Howdy Y’all!
It’s been ages since I’ve had anything to share with you; it’s been a really slow year which on reflection has gone incredibly quickly. A contradiction, I know but I’m sure you understand.
As you may know from earlier posts, in March of this year my one remaining arm gave up on me. I had begun to feel a deep fatigue in January but was neck deep in a project so simply ate Ibuprofen and kept working.
Upon finishing the project
I stopped with the pills and suddenly realised that I had well buggered up both my elbow and my shoulder. I had developed a severe case of Tennis Elbow (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tennis-elbow/symptoms-causes/syc-20351987) resulting in zero grip strength. This was bad enough but I also had a sharp pain in my shoulder which required further investigation.
I made an appointment for an MRI (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging) then took the results to a specialist here on the island. I explained to the Doctor that when I attempted to do anything at arm’s length or above my head I felt sharp pain deep in my shoulder.
The diagnosis was that I had damaged my Rotator Cuff and it required surgery. This was not good news so I said I would take a little time to decide what course to take and would be in touch.
Over the weeks that followed I rested and read as much as I could about my various malfunctioning body parts. I also gave a lot of thought to the prospect of surgery. Whilst the operation itself concerned me not at all, the six weeks immediately after most certainly did.
Fact is I have one arm; if you strap it up, as the Doctor told me it must be completely immobile for at least six weeks after the surgery, I am completely incapable of looking after myself.
I live alone, well I have a dog but I don’t think I could train him to wipe my arse, so I’d have to hire a nurse. Perhaps it is to my detriment that I admit this but I am simply not ready to have a complete stranger getting involved in my most private of privates.
I started looking into alternatives to surgery and discovered a series of exercises specifically designed to rehabilitate a damaged Rotator Cuff. I found some good videos on YouTube and I am fortunate in that one of my friends here on the island was a professional body builder and has extensive experience in Rotator Cuff rehabilitation. During a discussion with him we came up with an exercise routine which I could complete every other day in my living room. I took the plan to show my Doctor and she agreed that the program would work but it would likely take between 4 and 6 months to recover sufficient strength to go Kite Boarding.
At the time of learning this I was still suffering severe pain in my elbow and was advised to do nothing until that had recovered. What could I do to aid the recovery? Nada, just rest the Doctor told me.
And so began a very boring summer. I was able to feed and look after myself but that was pretty much it. No workshop, no kiting, no pool, no fishing; it would have been easy to get depressed but I chose instead to focus on Crypto. Thanks to my good friend 
My elbow finally recovered sometime in September; it’s a funny thing with Tennis Elbow, when it recovers, it does so all of a sudden; like one day it’s crap and hurting when you reach for a beer and the next you’re arm wrestling a fisherman like a pro. Well, not exactly but you get what I mean. So with zero pain in my elbow I started with the shoulder exercises.
It’s been almost four months and I’m beginning to feel the recovery. I will be waiting another couple of months before I go kiting but I have done a few hours in the workshop without any adverse effects.
I will be moving to a new home in a couple of days but needed to install a hydro/pneumatic water tank and pump in the building where my new residence is located. I was a little nervous about taking on the job in light of my current limitations but decided to give it a shot.
I needn’t have worried about my shoulder as it felt just fine but an incident which occurred during the install taught me once again that I should take better care of myself. After spending more than a few minutes fiddling about with the electrical cables; a task which is still frustratingly difficult for me I stood up impatiently, turned and started to walk all at the same time and head-butted the pressure switch cover right on its retaining nut. I saw stars and the blood immediately began to flow.
After a bit of first aid I called in my buddy to help with the cables and in short order the job was done! Thanks for reading, upvoting and commenting. I can safely say that I’m back so watch this space for more creations, with a sprinkling of minor calamities I’m sure.