Surgery and Recovery

 

I finally went under the knife and had my abdominal hernia repair/surgery completed on May 8th. The incision was not laparoscopic, it was an external skin entrance, due to mesh placement, so more invasive than my last laparoscopic surgery, involving a slightly different approach to healing and care. The surgery went great and all the staff at the hospital were super; hardly wait to go back for my next one. lol jk

Here I am, challenging myself in the I Ho Chuan with push-ups, sit-ups, form repetitions, distance kilometer’s and I’m preparing for a couple race events within July and August and my physical training regiment has been put to a literal standstill.

The core…next to every movement of the body involves the muscle groups at the body’s center. It has been surprising and also another reminder of what I can’t do without core engagement, like blowing my nose, a sneeze is an absolute killer, coughing…not fun, bending for obvious reasons doesn’t feel good, getting into bed or out of bed is not pleasant, deep abdominal breathing is rejected and the body immediately reverses that attempt, walking is even a struggle as my upper body wants to protect and roll itself forward, lifting is very minimal and keep it tight to my body is an obvious advantage and anything beyond a walk is not comfortable.

The first portion of the healing of this repair will be about two weeks to ensure the mesh adheres without movement, at that point moderate lifting will likely occur 10-20lbs (but being smarter than before). Back to normal plank, push ups, squats…I have not been given answers, this is very patient dependent, I’m thinking maybe three months to get back to that level of normalcy. Mountain running, likely near the 4-6 week period.

I don’t want this surgery to fail, so with my personality I need to be super diligent, as I know I will be seeking boundaries with this set back and pushing to get back into training. So I will need to keep my ego in check and really progress wisely as my healing continues.

I found some full body exercises, which having been assisting with more comfortable healing and keep my body in more flexible condition so that I don’t have to correct an adaptive/ protective posture which deformed during the healing of the incision.

There are still numbers for me to elevate, such as blogging, meditation, class attendance, one on ones with Sifu Brinker and Sunday morning connection with the team. Physically, I can also still walk to burn a few calories and keep blood flowing to speed recovery and log some kilometer’s.

I’m not just laying around as I know the importance of continued movement after surgeries and ailments. I can still make meals, vacuum the house and at the same time stay in tune with my health podcasts and go for walks. I can also read when the list is thinned out. Maintaining attendance with my acupuncture appointments and gut healing will also be on the list, hopefully with a bit more meditation and less physical exertion this will amplify the healing of this portion of my body as well.

To minimize my bodies over reaction and protective measures I’ve been playing with mindful breathing during some of the slight core engagements along with physically slowing down the activity and actually just lowering my center slightly, these slight adjustments have showed a positive body response. These little tests have made me reflect on making these minor adjustments when my body is healed. Because of the lack of pain reflex that says whoa you’re not going there, I think I may be reading my body even less than I think I am.

May 13 (day 107) 

Acts of Kindness recorded - 181,

Push-ups - 12525,

Sit-ups and or equivalents - 14595,

Kilometers (intentional extra mileage) - 728.8, 

Meditation/ inversion table  (min.) - 392, 

Stretching/ rolling (min.) - 346, 15, 

Sparring/ grappling (min.) - 78, 

# of forms re-familiarized - 7.0

Form reps - 244,

Form time (min.) - 693,

“Mastery” recite (min.) - 87,

Blogs - 16

Abdominal hernia repair May 8th