It's "normal" if it feels right.

When I was 25, it was normal for me to go out dancing 4 times a week till 3am. It would be highly abnormal for me to do that at 54. Even one night a month. Even until 1am, with a lot of sitting breaks in-between.

My point is that our parameters for "normal" change during our lives, not just for age but also for specific circumstances.

You already knew this answer, but you want someone else to validate what you know you know, so here it is, and you can say that Ms. Brilliant told you so:

You're in a lot of physical pain. You have a long way to go in the healing process. Your body knows this. Your brain knows this, both intellectually and emotionally. Your ex-nurse self knows this.

All of the above components of you know that for this to happen, you need to REST. The part of you that thinks you should be out doing things may not want to rest, but every other facet in this equation knows you should.

Think of it as a survival instinct. Your body/intellect/emotions synchronize for your survival. If you need to physically rest, then your emotions also say REST.

But you already knew this. And wanting to survive and thrive is one of the most normal things we do.