What Healing Taught Me - Lessons from a Total Hysterectomy at 42.

In January, I underwent a total hysterectomy and double prolapse repair. Why? Pneumonia. Seriously.

This experience of having to slow down completely taught me a lot. I wrote down my thoughts and decided to share them because they might resonate with someone else, too.

12 Things Healing Taught Me

1. Healing takes way more energy than most people realize.

2. Midday workouts are a luxury.

3. Being alone in a quiet house during the day can feel like a full nervous system exhale.

4. Ten years postpartum, major pelvic surgery gave me the booster shot of empathy for my postpartum patients that I didn’t know I needed.

5. Healthy bowel function is wildly underrated.

6. Your body will compensate for longer than you think before it forces you to listen. Listen to the whispers. If you don’t, you’ll be forced to work your way back from the screams.

7. Pneumonia is f*&$ing serious. My doctor did not listen to me. I did not escalate by going to the hospital, and I should have. One major health event can completely change the trajectory of an otherwise healthy, active person.

8. Kids don’t stop needing connection just because you are recovering.

9. Regulation matters just as much as rehabilitation.

10. Healing rarely comes from one provider, one treatment, or one perfect exercise. An incredible integrated health team can change everything.

11. Your people will show up for you. They will take on more load. They will demonstrate why you love them indescribably. I could not be more grateful for my husband, daughter, family, friends, and colleagues. I would not have recovered properly without them.

12. I could not miss my period less.

    
    

What I’m Carrying Forward

This experience has changed the way I think about recovery, capacity, rest, and the stories people carry into my office every day. It reinforced something I already believed deeply: people deserve to feel supported, listened to, and cared for through every phase of healing and every phase of life.

I’m happy to be on the other side of this, even if I’m far from fully recovered. Now I have to take my own advice: be kind to yourself, stay consistent, and remember that the magic ingredient is time.

Thanks for reading,

XO Shaila