Today I learned:
1. Unexpected Emotion: If you had asked me 5 years ago what emotion I would experience when walking out of the house in the morning accompanied by a tiny witch in gumboots and a two-legged horse wearing a pirate hat and Dora shoes, I would have assumed it would be embarrassment. Today I learned instead that emotion is acceptance, accompanied by a sort of muted expectation that the day can only improve from there.
2. Emotion unexpected: With pending ACL surgery I have spent the last few days researching what to expect in the recovery period immediately following the procedure. I have been talking to friends that have gone through the same thing, chatting up doctors and scouring the web. At this point I find just about any source acceptable, from the anecdotal to the scientific, and the most concerning thing to me is the variety of answers I am given, even from credible resources.
It is not the likelihood of success that bothers me – I would not proceed if I wasn’t completely confident in both the surgeon’s ability to do his job, and my ability to commit to the rigours of months of rehab.
What bothers me is the inability make concrete plans in my personal and professional life.
Despite having a desk job I have been told the time I will need off work could range anywhere from 2 days (by a close friend) to 4-6 weeks (by a surgeon). In the weeks following the operation I have pre-planned personal events including two Canuck’s games, a Wine Tasting, and a family wedding. Now I don’t know if I will be able to attend any of them.
Family vacation at Easter? Not sure how mobile I will be.
Annual summer golf trip? I damn well hope so.
Essentially I am entering a period of somewhere up to a month where planning work meetings/commitments is tough and up to about 6 months where planning anything fun is risky.
The result? A range of emotions.
- Happiness – “Finally, surgery after a frustrating 4.5 month wait.”
- Anger – “I really dislike the inability to safely plan and commit.”
- Appreciation – “I now understanding of how important it is to keep fit and healthy.”
- Indecision – “I hate giving family and work non-committal answers to fair questions.”
- Hope – “I really want to be rehab’d in time for that golf trip!”
- Freedom – “I know what I can do now, so a spur of the moment family vacation has been booked.”
Surgery and Rehab? No problem. I go that. It’s the unknown that is getting to me. When you are a planner, the thing that bugs you more than anything is an empty calendar.
two things i learned today 