Sail away the blues

Not me, not today.

One of the many downsides of getting older is that more things go wrong with you. Other than my thyroid, which I consider to be sufficiently weird to warrant a post or two, I try and spare my gentle readers the details of my many ailments. My continuing battles with an ingrowing toenail could warrant several stomach-churning photos should I chose to share. An article entitled “my week with Ebola” would make for entertaining, if entirely fictitious, reading. My trip to hospital last week to treat a rather nasty attack of asthma was noteable only for the ridiculous bill they charged me.

But a more persistent ailment over the past six months has been something my physio described as “Subacromial Impingement Syndrome” and I described as “my buggered left arm”. Somewhere deep in my left shoulder, a tendon had become inflamed with the result that I could hardly move my left arm in certain directions. The condition gradually worsened until a visit to my physio became necessary. She is the wonderful woman who guided me back to health after I broke my back and it didn’t take her long to diagnose the problem; and warn that it would take at least three months to fix it.

So, twice a week I have been going to see her for heat pads, ultrasound and something she calls “manipulation” which involved stretching and wiggling my arm in various directions; just on the edge of where it would start to hurt; and sometimes over the edge. Sure enough, just in time to be almost cured before the thyroid saga commenced, my arm regained most of the movement. It was only then that she told me some of her patients take up to a year to solve the problem.

The main impact of this nonsense has been an inability to windsurf. I don’t know how long it has been since I last stepped on a board, but I am guessing at least last September.

So, it was with some trepidation that I made my way to the windsurfing club today. Would my board still be there? It was, albeit a little dusty. Would my sails still be there? They weren’t, they had understandably been moved to storage; but I was offered a bright red 8.0 metre and off I went.

As soon as I stepped on my board, it was like I had never been away. It was wonderful to be planing over the water again; although my sessions were brief and followed by extended recovery periods on the beach. She who must be obeyed had an outing too, and proved to be as out of condition as I am. But it was fun, and a pint of Boddingtons this evening was a fine end to the day.

Windsurfing rocks.

Comments 🔗

2012-04-18 | biggrtiggr says

At least today has been a positive experience! Spending a few hours taking pics of lowlife on Beach Road should also increase your sense of self worth…………. comparatively

2012-04-18 | Spanky says

Congratulations!

2012-04-19 | antz says

Great Stuff Spike…. will hopefully see you there over the next few days, if you can recover in time….

2012-04-19 | MeMock says

You broke your back? Tell us more!

2012-04-19 | Spike says

I did. Click on October 2008 and read the last few posts.

2012-04-19 | Spike says

Except not today; it is the official Songkran day in Pattaya….

2012-04-19 | Jock says

I sympathise with the arm problem - same happenned to me in Sydney - total muscle seizure. Several visits to the physio and several treatments of TENS and a few hundred dollars later all was well again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcutaneous_electrical_nerve_stimulation

Good to hear your back on the surf again !!