How do you manage your nerves?

This can obviously be a tough one since we're all wired differently. I can recall leading up to my operation and the hurricane of thoughts (some positive and some flat out morbid) that sneak into your head. Like many I had done so much research and reading on what was going to happen that I perhaps "knew" too much of what was going to occur. The idea of being cut open and sawed on for 7.5 hours really began to mess with my morale but towards the end I had a sudden switch in spirit that helped me. It will be different for everyone. Some will rely on their faith in a higher power, some will look to family, and some may simply "tune out the noise" and just go through the motions. I personally did all 3 of those things and believe it helped me turn a corner.

In the days and hours leading up to this I simply let go of all perceived control of the operation. (after all my only role was to make sure I showed up on time) At the end of the day the old adage of "let the barber cut the hair" is what I thought of. I was putting my body in the hands of highly trained experts so what use was it to second guess, worry about possible mishaps, or get more stressed out by reading just one extra article on the internet?

One final tip I would suggest for those that can... Approach the surgery like you would a competition. This may not resonate for those who haven't competed athletically but for me it worked. I basically "trained" for my surgery. I wanted to be as fit as I could leading up to it because I knew it would help in my recovery. Granted I was in huge pain and was somewhat limited as to what I could physically do but I managed whatever activity I could along with being mindful of my diet, sleep etc.