#14 - First aid and recovery
Managed to injure myself the other day. Nothing serious, but here are 3 thoughts that relate to what followed.
Also, it's almost the end of spring, next week will be the last edition of this series. Feedback is encouraged! What have you found useful? What could be improved?
Trained response
Apparently it was on my agenda to pick a fight with the fly screen just over a week ago. (7 stitches on my foot later, I am not looking for a rematch)
In the moment of battle, it’s said somewhere that “we fall to the level of our training”.
Stop the bleeding, disinfect, and wrap it up, was my rusty first-aid response (courtesy of my mum, ex-nurse). Add in a bit of groaning and frustrated sighs to adequately articulate my mood.
And yes, despite my strong preference for not puncturing my body’s largest organ, my clumsiness prevails again! (Was it avoidable? Possibly.. But for now we can accept that accidents exist, and I should probably replace that broken pneumatic spring..)
I suppose learning anything new, or rewiring an old response, works in a similar way.
It requires intention - knowing what you want to shift from, and ideally what you want to shift to. Then the training begins.
Foundational base
The human body is pretty incredible.
It repairs damage without us typing in any cheat codes. Hooray for immune systems!
The recovery process has its own ways to be optimised:
Rest – so energy goes where it’s needed.
Eating well – so the system is replenished with the helpful things.
Keeping the unwanted bacteria out – so there are no uninvited distractions.
It's the same for growth. Professional athletes follow the same plan – sleep well, fuel well, discipline around what goes in – physically, mentally, emotionally.
Healing or growing, the foundations matter.
Mindful recovery
Beyond the basics, the biggest change in my routine was managing inflammation. When white blood cells rally, they’re like a solid team of border security - necessary and welcome, until they overcrowd the place and slow it all down. Swelling, constricted blood vessels, delayed healing etc. etc.
The remedy is simple: elevate. The challenge? Fitting that into normal life. I can’t elevate all day (yes, first world, working class problem), but skip it too long and the swelling reminds me soon enough.
No doctor or nurse gave a precise formula. Just “elevate as needed” and “rest”. So it came back to me - pay attention, adjust, notice what helps. Kind of like.. self-awareness, that old chestnut.
Balance isn’t prescribed. It’s practiced.
Looks worse than it was.
