In April 2007, I was skiing with a friend when I lost control on a jump and hit the ground hard. My friend Fraser skied up to me to check in and I told him it felt like I had broken my jaw. I realised that up to this point in my life (34 years old) I had never broken a bone, and had a belief that I never would.
I told my friend that I was going to ski down the mountain, and if the pain in the side of my face didn’t ease up, I would probably call it a day. I set off again and 10 minutes later arrived at the chairlift, about 2 minutes ahead of Fraser. As I waited, the staff operator at the bottom asked if I was OK. She could probably tell I was in a little discomfort.
I told her I’d had a wipeout and that this was my last ride. At the top the medics were waiting, she had been concerned enough to radio through and their response was not encouraging. They took one look at me and told me I had to go to a hospital immediately.
Up to this point, I had been convincing myself that my "I do not break" belief system was solid, and I had started to feel better. But after the certainty of the medics’ prognosis, I lost some of my own certainty and started to drift into mild shock, then a mild concussion.
They stretchered me down to the gondola, which took me to a waiting ambulance and I found it harder to talk as my jaw started to really ache. I thought “Stay Positive!” And above all, don’t lose your sense of humor.
The ambulance ride was a riot. First, the chief medic tried to cut off my ski jacket to put on a blood pressure cuff but there was NO way I was going to let that happen. It was a new jacket! Two minutes of negotiating later we had a compromise.
They didn't want to move me off the stretcher but would wriggle my jacket off as long as I agreed they could cut off my ski top underneath, as this would have required more effort to remove over my head. The jacket costs a thousand dollars - the top was ten bucks from Walmart. Done Deal!
Next, they asked if I was allergic to anything. After thinking carefully, I looked straight at the nurse and in my most serious voice, I took a deep breath and said 'Gravity!' We all burst out laughing, which made me feel better despite the extra pain in my face. From that point, the tone was set and it was jokes all the way to the hospital.
By the time I arrived, my girlfriend, Tammy was already there. Fraser had called her from the mountain, and she was a refreshing and unbelievable source of both love and strength as the seriousness of the situation revealed itself.
I was busted pretty bad. The whole right side of my face had been crushed-in by almost an inch, which was hard to tell due to the swelling, and I had multiple fractures including two fractures in my eye socket and two in my cheekbone. Ironically my jaw was fine. However, I would have to have a few hours of plastic surgery to rebuild my face courtesy of a titanium plate or two just to look normal again. Bummer.
After the X-rays and MRI, they took off my neck brace and I'll never forget the look of shock on Tammy's face as she saw the right side of mine lop downward without the support. I weighed things up. I knew everything happened for a reason and was looking for the positive here as hard as I could.
"Don’t worry sweetie," I managed to say, although it sounded like I had a ping-pong ball in my mouth "If life were simple, it wouldn't be as fun!" I smiled, or at least half my mouth did.
I had been working damn hard on a big project for the last year and I guess this was life's way of slowing me down when I wasn’t listening to the little hints. OK, OK, I thought, I get it! Surgery was scheduled for 2 days later.
After the operation, I was forced to listen to the 'expert opinion' of what my body would do and how long it would take to heal. At this stage of my life, I already knew enough about taking charge of my own thoughts and beliefs when it came to healing and the body. Especially My Body.
I was told I had an 80-90% chance of regaining feeling in my mouth after the nerves had been crushed. I thanked the doctor but in a somewhat casual tone told him, I would choose the 100% group. He looked at me with a strange look and said, "But you don't get to choose". I told him it was too late, I'd already chosen. Period.
I wasn't trying to be arrogant or clever, just stating a fact with total certainty. I told myself medical opinions are fine as long as I remember that they are just that - Opinions.
Next, I heard it would take a minimum of 6-8 weeks for my bones to heal. Hmm, I thought, that's standard time for a standard person thinking standard thoughts. My response was “Doctor, I really appreciate you saying that but I'd like to do it in three”. At this point, I think he just put it down to a concussion and gave me a dismissive look while he wrote something in his notes. Probably the word “delusional”, haha.
Though again, an important distinction here was that this was not arrogance or defiance, that kind of energy would do nothing to accelerate my healing and neither would self-pity or regret. Instead, I had a total and rock-solid conviction in my ability to nurture and support my body through the power of my mind.
I had read and seen enough examples over the years to know what was possible in situations like this. The challenge most people who are injured have is that, in the absence of finding a positive meaning, they view the experience as negative and start to resent their affliction, rather than see it as an opportunity.
An opportunity to change the pace of lifestyle, to take stock, to appreciate the health they may have been previously taking for granted, to meet new people they otherwise would not have met, in new situations like visits to the hospital. In short, ANYTHING but a burden or hindrance.
