Thursday, August 16, 2007

The long term looks good, but for now I remain a couch potato

I saw the surgeon today, and she says the retina is attached and doing well. She also assures me that I can go back to heavy training at the end of the process. I mentioned things like dead lifts and leg presses on a machine where one's feet are elevated, and she said "no problem."

For the next three weeks, I am to remain a couch potato. I am slipping rapidly out of shape. The only good part of that is that I will get a chance to see how fast and how completely I can recover.

Her advice is to do nothing that will elevate my heart rate. I guess I will start taking some long, slow walks.

I asked her what the risk mechanism is -- is she afraid of elevated blood pressure, temperature, intra-ocular pressure, acceleration, etc., but got no answer -- just repetition of the admonition to keep my heart rate low. I think I could be a more effective and less worried patient if I had a better understanding of her model of the eye and healing process, but the system does not allow her time to teach me.

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