To go away for a few days to recover while off sick from work

[Shinyshoes123]

I'm due to have quite a big surgery on my abdomen in a little over a week.
I'm booked off work for the whole of august to recover .
I'll go stir crazy indoors for 4 weeks
AIBU to want to go away for a few days , get some sun on my face and relax somewhere that's not confined to my four walls ?

[SapphireStrange]

I think it would be slightly bad form to jet off somewhere without thinking what message it sends to colleagues...I.e. choose location with tact.

Hopefully her colleagues are less nosy and judgy than that.

[fuckweasel]

I had fairly major abdominal surgery recently. For the first four weeks I shuffled between sofa, bathroom and bedroom and could manage very little else. The couple of weeks after that, I still had to take things very easy. Don't underestimate how much the surgery will take out of you. Just recovering from the general anaesthetic was bad enough!

[chocatoo]

I'd be concerned about traveling abroad or alone in case you take a turn for the worse. Sorry to go against the rest of the posters but whilst I'm sure it would be allowed, I think it would be slightly bad form to jet off somewhere without thinking what message it sends to colleagues...I.e. choose location with tact.

[HipsterHunter]

As an employer, this would really piss me off especially as August is like gold dust for holidays. If you are fit to travel, fly, carry suitcases etc you are fit to work, all be it restricted duties. Rest and recuperate in the sun in your garden. what if you have complications when you are away?

That just isn't true.

You can be huge capable of getting a taxi to the airport, getting into a plane, taking a light backpack with you and getting to eg Spain and spending the next 5 days sleeping and lazing around in the sunshine whilst not being able to work!

[CockacidalManiac]

I personally wouldn't go abroad so soon after major surgery. Lots of relaxing things to do and places to go in the UK though.

[pringlecat]

When you say 'get some some on my face' do you mean you are considering jetting off on a cheap foreign holiday? I wouldn't. Not so soon after surgery.

Going to a destination spa (if there's one not far where you live) might be an option, but jumping on a plane and going abroad sounds like it will require more energy/movement than you should have if you're still off sick from work for physical reasons. Have a look for local spas - I've been to one before (as annual leave) to recover from burn out. If you avoid the gym classes and just loll about reading a book and taking in the country air, it could be just what you need. But not if you have to get 6 trains to get there, that will ruin you.

[LoniceraJaponica]

"The OP hasn't said she's planning on going abroad and all that entails"

I live in Yorkshire. Anyone saying that they want to feel the sun on their face automatically makes me think of abroad.

[SapphireStrange]

As an employer, this would really piss me off especially as August is like gold dust for holidays. If you are fit to travel, fly, carry suitcases etc you are fit to work, all be it restricted duties. Rest and recuperate in the sun in your garden. what if you have complications when you are away?

Oh FFS. The OP hasn't given details of where and how she's thinking of going away. She might be intending to get a leisurely train to the south coast of good old England and spend a few days in a bath chair in a genteel boarding house in Torquay.

And anyway, why does someone who's fit and wants a holiday automatically trump someone who wants to go away to recuperate for a bit?

Your 'concern' about complications seems disingenuous to say the least.

I hope to God the OP's employers have a better attitude.

[Goodythreeshoes]

The OP hasn't said she's planning on going abroad and all that entails. There's a difference between wrestling your way through Gatwick and being chauffeur driven to a nice country hotel. It's summer time here too in the UK! (Apparently!)
If your surgeon is happy for you to be away then I'd go, and if you can take a copy of your hospital notes - even better.
Hope all goes well next week and you make a speedy recovery.

[Tw1nsetAndPearls]

As an employer, this would really piss me off especially as August is like gold dust for holidays. If you are fit to travel, fly, carry suitcases etc you are fit to work, all be it restricted duties. Rest and recuperate in the sun in your garden. what if you have complications when you are away?

Admittedly I didn't go abroad but I went away for a weekend within weeks of cancer surgery to celebrate the fact that I was probably going to live long enough to see my children grow up. Going on holiday is not the same as being at work. Fortunately my employers had some compassion. I went back to work about a month after I went away for the weekend.

[clairethewitch70]

As an employer, this would really piss me off especially as August is like gold dust for holidays. If you are fit to travel, fly, carry suitcases etc you are fit to work, all be it restricted duties. Rest and recuperate in the sun in your garden. what if you have complications when you are away?