Another important point here is that I got really connected to gratitude through a “contrast frame” of understanding how close it could have been to breaking my neck. Literally, millimeters or a couple of degrees difference in angle on landing and it would have gone like a twig.
I almost cried with joy thinking that if that HAD have happened and some magic genie had given me one chance to go back and “just” have a busted face instead, I would have taken the offer in a heartbeat. It's all perspective at the end of the day.
From this point, I knew it was important to relax my body and not to resist what had happened. After all, I knew that ALL stress simply comes from resistance to what IS. I constantly visualized miraculous and perfect healing.
Seeing the bones fuse together like powerful magnets surrounded by white, loving energy and light. I saw my face getting stronger and healthier each passing minute, hour and day, and I made sure that I was always relaxed and thankful for what had happened. Essentially, accelerated healing is 30% physical and 70% metaphysical.
So while the mental side, meditation, and visualization was critical, I also cut all processed foods and any toxins out of my diet. This gave my body the nutritional support it needed, along with scheduled relaxation and whatever amount of quality sleep it told me it required.
Three days after the surgery, and against the advice of the medical team, I jumped on a plane and flew to the Bahamas for a 2-week seminar and a great environment in which to heal. Within 48 hours of arriving, I was training in the hotel gym. One of the benefits of the visualization was that all of my body started to respond and I grew muscle quicker than I had ever done.
Each day my face showed big improvements and by the time I returned home to Vancouver 2 weeks later (less than 3 weeks after the accident), I was in the best shape of my life. My face was completely healed, my lips, tongue, and inside of my cheek had regained virtually all of their feeling (this would take another month to fully come back to 100%, but it was still half the time I was told) and my body was strong, fit, and solid.
I guess the lessons for me where that while I am not invincible (my new belief is that I only break once) it is never what happens to you that makes the defining difference in your life, or any situation for that matter, but rather what you choose to DO with what happens.
The victim is a role that too many of us play at some point in our lives, and the second we do that, we may as well give up all of our power there and then. However, given the chance, this amazing thing we run around in called a body is capable of incredible things when directed properly with the love and purpose required for immediate self-healing.
I now have first-hand experience of that, and in the process can thank life for the wonderful opportunity it gave me to never doubt it again.
Peter Sage
I told my friend that I was going to ski down the mountain, and if the pain in the side of my face didn’t ease up, I would probably call it a day. I set off again and 10 minutes later arrived at the chairlift, about 2 minutes ahead of Fraser. As I waited, the staff operator at the bottom asked if I was OK. She could probably tell I was in a little discomfort.
I told her I’d had a wipeout and that this was my last ride. At the top the medics were waiting, she had been concerned enough to radio through and their response was not encouraging. They took one look at me and told me I had to go to a hospital immediately.
Up to this point, I had been convincing myself that my "I do not break" belief system was solid, and I had started to feel better. But after the certainty of the medics’ prognosis, I lost some of my own certainty and started to drift into mild shock, then a mild concussion.
They stretchered me down to the gondola, which took me to a waiting ambulance and I found it harder to talk as my jaw started to really ache. I thought “Stay Positive!” And above all, don’t lose your sense of humor.
The ambulance ride was a riot. First, the chief medic tried to cut off my ski jacket to put on a blood pressure cuff but there was NO way I was going to let that happen. It was a new jacket! Two minutes of negotiating later we had a compromise.
They didn't want to move me off the stretcher but would wriggle my jacket off as long as I agreed they could cut off my ski top underneath, as this would have required more effort to remove over my head. The jacket costs a thousand dollars - the top was ten bucks from Walmart. Done Deal!
Next, they asked if I was allergic to anything. After thinking carefully, I looked straight at the nurse and in my most serious voice, I took a deep breath and said 'Gravity!' We all burst out laughing, which made me feel better despite the extra pain in my face. From that point, the tone was set and it was jokes all the way to the hospital.
By the time I arrived, my girlfriend, Tammy was already there. Fraser had called her from the mountain, and she was a refreshing and unbelievable source of both love and strength as the seriousness of the situation revealed itself.
I was busted pretty bad. The whole right side of my face had been crushed-in by almost an inch, which was hard to tell due to the swelling, and I had multiple fractures including two fractures in my eye socket and two in my cheekbone. Ironically my jaw was fine. However, I would have to have a few hours of plastic surgery to rebuild my face courtesy of a titanium plate or two just to look normal again. Bummer.
After the X-rays and MRI, they took off my neck brace and I'll never forget the look of shock on Tammy's face as she saw the right side of mine lop downward without the support. I weighed things up. I knew everything happened for a reason and was looking for the positive here as hard as I could.
