Hello and welcome to the MAO website. I was not quite sure whether your interview for the job was a week after your original surgery or whether it was referring to an operation to sort out the hernia.
Either way, the recovery time after surgery is often very personal to the individual and their circumstances. As a rough guide, when I asked my stoma nurse the same question, she likened it to any other surgery and said that under normal circumstances, we can expect most surgery related recovery to take about six weeks or more, However, that really depends upon what 'recovery' means to each person. Those who lead a sedantary life may not need to allow for the risks that more active people would need to consider. Thus,the potential jobs you are looking at might have a bearing on what you would realistically view as recovery time.
In my own case, post surgery, I had to be careful not to get into any altercations with any of my more violent clients, as that would almost certainly have had a detrimental effect on my 'recovery'. However, that did not stop me going straight back to work and, from the perspective of the people in charge of the organisation, I was probably viewed as doing 'more' work because I produced more paperwork. As I grew physically stronger, I became more confident about renewing my role in dealing with the more 'difficult' clients but as it turned out, everyone was very supportive when they knew I was vulnerable and there were no physical confrontations.
My employers even adapted one of the toilets especially for my needs, once I IDENTIFIED FOR THEM WHAT THOSE NEEDS WOULD BE!
I found that it was my role to educate people and once they knew what all this stuff was about, they were quite accommodating in all sorts of different ways.
I hope you find a way of your own for organising your life so that this condition does not affect it too adversely.
Best wishes
Bill
