2012 - an attempt at recalling events with some accuracy!
shoulder dominates
On December 23, 2011, nearly one year to the day out from my BTKR surgery I went for my second snowboard session at Killington. The first and second days were great. I was bending and carving and compressing and it was fantastic to be riding again on new legs. I stopped for a break at 2 but decided to walk over to the Superstar chair for a few more runs. As I put down the board and lifted my one leg to get into the binding, the other boot skidded out from under me sliding on sugar snow over hard ice. I went down with all my weight on the right shoulder. Instant blinding pain shot into my brain and any attempt to move my arm resulted in the same. I was down for awhile and people were checking on me. Finally I made it back to the car. I was in trouble. Had to drive home without moving my right arm. I stubbornly refused to get X-rays or treatment hoping it would get better with rest, ice and ibuprofen. Finally I went to Donato and he couldn't do a thing. I waited until after I completed a Conference I was in charge of at work, but then got into a surgeon for MRI. Bad news. Complete tears of 3 of 4 rotator cuff tendons, plus bicep tendon was totally torn out of the insertion of the humorous. OS this time was young and confident. He did a great job with my surgery on February 23, 2012. Needless to say my riding activities from late December 2011 to now were non existent. Now it's rehab and recovery time again.
It would be mid May before I could do much riding. Even stationary bike put pressure on the recovering shoulder. I did 2x per week PT plus every other day at home PT to get the shoulder back. By mid June I could ride the road bike pretty well but lacked endurance. It was hard to keep weight down but I did through controlling intake not burning calories. The last week of June we had a family vacation in Puerto Rico and I was bound and determined to not be fat AND to ride a surf board.
My knees were doing well but I did have some scar tissue in my right knee that was keeping me from correctly firing muscles in that leg when standing and pedaling up hills. It was very frustrating. I had goals on the bike of completing the a couple of Century Rides in September: the club century and a MS Century which included a climb up Notch Road to the summit of Greylock.
The week in PR WAS FANTASTIC! No riding but lots of time in the water, salt water. SNORKLING, body surfing and walking plus resting and relaxing were great. Lisa, Alix and Donna and I had lots if fun exploring the countryside as well. Our day on the surfboard was fantastic. Beautifully formed , small waves were perfect for learning. We all got standing pretty quickly. It was as much as a rush as I thought it would be, confirming why I did not take up the sport earlier: I would be a total surf bum!!
The time my leg spent in salt water, plus the abrasion of the board on my knee resulted in the scar tissue coming up to the surface of the skin. Eventually I was able to remove it!! My shoulder took a setback from the paddling, but that would recover. The big deal was that now my right knee was not short circuiting the leg muscles and they fired correctly I discovered on my first ride when we returned.
The Century rides were completed. Not just completed but done to total satisfaction as I was able to train well so I could ride well and finish strong. The two of the most enjoyable 100 milers of my life. The club ride was in great weather and I joined up with a younger group. I was able to drop them and was joined by Bruce who was out there looking for me. The MS ride is one i long wanted to do for a customer whose wife suffers from the disease. Terry, Caleb and I rode together and that was special as I got them stated in cycling and now they excel at it. They had to slow so I could stay with them, but my goal was to not have that be too slow and it was not.
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