Back last year my company was asked by an employer to carry out what is known as an employment role compatibility interview with a female employee who had undergone surgery for a hip replacement.
The employee was in her fifth month off work, and in line with the OPs, husbands case had consigned herself to the couch since the surgery. During the interview, the employee stated she could not build any confidence in her artificial hip and therefore did not feel she could move very far.
The situation was also causing problems in her relationship with her husband, and her employer had stated that unless she was able to return to work in the next four weeks, they would commence dismissal procedures on the grounds of her situation had become incompatible with her role in the company.
When we informed her of the action her employer would in all likelihood take, that proved to be the catalyst required to get her into a further round of physiotherapy and psychological therapy.
Her husband was fully supportive throughout that stage of her recovery as he soon began to witness her improvement, and together, they began to engage in daily walks, which gradually gained in length.
She returned to full working six weeks later, which was quite an achievement when considered against the situation she was in when first we interviewed her.
Many of these circumstances are brought about by the psychological condition that a person develops following any trauma, and I have become convinced over the years that anyone can develop that psychology in stressful circumstances.
However, this was a good outcome for all, as the person involved was just fifty-five years of age.