This past Friday I went in for my knee surgery.
As an athlete and person that really loves to be active and an impulsive explorer, I feel that surgeries and certain injuries may affect us more than the norm. Both physically and mentally.
Depression can occur due to the simple act of not being able to be as mobile or active as the person once was. Anxiety can creep up closer to the date of the surgery when the patient begins to think more and more of the outcome.
“Will I be back to normal?
Will this cause other problems? ”
Many thoughts go through ones head when you are in a position to be placed unconscious and cut on.
Now I know it could have been worse. No one was dying. But that still doesn’t turn off the worry and other feelings.
This was the first injury I had actually had that required surgery.
I had somehow managed to have a weird tear in my meniscus that needed to be cut off, see the flap was causing pain and weakness in unpredictable times.
I could be walking the dogs and riding m. Bike just fine one moment, then standing and have my knee just go out at the blink of an eye.
Once it happened it was near 3 weeks before I could get surgery sceduled. Needless to say I was going pretty nuts.
I was trying to save money and had to cancel a trip to Alaska I had planned for almost 8 months.
Things came to a head when I had a bad day and everything about the situation just assaulted my conscious at the same time. I took several minutes of deep breathing alone at work.
All of a sudden I found myself at the refridgerator with a severe pain in my hand, I had punched it right as I was going to open the door. As much as we try to say we don’t crack, each of us have a breaking point and I reached mine then.
Next thing I know I’m BACK in my doctors office with a boxers fracture….
My doctor , who is a person I help coach, asked me if I had been floating to ease my stress like I had been for the past 6 months. I told her that I had missed 3 weeks due To trying to save money for the surgery.
She just stared at me blankly….
And then told me,to take a day off work and to spend it on relaxation and go float.
See, I had told her that I had been floating to ease my mind and lower my stress levels from the past year of going through a divorce, trying to repurchase a house and so on.
She also told me I was ridiculous to stop…. So I took her recommendation and went backast Wednesday.
I actually spent one hour of massage And one hour of a float session at Gravity Spa near Dayton OH. Not very close to NKY.
I spent a lot of the time I’m the tank thinking about what it would be like to be in Alaska and how missing it had affected me. I pictured myself in the pictures and videos I had watched. I came to accept I couldn’t go. The rest of the time I spent just following my stream of consciousness and feeling the rhythmic sensation of breathing and falling into several short dreams.
It was great. I immediately felt better mentally , I could breathe deeper. And surprisingly to me the massive swelling in my hand was had reduced near 50% ! ( I have yet to find research on what may cause that mechanism, I can only speculate)
My mood was noticeably different at work.
A week later My daughter stayed at her mom’s house so I could get ready for surgery early in the morning on Friday. So was getting anxious. Since I had the rest of the afternoon to myself I decided to go back to float one more time at Gravity Spa
This time I went for 90 minutes and focused on just having a positive outlook with focus on what I would do after surgery to get back in stride, if not
a better competitive athlete.
90 minutes was the longest I had been so far out of about 21 or so floats.
Yet it seemed so concentrated and relaxing that it was over before I even realized it . Usually I drift in and out of short dreams, but This time I was awake the whole time just floating effortlessly in 10 inches of skin temperature smooth saltwater.
In the morning, Friday the 26th, I was ready. I FELT ready. My friend Ian was my surgery buddy and we were laughing all morning in the hospital.
We were described as “A couple of lively ones” by my nurses.
You see, I was ready and calm, because I had already visualized all that would happen the day before in the tank without any distraction. I was at peace with the decisions I had made and couldn’t have been more prepared.
The next thing I know I was waking up and could walk around with little pain and one crutch.
Maybe this injury forced me to slow down. All I know is that floating helped me lower my cortisol levels and adrenaline from worrying myself even more crazy. I FELT it powerfully and there’s proof below……in case you weren’t sure.
(J.W. Turner, T.H. FineEffects of relaxation associated with brief restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST) on plasma cortisol, ACTH, and LHBiofeedback Self-Regul, Volume 8, 1983, pp. 115–116)
I think ill come out of this just fine. I already feel better.
I would just like to thank all the people who helped out with making sure. Things went well and Swing This Kettlebell stayed open during my absense.
Thank you, Craig, Guff, Mallory , Trent, Dad, Helen, Mike, Michelle, Alex (ThinkTanks other mind) Andy, Dr Proctor, Dr Balza, and Drs Heis and Grunkemeyer. Anyone else I forgot, I didn’t mean too. Brain is kinda loopy with pain meds…..
Post anesthesia, watch Joe not get injured party….
As for the healing process, as soon as the incisions in my knee are totally healed you can bet I’ll never take another extended hiatus from floating again!
Joe Daniels
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