The 'Cannot Do' List, after a Month and a Bit from OHS

A lot of people have sent me many messages saying things like “I am so happy you’re this advanced/ progressing so well/ this far into your recovery so successfully”, etc. I REALLY appreciate this, I really do. But, honestly, I still feel like I am lagging many, many weeks behind, and I am slow as a sloth, compared to my “before” self. 

Also, some people with my condition facing surgery ahead are wondering how fast the recovery goes. I cannot speak in general, of course (who can?!), but I can speak for myself. 

For these reasons, I thought of putting together a quick list of what I cannot do by myself yet, at a couple of days after my one month anniversary: 

-I cannot tie up my shoes
-I can’t very much bend to the floor, for some reason, so I can’t do anything like picking stuff up, or feeding my cat 
-I cannot open heavy glass doors (especially sliders), or sometimes freezer or fridge doors
-I can’t chop, cut meat, or anything heavier than bread
-I can’t wash plates, pots, anything in the sink, nor can I lift pots full of food; my husband and my mom do all the cooking because of these reasons
-I cannot change the toilet paper in the holder - those springs are so tight for me
-They tell you “you can lift up to 8 lbs” after surgery, but I think this is a myth: this should be in accordance with your body weight. If the 8 lbs is a generic number, and you are a 300 lbs man, my number should be “slightly” lower at 97 lbs. Anywhoo, I cannot lift my purse without pain in my chest, any it’s about 4 lbs heavy if that. 
-I can’t drive - and I won’t be cleared for it till I do some upper body strength training at the cardiac rehab center, and I have not been cleared to start that yet. 
-I misspell words that require letters typed with my left hand; I have to go back and correct them often. My left arm is completely numb.
-I tire easily - I can walk for about 45 minutes max, slowly, and then I am done for the day. If I wash my hair in the shower, I am done for about 6 hours. It exhausts me! 
-I sleep poorly and eat poorly, too. I cannot sleep on my side, still. 
-Outside my arm and leg which are totally numb, I still have a very “burned” back - the skin on my back feels cigarette paper thin and hot, which makes it extra hard to sleep solely on the back. It’s like sleeping on timbers. 
-As far as scars go, I have thick, painful scabs still on several scars: on my incision (6.5 inches), my two insertion points on my left leg where they harvested my vein for my bypasses, and a couple on my stomach where my drainage tubes went in. 
-Days are uneven: I took 2 painkillers yesterday, all day, but I’ll probably take at least twice as much today, and that’s just to numb the pain, not to make it completely gone. 
-I can’t work screw caps and lids.

I am grateful that I can walk about the house and I am not bedridden, and that my mind is back to being clear, so I can read and keep up with friends and family and keep my medicines straight myself. Most than anything I am grateful I am ticking, still. 
I am grateful for all the small things I can do by myself, too. But there is a long way to go, still, till I feel like a full person again. With patience and time, I hope to get there one day soon.