Hi almost_hectic, I read the post from workmonkey that you re-posted. It does seem to be a very important topic. At one month out, I am mostly focused on the physical aspects of recovery but I am glad you brought up the fact that healing is multi-faceted with physical and emotional components. One part of Workmonkey's post jumped out at me:
"It took several months (with the help of books, online resources, meditation, talk therapy and of course this forum) to sort through the residual emotions
and thoughts and fears from the surgery. Medicine isn’t well-equipped for this: my surgeon and cardiologist were great, but they’re in the business of
hearts, not heads. We may not talk enough about it, but surgery isn’t just a physical challenge; it is psychological and emotional one as well. I was
unprepared for that part."
It seems as if Workmonkey, and probably many, many others, experience the surgery as a touchstone for existence. It provides an opportunity to reflect on relationships, the direction one's life is headed, meaning and purpose in one's existence. So from that vantage point, it seems that a celebration or acknowledgement of some kind would be time well spent.
