Fun in the Sun

I hoped everyone enjoyed the great weather here in KC while we were gone. As expected, a heat wave hit here while we were in sunny South Florida. I think two of the days it was actually warmer here than down at the beach. It never fails (11 years running) that when we make reservations for a trip to escape the bitter cold temperatures in the Midwest that a warm front makes it way up to the Central part of the U.S.

While everyone here in KC was enjoying some great riding weather, we had a fun short trip visiting places like Deerfield beach where they were celebrating Founder's Day, Tradewinds Park was also attended where we went to Butterfly World and tried to ride some ponies. And what is a trip to Miami with a stop at Haulover Beach. No need to worry about tan lines there...

I did miss not going swimming and kayaking like we usually do, but this left more time to spend with my parents and sister Jackie. Also got to ride the gator with Christopher and actually pedal a bike. Sure it was a beach cruiser, but it still felt good to turn some circles.

Here are some pictures from our little weekend:

Winter Florida Vacation

Surgery update

Just a little update on my surgery. 6 weeks. This is the new updated minimum amount of time that I will be out of commission and wearing my new fancy Ultrasling III.

Friday I visited Dr. Rhoades for my 7 day followup. He checked me out and went over the surgery that they performed on me last Friday. Now I know why my shoulder is currently killing me. Turns out my shoulder was much worse than the MRI revealed and I ended up having a torn rotator cuff on top of the the other injuries. Dr. Rhoades had to reattach it with two screws, removing a piece of bone that caused the tear along with some calcium buildup. As some of you mentioned, the rotator cuff takes a long time to heal you have to wear a sling for 6 weeks. That is just the start. After that then rehab and gaining strength.

I asked about what I can do to stay in shape and my doctor gave me this advice "it is only 6 weeks, read a book..." Obviously this means I will have to rethink my 2011 season. The good thing is I will not come into the season over trained like I usually do :-)

Thank you to everyone who emailed/called wishing me good luck and a quick recovery.

Below are some pictures from my surgery. Enjoy.

Glenoid Labrum Tear

Injuries, I have had my fair share over the years. Some have been very bad head traumas, some life changing, some left cool scars like the one on the right and then there are just the nagging ones like my most recent.

My newest injury has actually been bothering me for several months. A little get off while I was out mountain biking late last year resulted in me dislocating my shoulder (again) and tearing my shoulder socket or better known as a Glenoid Labrum Tear.

I have had problems with this same shoulder for many years (minor dislocations are common) and was caused by a very bad dislocation that was a result of a first crash in which I was taken out by another rider. While I was tumbling on the ground another rider ran me over or to be more precise, his front wheel of his YZ 250 wedged in between my arm and side (armpit) and forced my arm out of its socket in a bad way - like behind my back. That was by far the most painful trip in an ambulance I have ever taken. O.K. enough of that old bad memory....

I usually heal quickly, but this time I kept having problems especially when I swim or mountain bike. I finally broke down and went to my Orthopaedic surgeon for a visit. He sent me to what I refer as the hell hole. I hate MRI scans like nothing else. See claustrophobic and you will see my name as a reference. I had a really hard time and almost walked out but the technician finally gave me some cool glasses with mirrors which allowed me to see outside the hell hole chamber and view my feet.

Looks like it is time for a little break from training. I didn't do much research on the surgery that will be performed on me on Friday, but it turns out I need to wear a sling for 3 to 4 weeks. We will have to see about that. I could go crazy in that amount of time.