Progress

Today was my first post-operative visit with Dr. Chen (the cosmetic surgeon).

I was a little hopeful, but a little nervous about having the drains removed. I didn't know exactly how those tubes were attached to my underarm area and worried that it might hurt to have them removed. It probably didn't help that someone yesterday told me about a surgery they had, and when they removed the drain, they felt like the tubing had grown to be an integral part of their system, winding all through their body. When Dr. Chen actually removed the tube, I barely felt it-- there was a little tug and that was about it.

Why is it that our fears are almost always much worse than the reality of our experiences? Maybe no one else is like that, but I certainly am. I always seem to mentally prepare myself for a worst-case scenario. Do people who always expect the very best scenario find themselves disappointed when things don't quite live up to their expectations? In a case like this, I was anticipating pain and found that the reality wasn't painful at all. What would my day have been like if I had expected no pain, had been mentally ready for a painless experience? Would I have felt even better when the situation lived up to that relatively pain-free tugging? Would a positive attitude have carried over, even if it had been more painful?

Regardless of the presence or absence of physical pain, would it have been enough to have a day without any kind of anxiety?

Superheroes seem impervious to pain, but I don't think that's an accurate perception. I think the superhero attitude is that, pain happens, but it needn't be crippling. Pain does not need to hinder our actions, our approach to the day's events. I don't think I'm there yet-- but I'm willing to work on it.