There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes after transplant surgery. Your body has just been through something enormous, and every instinct tells you to stay still, to rest, to wait until you feel stronger before you move. I understand this instinct completely. I remember it. But it turns out that instinct, while understandable, isn’t actually what your body needs most in those first days.
Why Small Movement Matters so much
Early movement after major surgery, even just sitting up, or a few supported steps, has been consistently shown to reduce the risk of serious complications. It lowers the chance of blood clots, helps keep your lungs clear, supports circulation, and helps prevent the kind of rapid muscle loss that comes with prolonged bed rest. It has also been linked to shorter hospital stays and better overall recovery.
This isn’t about pushing yourself. In those first days, it’s not fitness we’re talking about, it’s protection. Getting up to sit in a chair. A few steps down the corridor with support. These aren’t small things pretending to matter. They are doing real, measurable work for your body, even when they barely feel like movement at all!
I remember exactly how much effort it took just to shuffle a few steps down that hospital corridor, tubes and all. It didn’t feel like exercise, it felt like survival. But, it counted, and it mattered, and it was part of what got me home sooner and stronger.
Rebuilding isn’t a Straight Line
Once you’re through those first days, recovery becomes less about survival and more about rebuilding. And here is the thing nobody quite prepares you for: rebuilding isn’t a straight line back to where you were. It shouldn’t be.
It is tempting to want to rush it, to prove to yourself that you’re “back.” But, safe recovery means gradual increases, not jumping straight back in (something I am very guilty of at times). Your team will guide on on the specifics, lifting limits, incision care, what to avoid early one. Stick to that.
Beyond the medical guidance, it’s also about listening to your own body. Some days you’ll have more in the tank than others. That is totally normal! Progress isn’t lost just because one day looks different to the next. Slow and steady really does win here.
The part nobody warns you about!
Physically rebuilding is one thing. But there is another layer underneath it that catches a lot of people off guard, grieving who you used to be.
Comparing your current body to the one you had before you got sick. Feeling frustrated that things which used to be easy now still take real effort (even after the surgery). I felt this constantly in early recovery. I just wanted to do everything right now. Watching other people move through life without thinking twice about it, while every step felt like a project for me.
Here is what helped me shift my mindset. This stage was never about intensity. It was about consistency. Showing up again and again, even in small ways, even when it felt nowhere near enough.
You’re not failing because recovery feels slow. You are not behind. You are rebuilding, and that takes time your mind might not want to give it. Be patient with yourself. The consistency is the win right now, not the intensity.
Celebrate the Milestones
If you are in this stage right now, exhausted, frustrated, comparing yourself to who you used to be, I want you to hear this. What you’re doing is enough. The small movement, the slow pace, the days that feel like nothing, the are building something. Your body is doing the work, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
In my next post, I’ll be writing about the stage beyond recovery, what it looks like to build a long term, sustainable relationship with movement once you’re through the early months.
