The 18 month milestone

August 10, 2016 by KJK 6 Comments

It’s a big day in my rehabilitation program – 18 months since surgery. Why is this significant? All the literature surrounding tibial plateau fracture and surgery says that
improvement is most noticeable in the first 12 months of rehabilitation and can continue for up to 18 months. There is no suggestion anywhere in the research that recovery
continues after 18 months. So what I have now is what I will have for the rest of my life. It’s worth a review to see where you get to after 18 months of continuous
rehabilitation, involving weekly sessions with a personal trainer concentrating solely on post-surgical recovery.

In essence I can:

Walk continuously, climb up and down hills, climb up and down stairs and hike carrying a heavy backpack with no sign of pain or discomfort. I have tested my climbing ability on a very steep cliff near the Grand Canyon and found no noticeable difference in strength either going up or going down in either leg. There was no noticeable difference in fatigue in either leg
Perform sophisticated gym exercises including heavy leg presses, one legged squats and numerous sets on a leg extension machine without any pain or excessive fatigue
Perform exercises that require balancing on the broken leg while performing other exercises. My balance on the broken leg is now almost as good as on the unbroken leg although it has not recovered completely to where it was before the accident
Get shoes and boots on and off with no difficulty or discomfort.
Get comfortably on and off an escalator leading with either leg.

Most significantly, I am not in any pain. In this sense, being pain-free, I have made a complete recovery. [Read more…]

Hanging in there

March 3, 2016 by KJK Leave a Comment

Going back for another go. Thursday March 4, 2016. River Run Plaza. Sun Valley. Idaho

After the tough day on Tuesday with Rick and Margaret had Wednesday off. Went to Lizzy’s for coffee and then for a swim. During the day used plenty of ice and anti-inflammatories, also sleeping with my bad leg up at night to keep swelling down. I now have the bones of a management programme: One day on, one day off; anti-inflammatories even if there is no swelling; an hour of ice immediately after skiing with leg raised; stretching and sleeping with leg raised at night; time on the mountain restricted to four hours per day. Should have done this right at the start.

This morning, Thursday, was overcast and cold. No snow. Not even any signs of snow, but I was determined to go up anyway. Turned out to be a great day. Margaret and I met a girl who was doing mountain hosting called, Kathleen Sheean. How Irish is that? Skied around with her for about an hour and she showed us some great runs. This place would be magic if it had some snow. Leg was great with just a dull ache, no sharp pain. Managed to keep up with Kathleen, although she probably wasn’t pushing all that hard and we were only doing greens and blues. Some great single blacks here, especially in the bowls, but they are all closed due to lack of snow. Did 3.5 hours before I started to tire and had to pack it in.

At least now I think I have a management routine which will allow me to keep skiing. I’m back!

The well travlled Terre Thomas drinking bladder at the top of Bald Mountain on my comeback day

Water stop. The well travelled Terre Thomas drinking bladder at the top of Bald Mountain on my comeback day. It’s been to Park City, Japan, Big Sky and now Sun Valley. Rocky Mountains in the background.

Never give up

March 1, 2016 by KJK Leave a Comment

Monday was my fifth day off. My leg felt ok and the anti-inflammatories and icing had brought down the swelling. I decided to give it a miss for one more day and stayed home. Beautiful day outside. Spring has arrived in Sun Valley. Spent the day reading Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates, another of my purchases at LAX. A great book about my favourite politician, Thomas Jefferson and the first battle ever waged by the combined United States after Independence. By a strange quirk of history it was against the Islamic, Barbary pirates of North Africa in the opening years of the nineteenth century. America has been at war with Islam for over two hundred years.

Late afternoon Rick Ayish arrived from Park City and we retired to the very posh Sun Valley Lodge for refreshments. This was the first building in Sun Valley. It started the whole thing. Amazing place with a full sized ice skating rink out on the lawn. From our perch at the bar, we watched future stars being coached. People in the bar were, by and large, old, overweight and very rich. Gay Gatsby should have been there digging it.

