Anyone work Homecare ? if so , how long off work roughly ?

Hi ladies , just wondering about the time off after surgery . I did a search of the forum about time off and im seeing a lot of 2/3 weeks off then going back but a lot of those see to be for office staff. Anyone who works a fairly physical job and went back in that timeframe ? 

I work homecare and as you can imagine , it can be physically demanding depending on the client . I have a lot of heavy/ trained cases on my schedule and wondering how to go about my return to work . Any input girlies ? 

Jax x

Hi there, your surgeon will determine how long you're off for based on your job. For you probably 6 weeks. I was off for 5 and I work in a grocery store. 

I do home day care and have up to five kids a day to look after.  I got my staples out this morning and started back to work this afternoon after taking a week and two days off.  I'll be working full time for the rest of the week.  My surgery date was June 26.  I can sit down when needed and my 14 year old son will be a helper if need be.  So far things are going well.  In my job I can't take much time off or I wouldn't have a job to go back too.  If you have benefits and can stay off longer go for it.  If I wasn't self employed I would have taken longer.  But I am feeling really good and am able to get 8 glasses of water in.  

Hi jaxie I just had my social work appointment at TWH on Friday and I asked her how long I would expect to be off after surgery, and she said "the usual is 4 weeks, but up to 6 weeks if you have a labour intensive job".  I would say if you are allowed/able to take the time off work then try and take a full 6 weeks.  Will your company allow you to be off and will you be paid, or do you have short term disability benefits?

Thanks for the replies girls , 

My company will allow me to be off but I will not be paid for sick leave . I will apply for EI (if its going to be longer than 4 weeks) ...but also in my company , I can bank hours , which I do regularly , and withdraw for times like this or vacation or whatvever . So I will see what my surgeon says and go from there I guess. I also have the option of going back earlyish and doing respite shifts but I think I'd rather be at home while I get to grips with healing and the whole food and vits and fluids process . As most of you will know , trying to get myself and my six year old son out the door in the morning and be at work on time is like a full time shift already !!! So I dont fancy doing that while im getting my head around all this other stuff !!! 

But yeah I just wondered about the actual healing part , like if im bending a lot or moving someone around on a bed etc etc ...can I hurt myself still around 3 or 4 weeks out ? 

Thanks again girls x 

I am a PSW and do home care as well. I just had my surgery in February and I was put off for 6 weeks by Dr Klein. I was off 7 weeks all together and the first couple shifts I was absolutely exhausted. I also work full time with 12 hour shifts. I work 6 shifts biweekly. I do 4 on with 1 off, then 2 on and a week off. I work 72 hours during my work week. 

Kim

Hi I am a PSW and they would not let me go bac****il 8 weeks were up.  Each surgeon is different and it will depend on how the operation goes.  The operation was over 5 hours for me. I wanted to go back at 4 weeks felt great but I had to have a doctor note and could not get it. You will need to talk to the doctor after the operation.  Be ready for 6 weeks at lest 

Wow 5 hours.  I hope everything was okay.  How long ago did you have surgery?

This November will be 5 years.  There were just complications of scar tissues and some cysts that had to be taken care of that were in the way.  i was ill for 2 years afterwards before they figure out what was wrong but I am fine and not once have i had any regrets. Love my new life and you will to. Just follow the rules and listen to them. You will fine

So glad they got things figured out for you, must have been scary.

I have had an amazing journey so far. No complaints. I will be 5 months post op this Friday and I feel fantastic.