I’ve Been On A Break

Can you believe January is over, we’re well into February, and this is the longest that I have not posted on this blog since I started it 15 years ago? I have always joked that I wanted to sleep through the beginning of the year because it’s genuinely dreary. The holiday let down. The winter blahs. Lack of concerts. All of which sucks, but we knew going through a COVID January would be the worst.

However, I didn’t mean I wanted to literally sleep through it after breaking my arm in two places, thus being hopped up on narcotics 24/7. Yeah, I am now one of those people. That person who fell off an electric scooter and ended up in the ER. Since then, every person (especially in the medical field) has given me a half-knowing and half-shaming glace when told how I did it. My orthopedic surgeon joked they had been considering advertising on the damn things.

So, I broke my elbow, which has turned out not to be that big of a deal… and cracked right across the top of my humerus, which, at first, they thought would not be a big deal, but as the ball started sliding around in my shoulder, turned into a very big deal. The two weeks before surgery were for sure the most painful of my life.

However, if one can have a very pleasant surgery experience in the middle of a pandemic where titanium spikes and screws are attached to the arm, I did. The anesthesiologist took my warnings about the puke fest he could encounter seriously and also gave me a nerve block for the pain – so waking up was pretty much as dreamy as a laundry commercial. The folks at the hospital doused me with antibiotics – so, no infections and better yet, no COVID. My doc said I would probably immediately feel better after he stabilized my arm – rather than that ball just grinding and grinding and ugh, more vomit face – and he was right. It’s hasn’t been great, but I have improved every day.

My shoulder looks like Edward Scissorhands had a fight with Wolverine, but personally, I am proud of my bad-ass new bionic arm.

This the real x-ray of my shoulder after surgery (the photo in a the header is a purchased stock photo of a healthy shoulder).

I have been in physical therapy for a few weeks and will be there for at least a month more. I am inordinately pleased with how happy my PT is with me. When he asked me what my recovery goals were, I said, “Carrying a 50-pound bag around and lifting a camera over my head for extended periods.” Apparently, I am well on my way!

My feelings about scooters now? Be. very. careful.

All scooters are not made equal, nor do they go the same top speed – even within the same brand. They vary even by how much it’s charged or how much it’s been banged up. I say this because I’ve ridden scooters before – not extensively – but enough to know the one I got on was acting weird. I should have listened to my instincts and gotten off because I had trouble controlling it the whole ride.

I doubt *I* will ever ride one again, but on the flip side, I also don’t want to stop trying new things and being adventurous. During this time of being high reflection, I was reminded how much fun life can be and I don’t want to lose that. But also, given how fragile (my bones) are – it was a lesson in caution. Balance.

And retaining my balance on things that can hurt me.

Happy 2021, friends!

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