u/Electrical-Knee-3848

I need some help with what to tell people.

When it comes to my job: I have 2 weeks off work for summer vacation which helps. But my job sometimes involves lifting heavy boxes, archived documents, files, etc. and I’m worried about what happens when I come back and can’t lift things.

Obviously I’m not telling them the truth. I was thinking of saying I had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically and that my doctor told me to avoid heavy lifting for a while. Does that sound believable? I don't want to make into a big deal but I've learned that if you try keeping something a secret in a small office people will gossip about it. This way, they're not suspecting anything, and just think I had shitty holidays since I had to go to the hospital.

I'm more worried about my mom. I currently live with her (moved back in after college for financial reasons). I’ll be traveling to another country for the procedure cause sterilization is illegal where I live, so I’ll be gone about a week (the clinic requires me to stay 2 days post bisalp for safety reasons). I’ve already told her I’m just going on a trip with friends.

I'm worried about the recovery period when I get back though. I know recovery is different for everyone, but I’m assuming I might still feel pretty rough after that first week so I need a believable explanation without revealing the real reason.