Introduction:
Even when you are out of the hospital, you still need to take things slow. On your first day back to sports, you need to go and talk to your coach and explain what happened. You don't have to go into detail but just say that you had surgery, and will need to take things slow and easy for a bit. Your coach needs to understand that your health is very important and that you need to do this because it is the safest and best way to get you back to 100%. If your coach does not listen or does not want to help, you have to go talk to someone with authority, your parents, the Athletic Director, maybe another coach or teacher. You should not have to be forced to do something that you do not feel comfortable doing and are not allowed to do.
My personal story:
I have two stories from my life about sports. Both these stories have to do with crew/ rowing. So, I had been having surgeries off and on for my J-pouch throughout the year, and no one really knew exactly why I had to keep having surgery. Then, after one visit with my doctors at the Mayo Clinic, we had a breakthrough. We figured out that it was probably lifting weights that was causing my problems. So, my doctors put me on a restriction: no weights whatsoever, for the rest of my life. At first, I thought this was the end of the world. But it wasn't. I did some research and I realized there are a lot of exercises and things I could do with my body weight to still build muscle, so I was ok with the doctors' restrictions.
I also then went to a doctor at the Mayo Clinic and had him look at my stomach and he told me I could still row crew. This doctor had been a rower himself for an Ivy League college. I came back spoke with my coach and told him what my doctors had said but my coach would not let me participate if I could not lift weights. I called my parents and doctors and cleared it all up with the coach again but he later kicked me out of practice again after he had said I could come back. We went through the whole process again, cleared it all up and went back, and, once again, I was kicked out of practice. Finally, my parents and doctors had had enough. My mom called the Athletic Director and told him what was going on. The AD then called the Head of Schools and they were all furious and outraged that this was happening. Eventually, I had a meeting with the AD, the head crew coach, and two other crew coaches and we came up with a plan for me to do some body weight workouts that the crew coach gave me. We had finally solved this mess and I was able to return back to crew. But, unfortunately, later I was eventually forced to stop crew because of another stomach surgery.
Moral of the story:
First, you can always go talk to someone if a coach or anyone is treating you badly due to your health issue. A teacher or coach or anyone should not treat you differently just because of your illness. If this ever happens, you must go talk to another adult because that is not fair-- your health issue is out of your control.
Another moral of the story is that your health is the most important thing. No matter what, you should put your health first. You have to look at the big picture. In the long run, your health will always be with you. Your sports career will end at some point, so there is no reason to risk your overall health for a couple of years of a sport or any activity. Your overall goal should always be to get the highest quality of life for yourself, so putting your health at risk will not only endanger your future health but it could make your illness worse.
Reminder:
If you can, get a note from your doctors about your health restrictions before you leave the hospital. This way, your coaches and everyone else will know what you can and cannot do following your surgery.
Even when you are out of the hospital, you still need to take things slow. On your first day back to sports, you need to go and talk to your coach and explain what happened. You don't have to go into detail but just say that you had surgery, and will need to take things slow and easy for a bit. Your coach needs to understand that your health is very important and that you need to do this because it is the safest and best way to get you back to 100%. If your coach does not listen or does not want to help, you have to go talk to someone with authority, your parents, the Athletic Director, maybe another coach or teacher. You should not have to be forced to do something that you do not feel comfortable doing and are not allowed to do.
My personal story:
I have two stories from my life about sports. Both these stories have to do with crew/ rowing. So, I had been having surgeries off and on for my J-pouch throughout the year, and no one really knew exactly why I had to keep having surgery. Then, after one visit with my doctors at the Mayo Clinic, we had a breakthrough. We figured out that it was probably lifting weights that was causing my problems. So, my doctors put me on a restriction: no weights whatsoever, for the rest of my life. At first, I thought this was the end of the world. But it wasn't. I did some research and I realized there are a lot of exercises and things I could do with my body weight to still build muscle, so I was ok with the doctors' restrictions.
I also then went to a doctor at the Mayo Clinic and had him look at my stomach and he told me I could still row crew. This doctor had been a rower himself for an Ivy League college. I came back spoke with my coach and told him what my doctors had said but my coach would not let me participate if I could not lift weights. I called my parents and doctors and cleared it all up with the coach again but he later kicked me out of practice again after he had said I could come back. We went through the whole process again, cleared it all up and went back, and, once again, I was kicked out of practice. Finally, my parents and doctors had had enough. My mom called the Athletic Director and told him what was going on. The AD then called the Head of Schools and they were all furious and outraged that this was happening. Eventually, I had a meeting with the AD, the head crew coach, and two other crew coaches and we came up with a plan for me to do some body weight workouts that the crew coach gave me. We had finally solved this mess and I was able to return back to crew. But, unfortunately, later I was eventually forced to stop crew because of another stomach surgery.
Moral of the story:
First, you can always go talk to someone if a coach or anyone is treating you badly due to your health issue. A teacher or coach or anyone should not treat you differently just because of your illness. If this ever happens, you must go talk to another adult because that is not fair-- your health issue is out of your control.
Another moral of the story is that your health is the most important thing. No matter what, you should put your health first. You have to look at the big picture. In the long run, your health will always be with you. Your sports career will end at some point, so there is no reason to risk your overall health for a couple of years of a sport or any activity. Your overall goal should always be to get the highest quality of life for yourself, so putting your health at risk will not only endanger your future health but it could make your illness worse.
Reminder:
If you can, get a note from your doctors about your health restrictions before you leave the hospital. This way, your coaches and everyone else will know what you can and cannot do following your surgery.