It was a couple of years ago that I wrote a column about my experience being injured while descending from Mt. Hood. The theme of that article was about the kindness of strangers in helping me off that iconic mountain.
Well, as luck (the bad kind) would have it, I seem unable to avoid very Oregon-centric outdoor mishaps. Back in late July, I ran off a cliff at the Oregon National Sand Dunes and ended up with a thousand-pound ATV on top of me.
The damage? A broken pelvis, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
Dunne pictured after his accident recovering at the hospital. PHOTO PROVIDED
The upside? It could have been a hell of a lot worse.
The obscure upside? A Life Flight helicopter ride from Florence to RiverBend in Springfield.
So, dear readers, another accident and another column.
But unlike my last article about Mt. Hood and prose about the help I received, I thought I’d use my hard-won experience with trauma to give some advice about how to best navigate the journey of a prolonged hospital stay and the recovery afterward. Ergo, here are five tips you might consider if you ever find yourself lying flat on your back in a hospital bed after a losing battle with nature, gravity or heavy objects.
Tip #1 – Already be healthy and fit.
Look, I am not here to dispense any advice about exercise and weight. Far be it from me to proselytize about health and fitness.
However …
It is an absolute fact that the human body’s ability to both withstand trauma and recover from it is predicated on being healthy. If you regularly exercise and are at a healthy weight, everything – and I mean everything – is going to be easier for you during and after your injury convalescence. Pain is more tolerable, your vitals are working in your favor, the speed of your physical therapy afterward, all these elements are going to be better if you are healthy.
I’m only including this tip in the hope that it provides just one more reason to either continue or start an exercise and weight regimen – long before you hurt yourself.
Tip #2 – Accept that in the operating room or your hospital room there are many experts around, and you are NOT one of them.
It is critical that you advocate for yourself and be an integral part of the team effort to get you well. But you don’t know as much as these people and by acting like you do, you just get in the way. Your doctors and nurses are going to ask for your feedback and counsel. Give it freely and honestly, but don’t start questioning every decision like you are working with a contractor on a new kitchen.
Your research on WebMD or the advice and counsel from Uncle John is no match for the education and experience of the men and women whose job it is to save you and get you well. Let them work.
Tip #3 – Say thank you an awful lot.
Healthcare professionals are going to treat your injuries and pain whether you are a jerk or a saint.
But they are human. We all go the extra mile for a person who treats us well and is likable.
Be the patient that every nurse or doctor or CNA wants to help. The last thing you want is for your call light to act like a beacon of warning that “the grumpy patient in room 302 has another complaint to register.”
The other reason to be kind and overly appreciative is this: These pros are going to be setting your bones, cleaning your wounds, handling your human waste and myriad other tasks that most of us shudder to even think about. The job of a nurse and others goes so far beyond what most of us would do for even our family. Dispensing a whole bunch of gratitude is just common decency.
Tip #4 – Treat narcotic pain medication like insurance.
As we all know, insurance is something you’re glad to have access to, but also hope you never need.
Think of pain meds like that and I think you’ll be better off. Don’t get me wrong, if healthcare pros tell you to take them – take them. Staying ahead of crushing pain is often the difference between winning and losing your battle with your injured body. However, and as we all know, becoming dependent and even addicted to these drugs is easier than ever.
In my non-expert opinion, it’s going to be better for your long-term prognosis to stop taking the pain meds as soon as you possibly can.
Pain meds do their job well – when you are in need. If you need every milligram of the OxyContin prescribed for your initial pain, great. But as your body heals and the pain is lessened, staying at the same dosage of a narcotic is going to start messing with your internal brain chemistry.
The last thing I’ll say is this: You are going to have pain, and you are going to want it to stop. It will stop if you follow closely to what the experts say and because your body will heal. Use the pain meds when they’re needed and try to shut them off as soon as you possibly can.
Tip #5 – Do the work.
My last tip kind of comes full circle with the first. For most types of injuries, you are going to need physical therapy to get your body back on track.
It’s hard and it’s taxing. It will hurt and it will be frustrating, and it will take a good deal of effort. Just like diet and exercise.
I had a great nurse when I was recuperating who told me that during my healing process, I should view everything like the season of a sport. I would now be immersed in a season of recovery with practice and training.
The absolute worst thing you can do is reach a level of comfort after you leave the hospital and stay there.
Strict bed rest is a myth when it comes to recovery. Moving and pumping your blood and ramping up your heart and lungs is the only way to get back to normal. Do the work.
I hope the vast majority of people reading this column will never have to put these tips to use. Being injured sucks. It hurts, it’s depressing and it’s downright scary. But, if you find, like me, a time in your life where a mountain or an off-road vehicle decides to ruin your day, I hope these tips come in handy.
Michael Dunne is a columnist for The Chronicle and a journalist on KLCC Radio.
