Tag: surgery recovery

Last Wednesday I worked out at Krav along with the class and then put in some extra practice with Michael and the Three Bears afterwards to work on P4 skills to get us ready for CIC 1.

On Thursday I took a Lyra class. It was all bodyweight – no cardio – but a fun challenge for me. I was able to do the moves and felt super proud of myself!

Starting Friday after work, my students and I helped with the SCA demo at Pensacon… in addition to regularly scheduled practice. Tiny Nick! and I met at the Bay Center to do a very brief demo and then cut out to go to UWF practice. My kiddo came into town just in time to go with us, so that was pretty cool. We also had some newcomers that night.

On Saturday and Sunday, we fenced intermittently more or less all day. Demo fighting is fun because you can do weird and flashy stuff you’d never do in a tournament. I wore my “Merida dress” with chain maille under, and that seemed to be a big hit. It’s important to me that little girls see that you can be a pretty princess and still sword fight.

Monday was another Krav night. I let Michael take the lead on that once since I wasn’t really prepared after my busy weekend. We stayed after and worked on a few more P4 skills. We’re almost finished working our way through that level!

Yesterday morning I got some bad news and stayed home from work. I slept a lot in the morning hours, but in the late afternoon, I felt well enough to go to the gym with Nik. We fenced with Tiny Nick!, lifted some weights, did some cardio, and then met up with more students and fenced a little more. When I was working out, I wasn’t so sad. I really appreciate my friends and students – more than they know.

Tonight is a Krav night. I actually organized the lesson and feel pretty good about it. February seems to be moving as quickly as January did slowly (if that makes sense), so I want to get as much floor time in as possible before April!

I’m two weeks post-op from LASIK. I can get sweat and tap water in my eyes, I don’t wear the shield when I sleep, and I’m allowed to enjoy swimming pools and hot tubs. I still take eye drops more than usual, but other than that, it’s a dream come true.

Monday’s post-practice Krav practice went well. Michael and I burned through four skills fairly easily (without breaking a sweat). Then we talked about pedagogy stuff and whether or not we want to pare down how much we teach in a given day. I’m working on tonight’s lesson now, and I think I have a decent plan going with two skills plus a backup if the class is picking it up quickly.

Last night Nik and I hit the gym. We skipped the rock wall but will be back at it next week. I thought hauling my body weight up the sheer surface might count as strenuous lifting. Instead, I did very light weights but with more reps. I can feel it today, so I’m happy with it. I also did some cardio. I alternated laps (walk 1 / run 1) and did my mile in 13 minutes while keeping sweat out of my eyes.

After that we met up with a bunch of our students (I think there were seven of us total) for extra UWF fencing practice. It was a fun day – plenty of goofing off. I mostly took films, corrected form, and hung out, but I did get some Valentine’s bouts in with my loaf.

Today I am one week post-op. As of tonight, I don’t have to take the drops anymore, and I can get sweat and tap water into my eyes. Should the occasion arise, I can now wear make-up. My next milestone will be 10 days, when I no longer have to wear my super high-tech eye shield when I sleep.

On Saturday I went to extra practice at UWF with Nik and Tiny Nick! I did a long sword drill that didn’t require me to wear a mask and walked the track. Of the 8 laps I did, I jogged 3 (not all at once – I spread them out). No sweat.

Yesterday we had SCA practice. Because we had a lot of new people, I got to do some mask-off instruction. I sparred with a few of the more experienced students – again in short bursts.

Tonight I’ll be back at Krav. I expect teaching will be the same as usual, but my practice time after class may be limited.

I rested a lot on Wednesday night and had full sight on Thursday. I still passed up on fencing to nap. It seems like when I rest my eyes, I end up asleep.

Today I went to fencing! I was a little nervous, so I spent some time working with new folks. Then I put on my mask and was able to see! I fenced Tiny Nick! and my reaction time was so much better.

I could do only a few passes because I’m not allowed to get sweat in my eyes, so i called it in early and then walked a couple laps on the indoor track.

Today was a good day.

Tuesday was not a rock wall night. I came home from work and sacked out on the couch, and Nik let me rest a bit. I appreciated that.

We lifted weights and did cardio. I noticed that when Nik bench presses, he doesn’t quite hold his arms the same way, so I helped him keep an even posture on both sides. Then Tiny Nick! met us at the gym for an extra fencing practice. I fenced a little bit, but I mostly watched the fellas fence. I took videos so that they could see themselves, and I think that helped. I was definitely Coach Marie on Tuesday.

Yesterday I had LASIK done, so I didn’t work out at all. I didn’t even get my steps in. I’ve worn glasses since I was 10 and contacts since I was 15, so this is a huge change for me. The procedure was scary because I was awake, and when they cut that flap out, you can’t see for a few seconds, but my doctor was fantastic. He and his assistant had a great manner. I was allowed to hold Lord Mousington during the surgery (sometimes quite tightly), and I was allowed to talk. My fencing for yesterday consisted of babbling at the doctor about swords to distract myself from any discomfort I felt during the procedure. We’ll count that as theory.

I know this is my fight blog, not my eye surgery blog, but because of the surgery, I can’t get any sweat or tap water in my eyes for about two weeks. I’m allowed to fence, but I’m not allowed to sweat. I’m thinking that today will be another theory day, or it’ll be a drill day. I don’t intend to dress out. I’m excited, however, to see how this procedure has affected my depth perception and reaction time. I’ve been assuming I’ll be in the same boat as I was when I was wearing my contact lenses, but I’m not sure. Only time will tell, so expect occasional eye updates. 

I’d like to do some light sparring tomorrow, but I’m not making any promises to myself that I can’t keep.