Princess Kate “must not rush back” to rejoin royal duties after recovering from abdominal surgery, a medical expert has suggested. The Princess of Wales, 42, was hospitalised last week at The London Clinic for a planned and routine procedure.
A medical expert has detailed the reason why the Royal must take proper rest before joining back the Royal duties. She is expected to spend an additional week in the hospital before relocating to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor to recuperate and regain strength following the medical procedure.
Dr Max Pemberton, a full-time psychiatrist with the NHS, penned an article for the Daily Mail, elucidating the reasons behind the necessity for individuals to rest following such surgeries. The medical expert spoke about his recent abdominal surgery and pointed out the mistakes he committed.
He wrote: “The Palace has said she’ll be taking time off official duties until Easter and on this, I think she’s incredibly sensible. We don’t know what’s wrong or why she needed the operation, but Kate has always struck me as quite down-to-earth, level-headed and stoical, so I’m sure she wouldn’t have heeded medical advice and taken that much time off unless really necessary.
“Abdominal surgery is serious. Of course, there’s always someone who will tell you how they had a hysterectomy in their lunch break, or their appendix removed while on the school run. But in reality we should all be taking a leaf out of Kate’s book and convalescing properly.
“I, too, have recently had abdominal surgery — like Kate, in a private hospital — and, looking back, wish I’d appreciated how major my operation was and taken the time needed to recover.”
Dr Pemberon was operated on for a hernia- where a part of the bowel protrudes through a weak spot in the abdominal muscles into the groin. He underwent a keyhole surgery, which he claimed that he considered a “minor” surgery.
He explained: “My surgeon tried to explain it simply meant the scars would be small, but the operation itself was still serious, even though I’d only be in hospital for a day or so. Ha! How I dismissed his warnings.
“By coincidence, two of my neighbours had similar operations. I’d bumped into one only a week after he was discharged and he was out for a jog. How serious can it really be? I asked myself. I’ll be up and running around the next day. I was mistaken. The operation involved dissecting the muscles from my belly button into my groin, pulling the wayward bowel back into place and sewing a mesh in place to patch up the holes.
“I was so sure I’d be fighting fit after the op I arranged to meet friends for lunch the very next day and told work I’d do a few calls and only needed a couple days off before I’d be back in person. The moment I woke up from the anaesthetic, I realised this had been a mistake.”
While some patients are discharged from the hospital as a day case, Dr Pemberton had to stay in the hospital for two days due to some complications.
He added: “But what I’d failed to appreciate was that the pain, discomfort and tenderness meant I could hardly walk for a week. And when I did, the discomfort was such that I couldn’t walk upright. I had to wear loose tracksuits for three weeks. I usually wear smart trousers to work which would have been too uncomfortable. Just the thought still makes me wince, let alone the fact that without my usual uniform — my armour, if you will, that gives us the courage to face the world — I felt on the back foot.”
Taking cues from his experience, he explained how one needs to have patience during the recovery period. He wrote: “We need to allow ourselves time to get both physically and mentally back up to speed. So many of us are guilty of rushing back to work too quickly.
“We keep going, labouring under the belief that we should just soldier on. I think a lot of this is because, in our frenetic, fast-paced modern lives, we refuse to believe that recovering from an illness takes the time it actually does. We tell ourselves: a few days and that should be it. Getting better was once part of being ill. Now it’s just assumed that with wishful thinking and gritted teeth you’ll be right as rain. People are genuinely perplexed when it takes longer.
“I hope Kate makes a speedy recovery, but also hope she doesn’t return to duties until she’s good and ready.”
Meanwhile, a royal insider mentioned that the Prince and Princess of Wales are currently prioritising their family over their professional commitments, aiming to maintain a sense of normality for Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.
Princess Kate’s recovery coincides with King Charles facing health challenges of his own, as his Royal Highness is scheduled to undergo treatment for an “enlarged prostate” during a hospital visit this week.