Despite the opulence, the photographs on the wall were a treasure trove of celebrities who stayed there in the 50’s, 60s and 70’s – Gary Cooper, Ernest Hemmingway, a very young Babs, complete with oversized hooter, Judy Garland, Clint Eastwood in skiing togs, Arnie Schwarzenegger, also in skiing gear, who seemed very chuffed at the top of Arnold’s Run and the old draft dodger himself, John Wayne. Too many to name. The action has shifted over to River Run on the other side of the valley, where we are staying, but it was a great reminder of an age now gone.

Dinner was back at the apartment where Rick supplied pies from Windy Ridge bakery in Park City and the irresistible bread from down there which I can’t stop eating. He regaled us with his and Lynda’s work on the campaign trail with Ohio governor John Kasich. Now door knocking for a politician during the Primaries may not be the worst job in the world but it would sure be close. Lynda was door knocking in Detroit in the middle of winter. Can you imagine? Some irate prick in the projects is likely to pull a gun and shoot you.

Tuesday dawned overcast and looking like snow. The swelling in my knee had gone down due to a combination of rest, ice and pills. I wanted to have a go. As soon as I clicked into the bindings it hurt and I knew this was not going to be a great day. We teed off at 915 and were greeted by rock hard slopes with no fresh snow and snowmaking apparently in abeyance. Visibility was also poor. I lasted until 12.15 on the greens and blues, skiing the slowest I have done in my life. Couldn’t carry on and left them to it.

I’m a long way from cured that is for sure. As I skiied down I was troubled by a question I didn’t want to answer: “Is this the last time I’ll come to the mountains to go skiing? Is it all over after 42 years.” My problem is I’ve run out of answers. I had a good surgeon, physio, personal trainer. I spent the money, did the time in the gym and it didn’t work. What do I do now?

: With my great buddies Margaret Carney and Rick Ayish at the top of Seattle Ridge, Sun Valley. I was in so much pain by this stage I couldn’t put any weight on my leg and had to pack it in shortly thereafter. I had great difficulty skiing down the mountain as I could only turn to one side.

: Margaret guided Rick and I around the mountain which was a very strange position to find myself in

God is a strange person. I hope I meet him one day. He is a hammer and I’m a nail and he loves pounding away. Well pound away you prick, eventually you’ll pound me right into the timber and no matter how hard you hit me you won’t be able to drive me in any further. At least the nail hasn’t broken yet. So wail away you old bastard. Give it your best shot, but you’ve got some retribution coming when I finally catch up with you. Epicurus, my old Greek mate, would say this is rubbish. God couldn’t care less what happens to me. He is indifferent.

You are only beaten when you give up. Never give up. I shall yet make merry.

Sun Valley blues and ELO

February 29, 2016 by KJK Leave a Comment

It’s Sunday morning here in Ketchum, the village at the base of the chairlifts at Sun Valley, Idaho. Arrived here late Thursday afternoon after seven hour drive from Big Sky. Friday, my knee was too sore and swollen to ski so I stayed put. That’s two days off. Yesterday, Saturday, I couldn’t stand it, sitting inside at one of the world’s great ski resorts. Went up at lunchtime and only lasted half an hour. The pain in my right knee was intense and I couldn’t put weight on it, when the broken leg was the downhill ski in the turn. I like to try and bend that downhill ski in the turn, less chance of it skidding away. Couldn’t do it and nearly fell a couple of times on a blue run. I couldn’t believe it.

What I saw of Sun Valley looked good, although they really need some snow. There are some big wide blacks, which were closed but I couldn’t ski them anyway so I didn’t feel too bad. Spent the afternoon dosed up on anti-inflammatories with a bag of snow around my swollen knee. The joys of rehab.

So today is my fourth day in a row not skiing. That’s a lot in a three week holiday, especially as I may not be able to go up again tomorrow.

So what do you do when you are stuck inside at a ski resort? Listen to the Electric Light Orchestra of course. In 1977 I had just arrived in London after a year spent travelling across Asia. It was the era of Grease, Saturday Night Fever and disco balls. I had gone right off music. The guys I was flatting with were all mad kiwi rugby palyers, except one, Martin who was a musician. One night after we came home from rugby practice and were having a late-night feed, Martin put a record on an old Gramophone and an amazing sound floated around the room. It boomed back and forth inside my head.

