Today is day 17 since I was injured in an auto accident during a severe Winter storm. I'm doing all the things I originally tried to avoid because of the acute pain associated with the activities. It turns out the things that seem to hurt the most are also the things aiding my recovery efforts. Here's what I'm doing to get back on track:
- Laughing. Go ahead. Make me laugh. Tell me your best jokes. Laughter is good for my lungs. Yes, it hurts. No pain no gain.
- Coughing. I can do this as long as I have my trusty pillow to brace myself. Coughing helps express fluid inside my body.
- Sneezing. Even though it feels like my ribs are tearing apart, sneezing is also good for me. The pillow does help minimize the pain.
- Deep breathing. The only way I could do this during the first week was under the influence of extremely powerful pain pills. Otherwise, I'd still be breathing like a woman in the final stages of labor. Deep breathing allows my lungs to expand. I'm also hoping the deep breathing will help me expel fluid inside my chest cavity.
- Walking every hour. I would rather sleep all day but my body needs movement in order to recover. The doctors are asking for ten minutes every hour. I'm adding an extra 20% to help tip the scales in my favor. The time goes faster when I pretend I'm on a tennis court and I like to throw in some shadow tennis strokes into the walking routine to make it more fun.
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