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Umbilical Hernia Repair and Healing with a Raw food Lifestyle

On May 2nd 2019 I went in for surgery to repair a partial umbilical hernia I have had for as long as I can remember but had gotten worse since my motorcycle accident. This video goes into the day of the surgery plus the follow up healing and unveiling of my new belly button!

Since my motorcycle accident last july 31st ( see my post on the accident itself and “What I eat in a Day in the Hospital” after the accident here, on my “Healing on a Raw Vegan Diet  6 Week Update” here and my “Day in the Life 5 months after a Major Motorcycle Accident” here ) I have progressively had more issues with my long standing umbilical hernia. At one point it would pop in and out but cause no pain, over the last months it had started to get stuck out, hurt a lot and I had to really relax my stomach, bend over and manually push it back into my body.

After reading a ton of posts about the potential dangers of living with a umbilical hernia that is left unchecked I decided to go see my doctor about it. Backing up, I have had a partial umbilical hernia for as long as I can remember, in fact I used to pop it in and out as a party trick! Talking to my doctor led to a appointment with a specialist and from there he let me know that this is a common surgery, that I have likely had this issue since birth and went over the whole procedure, who is at the most risk for complications (I wasn’t with my specific hernia, diet, lifestyle and fitness level) and what the surgery and recovery would look like. To get a well rounded view I did some of my own research and also talked to some friends who had known someone who went through such a surgery, learnt of some successes and some surgeries gone horribly wrong. In the end for my specific umbilical hernia, activity level and the amount I travel I felt the best course of action was to get the surgery.

On the day of the umbilical mesh surgery I was driven to a hospital in a near by town which allowed me to get in sooner than if I had waited. The check in and pre op was super smooth, the nurses and Doctors were super helpful and we talked on everything relevant to the surgery and recovery after. The nurses told me I would have to eat some crackers and juice after my surgery, as I had already decided to fast I talked to my surgeon and he gave me the go ahead to skip the normal post surgery snack and to leave once physically able. Getting ready for the surgery was interesting, I got dressed up in a hospital gown, put in a IV and was wheeled into the surgery room with the anesthesiologist, the surgeon and a few helpers. They got me on the table, strapped down my legs and arms and put the anesthetic into my IV and told me to relax.

Next thing I knew I was in the recovery room, I didn’t even realize I went out and I felt a bit tired but otherwise totally normal!

They had me wait in the recovery wing for a good hour as they asked a few questions, I posted to my instagram stories (ps I am always posting on my IG stories, follow me there @therawadvantage ) and then talked to my mom. I was able to walk out of the hospital without any pain at all, they had me on some pain killers and gave me a weeks worth of pills should I need them. That day I decided to simply fast on water to speed up my recovery time, took it super easy and sipped on water. I took some painkillers before bed to make sure I had a really good sleep and wouldn’t wake up in intense pain in the middle of the night. To my surprise I awoke with no pain, took no pills and didn’t have to again, I am sure that the fasting as well as my diet and lifestyle helped hasten recovery, limited swelling and reduced issues all around.

For the first week I really took it easy, trying not to use my stomach muscles, to move slowly, go on walks and simply ate my regular low fat high fruit raw food diet. By day 10 I felt fully normal and couldn’t resist trying a few pushups and a half plank, it felt good but I could tell after that I had perhaps pushed it just a bit too early. It was also at this time that I filmed the Great Unveiling of my new belly button. At first I thought it looked really weird, as time went on and the swelling went down i came to really like my new belly button and am super happy with my decision.

Typically they say it takes 4-6 weeks before resuming normal activity and ask that you do not lift anything more than 10 lbs for the first 4 weeks at least. With this experience and some soreness the next day I waited till week 4 before pushing again. I started going to the gym and took it easy for the first 2 days, I felt so good that I pushed it a little hard on leg / abs day and had to put those on the backburner for a few more weeks. Over those weeks (5-7) I progressively I felt stronger and stronger and was able to increase weight, set some PB’s and started to skateboard again. At week 8 I saw my surgeon again and he said everything was perfect and that I could go full force with any activity! I brought back my leg / ab’s day to my workouts and have been pushing it hard ever since.

chris kendall raw transformation

Here is a picture of my transformation from 10 months ago when I was at my lowest body weight due to inactivity after the accident and yesterday July 15th. You can see I have put on about 20 lb of muscle and all on a raw vegan diet that is predominated by fruit. I have injured myself so much in my past as a skateboarder, pre raw food and after being a raw foodist for the last 15 years  (broke my wrist 3 times, 2 of which before raw and 1 being raw, fractured my back, ribs before and after, multiple ankle injuries and then the motorcycle accident where I nearly died) and can unequivocally say that I heal better and faster on a raw food diet, generally in 1/2 – 3/4 the time the experts predict.

Ultimately I first got into a raw vegan diet to help heal from all of my skateboarding injuries and be able to heal faster from new injuries. Within the first 24 hours on a raw food diet my entire life shifted and I came to know what my true purpose here was and still is, to spread the power of holistic health and the raw food lifestyle. I have stuck with it these past 15 years because it works so good, it increased my energy, happiness and sense of connection with self, others and spirit. I feel so Blessed to be living this high vibing lifestyle and know it had a positive impact on my healing from both the Motorcycle accident as well as my umbilical hernia repair surgery.
raw gypsy not quite hippie podcast with Chris Kendall
Check out some of my interviews here for more of my story

Why Im Vegan We are vegan Strong Epic youtube Collab video

and check out this post on why I am Vegan to dive deeper into the many reasons for taking on a raw / vegan lifestyle. 

I hope you found this video and post about my healing story from my umbilical hernia repair surgery with the raw food lifestyle super helpful and inspirational. I have seen so many people heal from so many chronic conditions and diseases and even more simply regain and attain the highest levels of health they can imagine that I simply feel blessed to spread this information and help others on their healthy lifestyle goals.

If you have any specific questions or want to dive into a consultation with me check out my Consultations Page 🙂

Wishing you Much 

As Always

Wishing You Much

PeaceLovenSeasonalFruit ck

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