Recovering From Surgery

Over the last week I've been in for surgery for a repair of an umbilical hernia. Can't say as it was a big deal but since I've only ever had two procedures before in my life it is not normal course of business for me.

I fared well. I am healing and have been off the pain pills for more than 24hrs. The surgery was on Wednesday morning and my last pill was Friday in the middle of the night.

In that time I've done really well emotionally with plenty of rest and relaxation. I can tell you that the experience has been a good one for me and I am glad I took care of this minor health issue instead of waiting. 

Some of the things I've done to help my recovery:

1. Listened to and followed my Dr.'s instructions.
   
2. Was mentally and physically prepared before the surgery by getting plenty of rest, exercise, and healthy eating the previous two weeks.
   
3. Was mentally prepared from being away from work. As many of you are, I am an important team member. Being away produces stress for me because I have a desire for things to go well at all times. I have a very high bar around project execution.
   
4. Prepared my spiritual practice ahead of time and invited others to pray for me. 
5. Empowered the people in my life to make decisions for me. I did not stress over any detail of running the house, getting food, finding keys, etc... I let others take that burden and let whatever perceived mistakes happen just be "the way it should have gone."
6. I did not invoke stress as a coping mechanism against fear. I let my feelings come and go and kept free of worry and anxiety. When I felt fear I reviewed the information I had and if I didn't have any questions I realized I was hooked by unrealistic fear and meditated instead.

These things really helped me in staying clear, being alert and attentive to what was happening, and in the end contributed to a fairly stress free experience. 

I think I'll be doing these things more when I'm not going in for surgery.

~Dave