Page 124 of Slew Foot
Though, thankfully, there were only ocean sounds at the moment. No ringing. How long that would last was anybody’s guess.
Dakota gave him a sympathetic smile when he had to lean on the closed door to get his shoes off.
“Rough day?”
“I’m fine,” Mickey said automatically.
Dakota arched an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.
“A little rough,” Mickey admitted with a grimace.
“Tell me what you’re dealing with right now,” Dakota said.
Mickey wobbled his way over to the mats and collapsed in a less than graceful heap onto them. He ran through the current symptoms and when he was done, Dakota nodded.
“Okay. That should work with everything I have planned for you today. Does sitting in a cross-legged pose feel like something you can do right now?”
Mickey opened his mouth to say that he could but honestly, he wasn’t sure.
“I can try,” he said instead.
Dakota nodded, folding himself into an easy cross-legged position facing him.
As Mickey arranged his limbs into the same position, he noticed the lighting was dimmer than usual, with warm orangey-pink light coming from lamps around the room. It was nice. Rather peaceful, actually.
“Take a few deep, slow breaths,” Dakota instructed.
Mickey did and when he was done, he realized that on top of the ocean sounds coming from his left ear, he could hear low, soothing music in the background. He found himself relaxing a little, his shoulders loosening and his jaw unclenching.
Dakota smiled, like he’d noticed. “Did you know stress and anxiety are common tinnitus triggers?”
“No,” Mickey said. “You mean itcausedthis?” That didn’t seem right.
“No,” Dakota said. “I wish it was that simple. No, hitting your head likely is what caused it. The injury caused trauma to the brain, which is impacting your vestibular system.”
Mickey sort of remembered seeing something about that on some of the paperwork he’d gotten but Dakota must have caught the confused look on his face because he continued.
“Your vestibular system includes parts of the inner ear and your central nervous system. They regulate balance and coordination.”
Mickey nodded, then winced when everything swam dizzyingly around him.
Dakota gave him a sympathetic smile. “Does that movement make it worse?”
“Yes.”
“Well,” Dakota said. “The good news is, yoga can help.”
Mickey wasn’t entirely sure he understood how it all worked, even after Dakota explained it. But he got the general idea. Calming down his nervous system was supposed to help him deal with the dizziness and tinnitus while his body healed.
What no one had said aloud was that there was a chance thiswouldn’theal. That this could be a permanent condition. That he might spend the rest of his life struggling with this.
That the disability could wreck his NHL career. The one thing he’d spent his entire life working toward.
This was his first season. How could he lose it already?
And if he could no longer play, what would he do with his life? Would he be able to find work here in the US? What would happen to him and Rafe?
“Mickey,” Dakota said gently. “I need you to take some more deep breaths. You’ve tensed again and your breathing is very quick and shallow.”
