The Walking Wounded

Vince is presently in pretty bad shape and it looks like we’re going to be confined to staying on the boat here for the next few weeks. No more forays off to explore outlying islands and beaches. No more actual sailing or dinghying anywhere. Que sera!

Three days ago, he decided to try his hand at pickle-ball--a game similar to tennis but using a hollow plastic ball full of holes which slows things down considerably. The last time Vince was on a court was about 15 years ago when he was actively playing squash. With that game he was used to sacrificing his body in order to make a “save.” While playing squash he’d think nothing of launching himself off the ground at a forty-five degree angle (in order to hit the ball) and landing full body out onto his side. Fifteen years ago he’d simply spring back up again and carry on. But that was then--this is now. And in his 65th year, with an aging body unused to such moves, something bad was bound to happen. And it did. As he strained to get into position to wack the ball, something “popped” in his right calf and he went down for the count. When he tried to get back up he found he couldn’t. All of his toes and the top of his foot were like jelly. And every time he’d tried to put weight on that area, he’d loose his balance and topple over--winded, wheezy and weak. At one point he actually thought he was going to pass out. One of our fellow RMHYC members here is a doctor. After looking at Vince and talking about his symptoms, he told us that if he kept off the foot and kept it elevated that it should be completely back to normal within 4-6 weeks. The torn muscle which controls the toes just needs “time” to heal. His leg and foot are swollen but there is absolutely no pain--which is a blessing. He WILL gradually regain the actual use of his toes for balance over the next few weeks but it will take considerably longer to be COMPLETELY better.

And of course sailing is out of the question. In the best of times it’s hard to maintain balance on a sail boat. Even with every body part in top physical condition, its tricky staying upright while standing on deck, and dealing with sails in a choppy sea. Even going out in the dinghy is impossible right now as “getting back into it” and maintaining balance while standing thigh deep in water with waves is a challenge even in the best of conditions. So here we sit. And Vince is not the only one suffering with an incapacity at this time. Me too.

You may remember the blog I wrote almost two months ago describing my “inelegant” plunge into the water off our boat as I was attempting to get into the dinghy. What I neglected to relate at that time was that during my fall--in a desperate attempt to try to keep the inevitable from happening--I managed to hook my arm over a line stretched taut across the side of the sailboat. This did not have the desired effect of stopping my fall. Instead it simply prolonged it and, in the process of having the weight of all 200 plus lbs of me hanging by only an arm hooked over a rope, did considerable damage to my “rotator cuff.” (so the doctor says). This too can only be healed over time. And last week, just when it was FINALLY starting to feel normal again, I tripped on a board, went sprawling onto the dock and my arm is now back to square one. Actually it’s now even WORSE than it was before. Then I could at least move it. Now it hangs like a heavy hurting weight at my side. To move it I had to use the other arm to lift it up. But that extreme condition was my situation a week ago. MY injury at least is healing fast and presently I find I can in fact move my arm into any position--but with considerable pain. So there are some things I still avoid trying to do.

So between the two of us, we’re out of commission for many things right now. Thank goodness we’re safely tied up in comfortable surroundings with lots of friends if we need help, advice or company. And we wake every morning knowing that THIS day we’ll be better than the day before. (but only if we avoid future sprawls!)