Still benched...

Well, it’s two weeks from when my doctor might actually clear me to play hockey, and I have to say: if he clears me to play hockey, he’s insane. I’m usually way too big of an idiot to realize when I’m too injured to do something (especially something fun), but even I can tell that I’m not two weeks away from playing. Hmmm… I’m not saying I haven’t improved. I definitely have. But I’m not sure I should be diving around on ice and having people crash into me when I can’t even sleep on my right side. Just a thought. This sucks though. The boards at the rink are up and the ice will be in at the end of the week. It's really hard for me to just watch.

I have a few comments to make on my previous posts:

For starters, I must have been seriously drugged when I used the term “pampering” in the same paragraph as physical therapy. Ha! No ultrasound or cushy treatment for me. Just weights, e-stim, people pushing on me in different directions, and occasionally someone winging a medicine ball at my head. Yep, good old-fashioned fun. Still, it probably wasn’t going to get better without effort, and at least the PT I see knows what the hell he’s doing. I’m not entirely sure that’s the case with places I’ve had to do PT in the past.

As for the things I can now do with my arm, I’ve been so lazy about posting that it now includes almost everything (or rather, everything in terms of everyday activities – I’m still not playing any sports). Shortly after posting about it, I was able to drink my beer right-handed out of the Cambridgeport’s Ultra-Light plastic pint glasses. I was so encouraged by my newfound ability that I went back on several occasions to show off my skills. In a tragic turn of events though, the Cambridgeport closed down and I’ve been forced to drink at other, more expensive bars with considerably heavier glass pint glasses. With hard work and perseverance, however, I’ve made the adjustment, and can now successfully lift the glass all night. I can even do 40s. Yep, that’s what a good run of physical therapy will do for you. It is so worth the effort.

Sometime in mid-July I regained the ability to get into and out of a sports bra without the use of scissors. This may not impress some of you, but if you’re not impressed, you’ve never put on a sports bra using only one good arm. I promise you, it’s not easy. I count it as one of my biggest accomplishments of the year.

In the middle of August, I made the adjustment to living without painkillers, a switch made somewhat involuntarily when the ibuprofen I’d been guzzling finally succeeded in chewing through my stomach lining. Apparently popping the bottle open every time you feel a twinge and tipping back however many Advil happen to fall into your mouth isn’t the best way to stay within your recommended dose. Oops. They should be more explicit on their warning labels.

Sometime in the middle of September I stopped noticing my arm getting sore after working all day in the lab. I can reach for things on high shelves, lift rotors out of centrifuges, and make threatening gestures at passers-by with relative ease. I would even like my chances in a bar fight now, as long as I stuck to uppercuts and wasn't afraid to fight dirty. Because, you know, I don't usually fight dirty. Right.

So now, I’ve reached mid-October. There’s still a few things that I’d like to be able to do that I can’t, but I’ll save that for another post. For tonight, I'm done writing, because there’s booze to drink. I can’t let the hole in my stomach heal too fast…