Back in Action at WIO

Well, I am back to working out after getting the green light from both my surgeon and gastroenterologist after two weeks of recovery, now three.
My belly has healed faster than any of the doctors thought it would, so I've been attempting to walk at least 2 miles once a week and going to at least 3 classes at Work It Out, though I've been admonished to be very careful about any bouncing, jumping, bending over or abdominal exercises that could pull open my internal or external stitches.
I'm also not allowed to lift more than 5 pounds, which has been tough, as I was up to 10 pounds previously, and I used the 8 pound weights for the small muscle exercises.
Now that the new schedule is in place at WIO, there are more classes in the evening involving weights, like the much-missed balls and weights class, so I should be gaining back some lost muscle mass from my surgical 'vacation' from exercise. I do miss NIA (non-impact aerobics) class and the lovely Mary Jo, whose mantra that we should all love our bodies just as they are provided a welcome respite from my inner body Nazi, the one who fumes in disgust at the fact that I actually gained weight while not eating anything in the hospital. Once I was at home and subsisting only on clear liquids, I assumed then that I would lose a few pounds, but no, my body clung to its fat cells like a Titanic passenger to a lifeboat. Hence, I am no better off, pound wise, than I was when I entered the hospital on June 5. Dang it!
My dear gastro doc has decided not to put me back on my Crohn's meds, mainly because Imuran would slow my healing process to a crawl, and he wants me to be completely healed and healthy, without any serious inflammation or flares, before we start back on medications to keep further strictures and lesions from developing on my guts. He's planning on doing a colonoscopy and endoscopy in late August or early September to see how clean and clear my intestines really are, and ten taking the drug question from there. Meanwhile, though, I have to take fiber supplements and take percoset for pain when I have it from my incision or from a 'flare' when I eat something, like a hamburger, that blasts through me like a hot knife through butter, or rather a porcupine through a greased tube, which is how it feels. I really dislike taking pain meds, because they make me groggy and sleepy, and because they're supposedly addictive and constipating, neither something I like contemplating.
But, as my life is all about compromise, negotiating and patience these days, I'm dealing with it all as best I can, and trying not to stress about my lack of career, lack of money and lack of options.
I've come to realize that I am adequate at most things, only after a steep learning curve, and that I really only excel at reading and befriending people. I don't think there are a lot of jobs left out there for someone who likes people and likes books, other than a bookstore owner, which is something I'd love to do if I won the lottery anytime soon. Baring a sudden influx of money, its nothing but a dream.
Meanwhile, being a writer is becoming more and more like being a starving artist. I'm a real dinosaur, as a print journalist, because no one is paying print journalists to write articles anymore...you're supposed to write for free on some web site supposedly for the love of news. Unfortunately, the love of news or reaching your community with stories about local business is a noble goal that doesn't pay the thousands I owe in medical bills alone. There's no place left for average reporters like myself who can churn out some good stories and occasionally a great one or three.
So that leaves me as a stay at home mom for the summer, one with a new scar and a still-upholstered belly that stubbornly refuses to deflate. But if there's one other thing I am good at, it's being persistent, dogged even, in pursuit of a goal. And I have an optimistic streak of faith and hope that refuse to leave me, even in my darkest hours. If I might, I'd like to ask anyone reading this for prayers. Any good and hopeful prayer for my family's health, wealth or wisdom would be most appreciated, and it's guarenteed to get you brownie points in the good karma derby that is life.
Thank you.