Fitness Freak's blog

With all the 'not studying' that I have been doing this month I have had the chance to pick up Egg Splatter's copy of 'Gray Matter: A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer . . . One Patient at a Time'. I must say it is an interesting read that Tyndale Publishing House provided us a free copy of!

Of course, the book appealed to me straight away, since I am of the opinion that all medicine should be holistic. We already know that trauma, both physical and emotional is held in the myofascial tissue of your body like a kind of 'memory' as well as the cognitive pathways in the brain that change when such an event occurs. The former can cause years of pain and discomfort that no physiotherapist, chiropractor or drugs can fully relieve without the psychological aspect of the trauma also being dealt with.

So, when you put a book in front of me that addresses the matter of dealing with the spiritual health of a person parallel to conventional medicine you most definitely have my attention. The book was fascinating as it wove through case by case addressing so many of the issues that a medical practitioner would face bringing prayer into a place where it almost felt like a taboo.

The key, that was emphasised over and over again was 'respect'. Being respectful of patients belief systems (and, yes, believing there is no God is still a belief) and being respectful of their right to say no to the offer of prayer. This was the same when he offered his professional team and other staff, including some of the pre-operative nursing staff, to be included in patient prayer.

I strongly believe that the state of mind with which you enter surgery (and then recovery) will most definitely affect your outcomes physically. Our mind has such power over our body but it is our spirit which guides the mind and shows it where the energy needs to flow. From my perspective, giving a person the opportunity to find peace in what can be a chaotic set of hours before surgery lays the foundation for strong outcomes on the other side. Even if something goes wrong, a positive attitude and a determination to push ahead can change the long term prognosis. I experienced that personally with my two foot surgeries last year and vouch for it, anecdotally anyway.

As for brain surgery, if you can give someone a sense of peace and the right attitude before they head into one of the most serious and complicated types of surgery a person can have and encourage their spirit to face whatever happens on the other side of that surgery then you are doing something amazing. After reading this book, I must say that I take my hat off to David Levy for sharing his brave journey of bringing prayer into what can be very socially sterile hospital walls.

At top read that I can highly recommend!

Well howdy-do everyone! I did promise updates on my plans to qualify myself as a Pilates Instructor as I signed up for education for the first time in a very long time. Well, with the plans of mice and men, my plan did not go as I hoped. My course required an 'Anatomy and Physiology' unit as a prerequisite.

I enrolled in the required Anatomy & Physiology class at a college and arranged my other commitments around the session time. However, like the plans of mice and men, things just did not work out. The class was rescheduled for later in the day. This meant that I could not make the commitment and I needed to withdraw until it is again offered later in the year.

Life!

Whilst I have had my feet up after what has now been surgery on both feet I have had my nose in a great book titled 'Remember Why You Play' that captured me to the point of distraction. I am not sure how else I could have better dealt with the pain than this beautiful complimentary offering from Tyndale Publishing House.

I loved Gridiron (American Football) from the moment I watched my partner's first game. It was their homecoming game and I remember the mother of another player assuring me that 'I would get used to the sound of the helmets hitting each other'. Exactly what I wanted to hear before my first live spectator game.
The book gave me a chance to remember those games that took place now over a decade ago and the years that have occurred between. The story weaves through a realistic account of a focussed and well played season but takes time to bring life to the players within the Faith team. It brought home some of the sentiments as my partner and his friends faced injuries themselves.

As I read of one player I was reminded of being called to Ashford Hospital after training one night. My partner had sustained a helmet to the inside of his knee causing some damage which would later require surgery and nagged him for the following six years. At the time that I drew back the curtain to see him I realised my arrival would not have improved his feelings as he was high as a kite on pain relief. I found myself feeling for the player in the room next door who was concussed from the strength of the hit. He certainly gave all he had in that practise.

The book gives a engagingly documented history of Faith Christian School in their lead up to their well reported, world famous game against the Gainesville State Tornadoes. This story explains how any sporting team can be a platform to teach the skills, attitude and belief we need to not just survive but to thrive in the adult world. After a book that brought me tears of both joy and pain, laughter, sighs at the display of unconditional brotherly love, and punches to the air and pointer finger raised high in response to the words that leaders including Kris Hogan brought to their team I am looking forward to being able to get my hands on a copy of movie when it comes out. I look forward to seeing a more intense trailer as 'One Heart' gets closer to release.

A five out of five book, four and a half out of five if you don't have any idea of the games rules and player positions!

Well, one foot down and one to go. My stitches are out of my foot but it still looks pretty gungy. Apparently scar tissue likes to peel its way to healing unlike healthy skin so I have my skin grafts to blame. None-the-less, I am preparing myself with another, hopefully less painful surgery on the 22nd of this month for the other foot.

As I will be off my feet for another two weeks, which includes travelling with a painful foot to Christmas events, I make no promises of blogs during that time. So, I wish you all a fantastic Christmas and New Years break. May it be spent, like me, with many days with feet in the air relaxing.

If not then I hope your time of work, be it at home or in your workplace, is restful and/or very well paid! A special shout out to those in the medical profession and law enforcement. I hope what may seem the silly season for you job has opportunities to share love and joy and to be a blessing (even if it is in the disguise of a uniform) to others.

With love,

Fitness Freak

Well, surgery happened two days ago now and being my first surgery ever I was not sure what to expect which has it's pros and cons.

Firstly, I had an in depth discussion with the anesthetist about my concerns. After taking my pulse he asked whether I had ever seen a cardiologist about my bradycardia. Of course, the answer was no, because it was always associated with my fitness levels. However, he spiked my concern enough to follow it up with my GP because my resting heart rate has continued to decline even since I stopped working with my personal trainer and started to slacken off a bit.

So, that is on my 2011 to-do list.

He decided that, yes, a general anesthetic would add risks related to lower heart rate so we decided to go with an epidural and a foot block with some other drug that will make me drowsy. Of course, that was not administered until they started the surgery so they knew for sure that I did not feel the pain. It was a good outcome from my perspective as they could keep my heart rate at around 40bpm that way.

I guess it was strange having a Surgeon that was approximately my age working on me. He was listening to the same music I listened to as a teenager in the Operating Theater. It was a little disconcerting listening to Metallica as they cut me open but I got over it.

So, foot blocks are great until they wear off and if you have had your foot cut open then you can't expect paracetmaol and codeine to cut the mustard. Instead I have been juggling in Endone to manage the pain the best I can. Night-time trips to the bathroom are the worst as the meds have worn off whilst you were sleeping so moving more than 5 meters induces a great desire to vomit and pass out with the nausea.

The whole thing looks pretty messy right now. I am not meant to remove the dressing for two weeks apparently. I am not sure that it will last that long with the sensitivity of my skin grafts but I guess we will see. I am sure that if the weather gets any warmer I will be pulling them off at the first available opportunity.

In the mean time the couch has become my bed as it allows me to elevate my foot in a way that allows me to lie on my back front or side without having issues with the way my foot rests. It is nice to be able to minimise that throbbing feeling where possible.

Many a day of living on the couch ahead - I am looking forward to the time off.