| Interview Investment in Tai Chi Practice Speeds Up Recovery
by Emma
I was recently reading an old Tai Chi newsletter in which
Brett was (as usual!) advocating the benefits of appropriate exercise for addressing
certain health problems. He stated that the alternative, that is, a disruptive and costly
hospital stay followed by a lengthy recovery, was much less desirable than the pro-active
choice of changing your lifestyle patterns. Since I have just spent two and a half months
as a patient of the Western medical system (after having been a Tai Chi student for two
and a half years!), the newsletter brought a smile to my face.
The smile stayed a while as I thought over the last couple of
months, back to the evening in early November when I was admitted to the Canberra
Hospital. My first thought upon waking up in Intensive Care was "Oh no, I won't be
able to get to Tai Chi this week!" At that point, I had no idea that there was no
chance I would be doing any Tai Chi for the rest of the millennium. But even then, after
only 24 hours in hospital, the habits of my Tai Chi practice were beginning to help in my
recovery; my deep breathing was assisting the clearing and healing of my damaged lung, and
I was soon out of Intensive Care.
I was moved from ward to ward, slowly becoming accustomed to
the hospital routines. My blood pressure was monitored regularly until one nurse declared
that plotting my chart was too boring since my blood pressure never varied from perfect! I
am sure that Tai Chi can take the credit for this aspect of my recovery, also.
In fact, from the very moment at which I was first knocked
flying from my bicycle by an out-of-control car in Narrabundah, I was practising a lesson
learnt through Tai Chi training. "Oh dear, I've been hit," I thought.
"Relax" was my second thought. Perhaps that's why I was able to achieve the
spectacular flight of 10 metres (before landing on a concrete culvert)!
My next memory is of being lifted onto the ambulance
stretcher. Although I had probably already been given a morphine injection, the pain of
being moved, which I was to experience over and over, was something I could only manage by
reminding myself to "Relax!". Thanks to Tai Chi, my body knew how to obey this
command.
It was a long night of "Relax!" in
Emergency Admissions. Many
x-rays later, doctors' fears for my neck (I was unable to move my head)
and head (bloody with lacerations) were allayed, and it was found that I
had sustained three broken ribs on my right side, and a fractured
vertebra which was nevertheless in a stable state. My broken ankle was
not discovered until five days
later.
I couldn't understand why the doctor kept
pressing my abdomen. "Doesn't that hurt?" he asked. "Oh no," I assured
him confidently, but he didn't seem to be happy with my reply. "Are you
sure?" he checked again. There
was absolutely no pain, and I was very pleased. However, the doctor was
puzzled by the firm tone of my tummy muscles. Apparently, it is not so
common for women of my age, and made him suspect internal damage.
Finally, I explained that the "problem" was probably - Tai Chi!
Being in pain and inactive for weeks is not
my idea of fun. But it does allow plenty of time for reflection. I
wanted to minimise my use of painkilling drugs, and this meant relying
on my own ways of dealing with the combination of physical and emotional
discomforts. Although Qigong was a bit too challenging, Brett and
Fontane kindly brought me in a useful book called "Finding Serenity in
the Age of Anxiety". It was their advice to "take care of my mind and
allow my body to take care of
itself" which brought me relief in moments of distress.
Being helpless and dependent was a new and difficult
experience for me; but it was a great excuse to go home to Mum and Dad for some special
treatment! Mobilisation, with a back brace and a fibreglass cast, was not the liberating
moment I had hoped for. Being able to stand up, with crutches, did not mean I was able to
do Qigong once more! Gradually, I realised that the on-going pain in my right shoulder
was more than a side-effect of the broken ribs, and I suspected that it had been almost
dislocated. Gentle Tai Chi warm-up exercises helped to strengthen my shoulder independent
of my vertebra injury.
The major part of my physical rehabilitation is still
underway as I write. Anyone who has suffered a broken limb will sympathise with the
feeling of tired and wasted muscle which is my daily experience. Yet, I like to believe
that the recovery of my back muscles will be more straightforward than if I had been
relatively unfit at the time of the accident. When first I stood without the back brace, I
tentatively swung my arms and was delighted to find that I could twist my spine quite
freely. It was a relief to think that, with Tai Chi practice, there was no reason my back
could not regain its previous condition.
Similarly, although my first attempts to perform
"Grasping the Peacock's Tail" were about as coordinated as trying to follow a
broom as a dancing partner, my recent achievements include a little bit of "Yin Yang
Fish", and finishing Section 1 of the Tai Chi form without falling over! Strangely
enough, my ankle feels better after completing Section 1 movements than it does at any
other time of the day...
See you all in Level 2 - and I hope that it won't take a
hospital visit to get you back into practice!!
(This is an actual account, but the name has been changed for
reasons of privacy.)
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