"Don’t worry sweetie," I managed to say, although it sounded like I had a ping-pong ball in my mouth "If life were simple, it wouldn't be as fun!" I smiled, or at least half my mouth did.
I had been working damn hard on a big project for the last year and I guess this was life's way of slowing me down when I wasn’t listening to the little hints. OK, OK, I thought, I get it! Surgery was scheduled for 2 days later.
After the operation, I was forced to listen to the 'expert opinion' of what my body would do and how long it would take to heal. At this stage of my life, I already knew enough about taking charge of my own thoughts and beliefs when it came to healing and the body. Especially My Body.
I was told I had an 80-90% chance of regaining feeling in my mouth after the nerves had been crushed. I thanked the doctor but in a somewhat casual tone told him, I would choose the 100% group. He looked at me with a strange look and said, "But you don't get to choose". I told him it was too late, I'd already chosen. Period.
I wasn't trying to be arrogant or clever, just stating a fact with total certainty. I told myself medical opinions are fine as long as I remember that they are just that - Opinions.
Next, I heard it would take a minimum of 6-8 weeks for my bones to heal. Hmm, I thought, that's standard time for a standard person thinking standard thoughts. My response was “Doctor, I really appreciate you saying that but I'd like to do it in three”. At this point, I think he just put it down to a concussion and gave me a dismissive look while he wrote something in his notes. Probably the word “delusional”, haha.
Though again, an important distinction here was that this was not arrogance or defiance, that kind of energy would do nothing to accelerate my healing and neither would self-pity or regret. Instead, I had a total and rock-solid conviction in my ability to nurture and support my body through the power of my mind.
I had read and seen enough examples over the years to know what was possible in situations like this. The challenge most people who are injured have is that, in the absence of finding a positive meaning, they view the experience as negative and start to resent their affliction, rather than see it as an opportunity.
An opportunity to change the pace of lifestyle, to take stock, to appreciate the health they may have been previously taking for granted, to meet new people they otherwise would not have met, in new situations like visits to the hospital. In short, ANYTHING but a burden or hindrance.
Another important point here is that I got really connected to gratitude through a “contrast frame” of understanding how close it could have been to breaking my neck. Literally, millimeters or a couple of degrees difference in angle on landing and it would have gone like a twig.
I almost cried with joy thinking that if that HAD have happened and some magic genie had given me one chance to go back and “just” have a busted face instead, I would have taken the offer in a heartbeat. It's all perspective at the end of the day.
From this point, I knew it was important to relax my body and not to resist what had happened. After all, I knew that ALL stress simply comes from resistance to what IS. I constantly visualized miraculous and perfect healing.
Seeing the bones fuse together like powerful magnets surrounded by white, loving energy and light. I saw my face getting stronger and healthier each passing minute, hour and day, and I made sure that I was always relaxed and thankful for what had happened. Essentially, accelerated healing is 30% physical and 70% metaphysical.
So while the mental side, meditation, and visualization was critical, I also cut all processed foods and any toxins out of my diet. This gave my body the nutritional support it needed, along with scheduled relaxation and whatever amount of quality sleep it told me it required.
Three days after the surgery, and against the advice of the medical team, I jumped on a plane and flew to the Bahamas for a 2-week seminar and a great environment in which to heal. Within 48 hours of arriving, I was training in the hotel gym. One of the benefits of the visualization was that all of my body started to respond and I grew muscle quicker than I had ever done.
Each day my face showed big improvements and by the time I returned home to Vancouver 2 weeks later (less than 3 weeks after the accident), I was in the best shape of my life. My face was completely healed, my lips, tongue, and inside of my cheek had regained virtually all of their feeling (this would take another month to fully come back to 100%, but it was still half the time I was told) and my body was strong, fit, and solid.
I guess the lessons for me where that while I am not invincible (my new belief is that I only break once) it is never what happens to you that makes the defining difference in your life, or any situation for that matter, but rather what you choose to DO with what happens.
The victim is a role that too many of us play at some point in our lives, and the second we do that, we may as well give up all of our power there and then. However, given the chance, this amazing thing we run around in called a body is capable of incredible things when directed properly with the love and purpose required for immediate self-healing.
I now have first-hand experience of that, and in the process can thank life for the wonderful opportunity it gave me to never doubt it again.
Peter Sage
 | |
An hour after the surgery
10 days later and looking good
Less than 3 weeks since the accident and still in the Bahamas. Fully healed, bones fused, and feeling great.
Never underestimate the power we have inside, my friends!
Never underestimate the power we have inside, my friends!
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