12/2: The surgery on 11/21 was much more invasive than we anticipated. It turns out WAY more was wrong and lurking around in there than we knew. It’s been a blur, but here’s what I do know: rotator cuff surgery is HARD. It doesn’t help when the power goes out in the OR. I am funny on valium. ALWAYS take stool softeners after surgery. ALWAYS eat little meals after surgery, even if food looks awful, smells awful and makes you want to gag. If you pass out, it is possible to suffer a seizure if there is a perfect storm of low blood sugar, low blood pressure, and dehydration (learned that the hard way).
I kind of think of myself as superwoman. I multitask with the best of them. I keep my job, my house, my kids, my fitness, my fitness business and my faith afloat. This last 10 days, I have learned that I am NOT superwoman. I NEED help, it’s ok to let people bring you food (and it’s ok to remind them you eat healthy, they won’t be offended). LISTEN to your docs, even if you think you know better. Your work won’t stop without you, but others can carry it forward – LET THEM. Always have a chiropractor friend by your side, and never let your heart of gratitude wane.
Brett Hoebel checked in with me, the day after my surgery. This is what his tweet said: “Remember Mija, healing begins from within.”
#strengthfromwithin
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| None of this for 6-8 months. |
11/21: Tomorrow is the day. I will finally deal with a shoulder injury I sustained kickboxing. Then the hard part comes: recovery.
Three years ago, I hit a bag too hard while teaching a kickboxing class. For those years, I have been working around my injury, afraid to face it head on. I’ve completed P90X2, Les Mills’ COMBAT, Les Mills’ PUMP, ChaLEAN Extreme, T25 and my third round of Rev Abs with this injury. I’ve coached people through them, competed in the Warrior Dash and run races. But I’ve done it all grimacing, hiding my tears, and holding back my potential.
At summit this summer, I asked Rach from Les Mills’ COMBAT about the injury. She looked at me like I was an alien and said “FIX THIS NOW!” Then my friend Brett Hoebel wrote this, and I’m convinced he had me somewhere in the back of his mind; just to be sure I thanked him for writing it for me — he said “You’re welcome, ma’am!” (Seriously, am I that old?)
“As a fitness professional and athlete, one of the most difficult things I’ve had to go through was an injury that required surgery…and a lot more. Injuries can occur from a sudden instance or from something repeated over time. Injuries don’t just hurt you physically; the mental and emotional stress, and even financial burden, can be more painful. Everyone gets injured, but not everyone recovers…I made work my top priority because work was familiar and easier to do…healing my injury was not as familiar, so making myself the top priority, fell to the waste side. I didn’t realize how much I had emotionally withdrawn until I started to see some of the people closest in my life withdraw from me as well. Once I realized these people were fading from my life, it shocked me into an emotional shift and I got off my ass to really address my injuries and make “me” the top priority. Things have completely changed for the better now; my surgery was a success, I’m training again, and I feel like my old self.”
He continued:
• You should go through pain first to learn how to heal it.
• You should acknowledge that you have an injury instead of denying it.
• You should put your ego aside and seek treatment because that’s what your body needs.
• You should do your treatment with love because that’s what your mind needs.
• Do your treatment consistently so your injury will heal and not become irreversible.
You may have to make major adjustments in your life, like changing jobs or going into debt…but your physical, mental and spiritual “health” is more important than anything else.
Today, Brett tweeted me “Tomorrow is your opportunity to grow stronger.”
So wish me luck tomorrow, and be ready to see a whole new me – the one who coaches people through injuries. This will be a painful lesson for me, but where there’s pain, there’s gain.
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