43rd birthday reflection!

Age 42 has come and gone. It started off in a world closed down by pandemic, it ended in a world more open, but still in a pandemic. Strange times.

It was, on some levels a tough year for me. My work excites me, but it also demanded a lot as my team was continually reshaped, our employees came and went and we’ve had difficulty finding the right people for several key roles on my team. So I’ve been wearing more hats than I’d like.

One thing that has allowed me to do more work is the fact that at age 42.3 yrs, I inherited my first-ever case of tennis elbow (less sport = more work!). I can only attribute this to advancing age. I’ve always taken part in sports that have heavy reliance on repetitive arm motions: volleyball, kayaking, rowing. Well, this past February, I got a very bad case of tennis elbow.

Like, real bad.

How bad?

Well, here’s a test for you: Place your hand flat on a surface, palm facing down, and spread your fingers out just slightly. Lift your middle finger off the table. Does that feel like a dragon is simultaneously scorching your arm with fire and ripping its claws through your flesh? No? Okay, well, that’s basically the acute level my tennis elbow got to in a very short period of time.

“Just use your other hand for stuff!” said everyone. A lovely idea but a crock of ablest bullsh*t to a guy missing most of his fingers on his left hand 😜.

Hans Moleman,
or picture of Stu? 

I gave up rowing last winter very quickly because of this. No repetitive motion or weight bearing in that hand for months on end, only the slightest of stretching exercises, and finally after consult with a rheumatologist, two rounds of corticosteroid injections over the course of a couple of months to finally bring the swelling under control.

These days, I’m very slowly, very carefully as per doctor’s instructions, reintroducing repetitive movement and weight bearing to the arm. I’d like to say I kept my cardio in excellent shape during all this time of very little strength training, but way back at the start of the summer I also blew my back. I’m just now back to riding bikes and jogging with comfort again.

Long story short, I’m on the mend. I look forward to returning to rowing hopefully in the new year, because I have A LOT of unfinished business in that sport, and in the meantime, I’m getting better each day and psyched for 43! Happy Birthday to me!