As an update to my last blog post "Wow What a Ride!" this past week
has been a whirlwind of change, pain, and practicing acceptance. What
started as a simple orthopedic doctor visit on Monday afternoon to
follow up on the healing progress from my skiing accident in March and
my mountain bike crash in April, turned into a One-Two Punch of bad
news. Just after 5 PM Dr. Kramer studied the x-ray of my broken right
clavicle, which he had hoped would be mending on its own by now. It was
clear from the picture that the bones were still disjoined, so he asked
"How do you feel about surgery?" And then came the question, "How do you
feel about surgery tomorrow?"
After gulping, but before answering,
I asked about the MRI I just had on my left shoulder from my skiing
accident on March 19th. I have been going to physical therapy regularly
and experiencing some improvement, but went for an MRI after still having limited range of
motion and sharp pain at night. And my left arm is my "good arm"
(non-brachial plexus injury arm) that I rely on for everything. After
studying the MRI, Dr. Kramer wound up for the second blow; "Your rotator
cuff and labrum are both torn and you definitely need surgery on your
left arm as well."
I've been fortunate to make
it through my 4½ decades of life so far without a single surgery, and
now I am preparing for two! So back to the question about surgery
tomorrow…? Sure, why not. Let me just look at my calendar and start
re-arranging my schedule for the week, next month, and the rest of the
year to allow for recovery. :-)
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| Post-op w/clavicle plate (Jun 17th) Pre-op (Jun 13th) |
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| Arthrex Distal Clavical Plate installed with 8 screws on June 14 |
No more mountain bike races or triathlons this year and my
hard-earned spot into the Leadville 100 in Colorado this summer just
evaporated, but at least I have my coveted belt buckle from completing
the race last year. Although some other plans and international travel
adventures will have to be canceled, I feel incredibly grateful for
everything I still can do and for all the good things in my life.
First
and foremost is my amazing wife Denise. She has been an incredibly
positive and caring nurse and I will be even more lucky to have her when
her Florence Nightingale aura shines twice as bright after my second
surgery on my left arm, sometime in the coming weeks.
There
are so many other things I am grateful for especially my friends and
the inspiration from countless CAF athletes who have far more
significant injuries to overcome than mine. On Tuesday after the
surgery "waking up" from a general anesthetic (a first for me) felt like
a small miracle and made me appreciate life even more. Thank you for
allowing me to share it with you, and for the continued support.
-Paul
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| Jun 18 - four days post-surgery, far less pain. |
