How to navigate work when dealing with a major medical issue

Practical advice from someone who's been there.

Image created via Midjourney

I have a brain tumor. The good news is that it’s benign. The bad news is that I need surgery to remove it.

Brain surgery typically involves a lengthy recovery period. Six weeks, at a minimum. On top of navigating the emotions that come with such a diagnosis, I’ve had to figure out what work will look like as I recover. More specifically: how I will manage not working for such a long period of time.

This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced a major life event in my career (unfortunately). The Extreme Planner in me immediately started to figure out the logistics.

If you’re going through something similar, I feel you. If you’ve never faced a significant medical challenge, I hope it stays that way. But I write this so that if you ever need it, you can return to this article. And I write this so if you need to support someone going through a medical challenge, you know where to start.