[SunnySkiesSleepsintheMorning]

You would not be unreasonable but I'd make sure your surgeon is happy with this. Just be aware of things like infection and be aware of where you're going; can you access good medical care? If you got ill, you might end up in a foreign hospital.

I had a big surgery with a long recovery and went for a spa weekend locally. This worked out really well for me and may be an option for you if you can't/don't go away.

Wishing you lots of luck for your surgery and speedy healing.

[simon50]

Go for it, if your up to it.
Suggest you have the first week or so at home to recuperate a bit first, have you thought about being able to climb stairs etc ? Only ask as an X had a tummy tuck and had a lot of pain using stairs.
Will you need to have stitches out sometime during this period ?
Also run it by your travel insurance Co, just in case you have a problem while you are out of the country, as if your not covered it will bankrupt you !
Enjoy, I'm laid up after a knee op last week, so good luck with your op.

[Tw1nsetAndPearls]

I recently had abdominal surgery to remove a tumour - it was only keyhole. We went away for the weekend just over two weeks after surgery. I posted pictures on FB and my colleagues knew. I was walking around within days of surgery but I did get very tired very quickly. Within a week I was back to doing 10,000 steps every other day. I think going away and doing a lot of walking ( 15-25000 steps a day) did set my back in my recovery. It is worth considering that you may not be up to much physically. If the holiday is lots of relaxation and lounging around I would go.

[LoniceraJaponica]

Plus, you are at a higher risk of a DVT so soon after surgery.

[LoniceraJaponica]

YANBU to want to recuperate somewhere nice, BUT, as others have already pointed out, don't underestimate how much major abdominal surgery will take out of you. Usually post op appointments are about 6 weeks after the op, and I wouldn't recomemnd booking anywhere until you have seen your consultant/surgeon.

Also, you may not be covered by travel insurance. I had to make some inquiries about our travel insurance on Friday, and one of the questions they asked was whether any of us had been admitted to hospital in the last year. If your answer is the last few weeks I doubt very much that you will be covered.

[user1498911589]

go for it, just make sure that you have somebody to drive you there and back and fetch and carry your luggage.

[Ceto]

Of course not. The extra Vitamin D from the sun will help you heal, so long as you're not planning something involving lots of stressful travel.

[TheDevilMadeMeDoIt]

Technically, as you're signed off as unfit to work (not as sick) you can do anything that will help your recovery during that time. I was signed off a couple of months ago and my work positively encouraged me to take a holiday while I was off.

Two things to consider though. One is that nothing you do on the holiday should make your condition worse and mean that you're off work longer than you would otherwise have been. So as PPs have said, make sure you're not carrying anything heavy or doing anything strenuous.

The second point is more to do with perception. If someone is off with a mental illness, there is as we know a lot of misunderstanding around it, and anyone who is unfit to work due to eg depression, then is pictured on a night out, gets a lot of stick. Your's is physical, so you're less likely to get the same, but you still might.

If I were you I'd tell work, just so that I could enjoy the holiday with a clear conscience and not feel that I had to skulk around wondering what people might think.

[Trills]

Go and take the sea air, if you feel up to it.

I wouldn't book anything until you know how you feel, though.

[Surfingwhippet]

She doesn't say she works in a school

[Itsnotwhatitseems]

surely if you work in a school, then there is no work in August anyway

[Charley50]

All being well with abdominal surgery, you are supposed to be gently up and about as quickly as possible as it helps recovery, so I say go for it!
I agree with others though; don't tell work in case they use it against you and be careful not to lift heavy items. Also yes sepsis can be a risk, or other complications, so maybe wait until the last week when stitches should be more or less healed.

[wellhonestly]

YANBU - but:-

Don't underestimate the possible strains of a trip on your post-surgery abdomen - especially if you're going abroad to get some sun. Heaving luggage around might not be good for you if you've just had abdominal surgery. And if there are complications, or even anything worrying you, getting back would be a pain. If you have travel insurance it may not be valid without declaring the surgery. So do take some specific advice from your medical team (and from the insurance co if you have one).

Personally I wouldn't keep it from work but I would get cast-iron advice beforehand from the medical team, preferably in writing. Because bear in mind, even if you don't post it on social media, you may bump into other people on holiday who you know, and who are known to your workmates, it doesn't take much for these things to get out and then it just looks a whole lot worse.