Learning from experience certainly makes life easier.
Whatever you go through in life, please pay attention to it. If you learn from your experience the first time, you can help yourself or someone else going through similar experiences.
Seven months ago, a talented surgeon amputated part of my left foot. Yesterday, the same surgeon performed the same surgery on my right foot.
Never having been through this particular surgery before, the aftermath of the first amputation surgery caught me off guard. Pain was nightmarish and made me wish I had not lived through the surgery. Unable to walk unaided for the first post-op week, a loving friend named Wendy loaned me a walker.
When I am not writing for www.nearariver.com, I am writing in my journal. There I record every event that happens to me as well as how I feel about it each day of my life. When I reread my journal, I remember events that my traumatic brain injury prevents me from remembering.
Naturally, I reread my journal to prepare for the second amputation surgery. Knowing that the pain would be keep me from walking unaided, we borrowed two walkers and strategically positioned them in our home before the surgery. Aware that the two and a half hour drive home was extremely uncomfy the first time, we placed pillows and blankets in the back seat of the car the night before the surgery so I could elevate my feet above my heart on the trip home to reduce swelling and pain. Knowing that the pain would be horrific, we prepared for that , too.
Ninety minutes into our drive home yesterday, the lidocaine injections had worn off and I still felt okay. In fact, I actually felt well enough to jot down this post into my notebook as Eric drove home. Sitting in the back seat of the car with my foot elevated and our dog Simba lying on my legs so I could pet him, the trip home went much better this time.
Because I am a surgery veteran and I learn from my experiences, my surgeon told me that he will release me from his care on the 12th day after the surgery, at my second follow up, as long as there are no problems. This makes me very happy because it means we can simply keep driving south after that appointment and actually enjoy our delayed winter trip.
Learning from experiences certainly makes life a lot better. We all forget things in time, especially the details that seem insignificant but can be important to recall later. When life throws similar experiences your way, a journal will help you remember the details that are now important.
Right now I am soaring like an eagle over this repeated life storm and am happy about this. Hopefully you will learn from experience and soar like an eagle over the storms in your life.
Let the encouraging words in these bobbiejrae posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
What would you do if you knew that today is your last day on earth?
Say thank you even to those who made you strong.
What are you looking forward to in your life?
Enable yourself to bounce back!
