start date. Make sure you can come back to your surgeon for your 1 month and (probably) 3 mo checkups. After that you can either continue to see your surgeon or find a bariatric center in your new town that provide you with followup care.

On top of the new job and the WLS I also was in the process of leaving my husband of thirty years and our farm that I loved so much... (I'd moved out and was sharing an apt with a co-worker who was also going through a divorce.) New job, new city, newly single, new stomach, SO MUCH CHANGE!

Before you commit to the RV option, you might want to look into AirBnB or other rent a room options. I'm renting a room from my sister for the summer while I look for my new forever home. If your new city is a college town you can often find rooms for rent where a student left mid semester, or graduate students renting a multi room house. It's better than an RV and hey - you'll learn all the new hip language!

Good luck!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for taking the time to reply to my post. The situation is exactly as most of you stated - my new employer's insurance doesn't cover the surgery plus I have already met a $3,000 deductible and been through 7 months of appointments. Also, I have hundreds of hours of sick leave at my current employer that I lose when I leave and will not have any paid leave or FMLA coverage at my new employer. I am waiting to hear back from the surgery scheduler any minute and will be able to make a better decision I guess then. Best case, I get a surgery date before mid August and then I would have 3 weeks before starting the new job. My future boss knows we are selling our home and buying a new one, so closing dates for both of those will come into play. I may be able to leverage that to buy a little extra time. It seems some people were able physically but not so much from the mental sharpness perspective - I guess this is due to the anesthesia. Thanks again for all of the responses and I would always love to hear more!

Best,

Lisa

I would beg the surgeon to move it up. Tell him you will cancel the surgery if he does not. Honestly, he will be losing money if he does not and it would be a good business decision on his part. I am sure he will have a cancellation.

I still say get the surgery before you start the new job. Can you try to move your start date until the next Monday if you absolutely cannot get your surgery moved? I had several friends who had surgery on a Thursday and went back to work on the following Monday. It worked for them.

Good luck.

I was in a similar situation myself when I first started my quest or wls. I chose to wait for six months to prove myself in my new job and start again. I'm glad I did, too. They were very accommodating when the time came, and I took 8 weeks off for recovery and darned glad I did. You'll want at least 4 weeks, but some require more just to get the anesthesia fog out of their head so they can think critically again.

You are not even making sense with a Sept 5 surgery and Sept 7 start date.

You will not even be cleared to drive, but somehow you are to get to this RV (and negotiate steps and a tight fit) and to work less than 48 hours after your surgery.

Keep trying to get moved up, but make a reason to change your start date to a week or 2 later, and the sooner the better. Why delay the surgery - you will not have insurance coverage at your new job - how long will it take to save the $$$ for a private pay.

It also seems like you want to stay on your current insurance for as long as possible. It will stop once you quit your current job. You might need to do some COBRA, but as soon as you start a new job that offers health ins, then you cant do COBRA anymore.

I do not see how to do this successfully unless you can have 2 weeks MIN, between your surgery and all this RV and new job stuff.

Sorry, I should have clarified that Sept. 5th was the date they had originally scheduled and I had to decline it. I was able to get it scheduled for August 14 when someone else cancelled, so that is the game plan now. I hate that someone else cancelled but it was the miracle I needed to even have a chance to pull all of this off. That gives me almost 4 weeks to recover.

Thanks!

Lisa

Wow, that's a lot! I saw in your later comment that your new insurance will not cover the surgery which completely changes what I would answer.

So when exactly would you be moving? I get that your surgery is scheduled now for 9/7. Is that where you currently live or where you're GOING to be living? Because if it's where you currently live there is no way that you can have the surgery and then relocate on your own super quickly and then start a new job. It sounds like you're going to be responsible for relocating and living on your own which is doable obviously but the devil is in the details. You're not going to be able to drive right away, I wasn't on restriction long but I couldn't have driven an RV.

That being said I was self pay for my surgery soooo I would do everything in your power to NOT be self pay. I would try everything to get the surgery moved up if it at all possible. Ask to have your start date moved by even 1 week. I'm in HR, it happens all the time. Don't tell them why, just say reasons out of your control. It's an executive level you said? That makes it even more likely they would work with you.

I hope you can make it work. If it weren't for the insurance coverage I would say to wait. I did only need 1 week off but I wasn't exactly at the top of my game when I came back.

As an update to my original post I wanted to add that my surgery got moved up to August 14th! Also, to clarify - my husband is driving the RV and getting it all set up and professional movers are responsible for the packing/moving.

I feel so blessed that the timing worked out and can't wait to be on the other side of the surgery!

Thank you to everyone for the replies!

~Lisa

Awesome news! Congrats!!