![]() Mojo? What Mojo? When anyone has had a physical trauma: injury, prolonged illness or surgery, the system loses "Mojo," that lust for life, the twinkle in our eyes. This is true: “Most people want to be circled by safety, not by the unexpected. The unexpected can take you out. But the unexpected can also take you over and change your life. Put a heart in your body where a stone used to be.” Ron Hall, Denver Moore Or as Joan Didion put it, “Everything's going along as usual and then all shit breaks loose.” My reaction when I woke from surgery, and the following month of undiagnosed and growing gut disaster was dramatic. First: Shock! They only did one knee replacement, not the two I'd prepared for. Second: My femur broke during the surgery! I couldn't put weight on my left leg for 6 weeks. That meant I couldn't do PT for my knee. Third and most disastrous: The ulcerative colitis I had healed from ten years ago rolled over me like a tank. I couldn't sit up. I lost all the strength and flexibility I had worked so hard for. All that to say that when I refer to losing Mojo, I know what I'm talking about. And yet when my head rises above pain, weakness and despair, I take a breath. Just a breath. If I am breathing, I am alive. If I'm alive, I have choices. The good news: I have an amazing spouse who goes above and beyond to care for me. Friends, neighbors, people I haven't seen for a while, have fed us; they weeded and kept my baby flower garden alive; they sent sweet imojis, poems and quotes when I couldn't visit; they took me to the doctor just to give my sweetie a break. All that and more. I'm lucky. And still. This body was not what I had prepared for. So, how do I be with my life now? This is where Mojo Recovery begins....
4 Comments
10/11/2019 10:29:02 am
I had no idea! What a horrible ordeal! I'm so glad to hear that you are healing. Seems like the nasty bad luck fairy was sitting on your shoulder. Glad he's taken a hike. Thanks for letting me know.
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Valerie
10/14/2019 09:25:31 pm
Me, too, Judith!
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Sandy olrich
10/12/2019 12:48:00 pm
I am so glad to hear from you.....you had plenty of mojo stored up to weather out your recovery ! You kicked that bad luck fairy where it counts. Looking forward to seeing you back to work.
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Valerie
10/14/2019 09:25:45 pm
Thanks, Sandy! It's great to be back in the saddle and I look forward to working with you, too!
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![]() About MeI'm Valerie Lyon, the Mojo Recovery Therapist. Archives
September 2019
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