The Doctor Said Surgery…

...and my stomach dropped.

6 months until full recovery.

When I went flying off of my bike a couple of months ago, I was relieved that I didn’t break anything. But that pain in my shoulder didn’t subside and here I sit with a rotator cuff in bad need of repair.

I’m not gonna lie. I’m anxious. What can I do right now as my mind starts spinning its web of worry?

Breathe.

Deep belly breaths. 3 seconds in, 6 seconds out.

No matter what stress you’re facing, whether it’s speaking in front of 900 people, having a difficult conversation, or managing news you didn’t expect, remember to breathe.

It’s the one physical thing you can do to bring your heart rate down and calm yourself.

I know I’ll be ok, and in many ways I’m lucky that it’s not a complicated surgery. It’s 6 weeks with my arm in a sling, and four and a half months later with lots of physical therapy, I’ll be back to normal.

But the day of that surgery when I’m in the operating room, you can be sure there’s one thing I’m going to be doing a lot of beforehand:

Deep breathing. 3 seconds in, 6 seconds out.