Hi guys n gals! I've not been very active on the board for some time. In fact, I haven't been riding all that much. This after commuting for about three years regardless of, well just about anything except ice.

August of last year I kinda had a pulmonary embolism and then needed a little surgery on my lung. Chest tubes, lots of pain, long recovery, yadda, yadda, yadda...

I'm pretty much recovered now, but I just haven't been able to get back in the swing of things. I just can't figure out why things have changed for me.

It is harder for me now. I have a paralyzed diaphragm on one side and don't seem to have the stamina that I did prior to my surgery. Perhaps that's taken the shine off.

Any suggestion to bring the joy back to my commuting??

I'd say go slow, maybe a ride away from traffic and just enjoy the sights instead of worrying about getting to point B.

Takes a good while for most to make a full recovery from surgery.
Could also be side effects from Meds you might be taking.

Is your diaphragm expected to improve? I know the nerve can be damaged or irritated during surgery and that it can take several months for it to repair itself. I would expect that this would impact your stamina quite a bit. Sometimes surgery can repair it. Is this something you've talked with your doc about?

Otherwise, your body has gone through a lot of trauma and you've been off the bike for 8 months so it's going to take awhile before you roll as easy as you did before. Kinda sucks I'm sure because it's not so long ago and you remember it being a lot easier. It'll get better. Don't worry about where you were, just focus on the progress you make from week to week.