Swimming Towards Healing: Finding Freedom in the Pool
Additional Piece:
Swimming is often seen as a recreational activity, a way to cool off on a hot summer day or a competitive sport pursued by athletes. However, for individuals living with chronic illnesses or recovering from surgeries, swimming can be much more than that. It can be a transformative experience, a lifeline that offers a sense of freedom and healing that is hard to find elsewhere.
In the locker room of Santa Fe Community College’s tepid pool, a group of women gather, their voices filled with laughter and conversation. They discuss the air temperature, the state of their gardens, and share stories about their sisters. Among them is the author, quietly eavesdropping as she prepares for her swim. She puts on her bathing suit and flips flops, grabs her bag of toys – foam weights, skateboard, and noodles – and makes her way to the side of the warm pool.
For the author, swimming is not just a repetitive activity, but a sacred transition. It is a moment of escape from the constraints of her daily life, a place where she can forget about her chronic illness and the physical limitations it imposes on her. As she glides through the 92 degree water, she feels a sense of weightlessness and freedom, as if gravity has less control over her.
But she is not alone in this experience. As she looks around, she sees others arriving, each with their own unique struggles and challenges. They come down a long ramp, discarding canes or walkers, rising from wheelchairs, and dragging their fingers through the ever-deeper water. They may be recovering from surgeries, injuries, or simply facing the vicissitudes of life. Like the author, they have had to learn to navigate a new body, to find ways to adapt and overcome.
In her case, the author was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) at the age of 20. This chronic disease left her feeling exhausted and dizzy, unable to stand for long periods of time or even sit without passing out. Frustrated with the lack of understanding and support from medical professionals, she turned to NASA’s research on astronauts, who also experienced dizziness upon returning from space. This led her to discover orthostatic intolerance and a potential solution – exercise.
Starting with just a few minutes on a rowing machine or recumbent bike, the author slowly built up her strength and stamina. Despite feeling heavy and exhausted, she persisted, pushing herself to walk on a treadmill and eventually venturing outside to swim in the neighborhood pool. Along the way, she discovered the transformative power of water, how it allowed her to defy gravity and regain a sense of control over her body.
Swimming became not just a form of physical exercise, but a form of therapy. In the water, the author found solace and a renewed sense of self. She became more than her chronic illness, more than the limitations it placed on her. She became a swimmer, someone who could navigate the water with grace and strength.
But this journey was not without its challenges. The author acknowledges the initial struggles and frustrations of starting an exercise regimen while dealing with a chronic illness. She recounts the days when she could barely lift her own head, when every movement felt like a monumental task. She vividly describes the smell of the university gymnasium, filled with the scent of sweat and hard work. And yet, she persevered, immersing herself in books and theories to distract herself from the physical discomfort.
Today, the author continues to swim, finding comfort and healing in the water. She knows that she is not alone in her experience, that there are countless others who have found solace and strength in swimming. This understanding drives her to share her story, to inspire others to dive into the pool and explore the transformative power of water.
Summary:
The author shares her personal journey of finding healing and a sense of freedom through swimming. Diagnosed with POTS, a chronic illness that left her exhausted and unable to stand for long periods of time, she turned to NASA’s research on orthostatic intolerance for answers. This led her to discover the benefits of exercise, particularly in water. Starting with just a few minutes on a rowing machine, she gradually built up her strength and stamina, eventually venturing outside to swim in the neighborhood pool. Swimming became a form of therapy, allowing her to defy gravity and regain control over her body. She acknowledges the challenges along the way but emphasizes the transformative power of water for individuals living with chronic illnesses or recovering from surgeries.
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In the locker room, women’s voices discuss the air temperature (too cold), their gardens (the weeds!), their sisters (impossible). I eavesdrop as I put on my bathing suit and flip flops, grab my bag of toys. I happily overlook the Olympic-sized pool; not once in my adult life have I longed for a more repetitive activity. Instead, I settled on the side of the warm pool (foam weights, skateboard, noodles) and, gliding through the 92 degree water, sensed a sacred transition. The others arrive via a long ramp, discarding canes or walkers, rising from wheelchairs, dragging their fingers through the ever-deeper water. It’s a clue, but nobody looks at them. Santa Fe Community College’s tepid pool is not a place to be seen.
Like many of these women, recovering from surgeries, injuries or life’s vicissitudes, I had to learn a new body: at the age of 20, I was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), a chronic disease whose symptoms include extreme physical exhaustion. I had always passed out, from standing too long for the sixth-grade class fish dissection or running a mile in gym class, but now I was passing out while sitting in a chair, dizzy every time I stood up. standing. The cardiologist offered me salt pills and sent me on my way.
POTS was then little studied, like many ailments found primarily in women. But astronauts had long reported feeling dizzy when returning from space, and NASA investigated the underlying cause: orthostatic intolerance, or difficulty standing up, of which POTS is a type. Five years after my diagnosis, I told a NASA-funded researcher student that I couldn’t stand my eight-hour shift at the bookstore without supporting most of my weight on the counter; how i fell asleep on my lunch hour. She responded with my personal nightmare: an exercise regimen.
At first I could barely manage five minutes on a rowing machine or recumbent bike. With POTS, I felt so heavy. In the mornings, I would moan to my partner: “I’m in the well!”. Unable to lift my own head, I propped myself up on a series of pillows to get out of bed. Pathetically, bravely, I went from 15 minutes of recumbent exercise to 30 minutes of walking on a treadmill. I read a book all the time: dense post-structural theory, so terribly bored I was in the university gymnasium that it smelled like feet. Still, I was surprised that I could do any of this with my Grinch heart. I graduated to walking outside in sweltering Texas and swimming in the neighborhood pool. Something changed during those first few dips, floating in the water and dodging small children. I wasn’t weightless, but gravity had less control over me.
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