You may also be wondering about the long-term effects of a pneumonectomy. My dad started exercising as soon as he could and made it a regular part of most days. After about six months, he was back at work and living pretty normally; after about a year, the only problem was that he would get winded from time to time. In any event, if you take good care of yourself after the surgery, there is no reason you can't do most, if not all, the things you did before. I learned that God blessed us with a lot more lung than we actually use.