maybe you can become a great swimmer once the stitches drop out?

Watch the Ironman race DVD's and maybe some Tour de France DVD's for inspiration while you are healing up.

If you really want to work out(depending on what you had surgery on) hit the stationary bike, do some weights or even push ups.

Rule number 1: Listen to your body! Don't try to be some macho stud thing and run through it unless your body tells you it's ok.

I had a bike accident a few years ago. Spent a week in intensive care from broken collar bone, three ribs, fractured middle ear and epidural hematoma. Had brain surgery to repair the latter.
It wasn't long before I knew I was ready to train. My body was screaming to train, even though my doctors, my wife (RN) and plenty of people I work with in the healthcare industry advised me to take it easy.

I still suffered from fatigue, but was able to start out on the trainer for about 30 minutes at a time, then incorporated running / swimming and increased the time and frequency as my fatigue subsided. Those around me were completely stunned at how fast I had recovered and thought I was nuts for training so soon, but it all boiled down to what I felt, not them.

I can't talk about pain management much since I really didn't experience much. Only when the ribs started healing, but that was before I started training, so pain was not a factor for me.

So from a fatigue perspective, just listen to your body. It'll tell you when to go.

Good luck and don't forget to thank those people for taking care of you while you're down.

one season I spent 6-8 weeks with my right foot in hard cast. it sucked. I focused on work on other things in my life that I had been neglecting (i.e. girlfriend, family, friends) i kept checking the message boards and reading the magazine but took a rest from the tri life till my body was FULLY mended meaning I did not rush back like a dolt and reinjure myself and spend even more time in a cast.