Finally Putting My Degree to Use

I haven’t really spoken a great deal about my personal life, so let’s change that. Also, this post is also related to valve replacement, so fear not if you were just after information regarding that! Currently I’m a Research Assistant in the area of psychology, investigating the role of music chronic pain. I’ve always had a strong interest in the area of pain and music, so two years ago at university it was an area I was reading up on. Now one piece of research I did come across concerned patients who had just had open heart surgery. The researchers found that patients who listened to sedative music after their procedure had 70% less pain distress compared to patients who received standard chair rest. Of course when I came upon this research I had no idea that I would be in a position to see how this worked on myself! I was always under the impression my operation would be minor - through my veins in my arm. Obviously I was naive and did not understand my condition fully.

So, the geek in me is now quite interested in running a little pseudo-experiment whilst in hospital to see if and how the music can help me. Part of me doubts the impact it could have. But considering that I’m currently asking clients who suffer from chronic pain to exercise with music, I strangely think that I have some sort of obligation to at least try. What’s the worst that could happen, right?!

On another simple note, for those of you reading this in preparation for your own operation I’ll answer a few simple questions that I myself had:

• Gowns are provided by the hospital. Imagine if hospitals didn’t do this? I’m pretty sure there would be cliques forming over the type of gowns people wore!
  
• Operations usually take place in the mornings, possibly even before 9am. Make sure you find out if your surgeon has been in an all nighter. Do you really want him going in your heart with a lack of sleep? And this is not a silly concern because it does happen and operations are cancelled because of it.
  
• Be prepared to be tossed around the surgery calendar at short notice. Nothing is confirmed until the day you turn up at the hospital and you know you have a bed.

Look at that, I haven’t even had my operation and I’m becoming an expert already. Go me!