“Shit, Martin. What’s that?” I asked, of the piece of black vinyl going around on the turntable. elo

“It’s called Out of the Blue. Electric Light Orchestra. Just came out,” he replied.

Indeed it had. It was released virtually the day I arrived in London around November 1977, and it elevated ELO from relatively unknown, fringe musicians to one of the most enduring bands of all time. Some of those songs have stayed with me ever since, songs such as Telephone Line, Turn to Stone and the ultimate feel-good song, Mr Blue Sky. But if any song has resonated in the fog of my brain on this trip, it is the ballad, Wild West Hero. I don’t remember this song from London but it’s been going around and around in my head all through the skiing sessions I’ve had on this trip. The music comes with me when I leave the hotel room and it plays on an endless loop in my head. Maybe it’s because Montana and Idaho are quintessential Wild West locations.

What prompted this return to my past musical loves was a wander into a bookstore at LAX during the stopover between Sydney and Bozeman, Montana. I noticed a copy of a book, Jeff Lynne, The Electric Light Orchestra: Before and after. Jeff Lynne was one of the founding members of ELO and is considered its great, creative genius.

J Lynne “That might be interesting,” I thought and bought it on a whim along with another couple of books. What transpired was a wicked collusion between the book and iTunes and someone with a lot of time on their hands. As each song was mentioned in the book, during the band’s development, I would race over and listen to it on iTunes. You can waste a lot of time doing this but it’s a great way of discovering songs that I hadn’t previously heard: Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, Diary of Horace Wimp and Do Ya jumped out at me and have been getting lottsa air time.

It’s a beautiful blue day outside. Wish I could go up on the mountain.

The other thing you can do when stuck inside at a ski resort is read. And I’ve done plenty of that. 13 Hours in Benghazi : the inside account of what really happened was another book I bought at LAX. I thought this would be interesting as I didn’t know much about it. The raids and deaths of American servicemen gained only scant mention in the Australian press. I knew it had been dogging Hillary Clinton’s election campaign during the Primaries. Terrific book. An unbiased account of two simultaneous raids on the US diplomatic and nearby CIA compounds in Benghazi, Libya. The author doesn’t try to sheet home blame,

…… but……….

any fair observer of the events in this book would be Benghazi lead to the inescapable conclusion that if you leave school and can’t write your name and you get caught, aged sixteen, having sexual congress with a horse, while simultaneously managing to burn down your father’s barn, you have an excellent chance of ending up in the CIA. Enough said. An excellent addition to US military history about an incident that is going to blight Clinton’s campaign if, as looks likely, two days before Super Tuesday, that she will be the Democrat candidate for the 2016 Presidential election.

Staying only 100 metres from the main chairlift at Pennay’s at River Run. It’s owned by an Australian, Alan Pennay, who has lived here for 40 years. Have met him several times. Classic bloke. Almost as famous here as Ernest Hemingway. I wonder what it would be like to live in a small community like this for most of you life. Very secure in some ways and very limiting in others, I expect. He seems happy enough.

Strange Magic, by ELO playing on my travelling BOSE speaker. Beautiful song. Lovely, sunny day outside. Life is a magpie, some black some white. Could be worse, iTunes may never have been invented. Thank you Steve Jobs.

Thank you letter

February 18, 2016 by KJK Leave a Comment

This is a copy of a letter sent to my personal trainer Belinda Van de Venn, at the Virgin Active Gym in Pitt St in Sydney, after my second day of skiing at Big Sky in Montana.

Village Centre
Big Sky
Montana
USA

Wednesday, February 18, 2016

Belinda,
Just got through day 2 so thought I should give you an update. Day 1 was interesting as it was like an exam day. I had a very capable female, American guide, Laura Herr, who was just back on the slopes after a broken fibula and ankle so she knew just what I was going through. She took it very slowly and we stuck to moderate runs. As you can imagine on the first run I was waiting for the pain to arrive but it didn’t. Thankfully. After about an hour the patella tendon just below my kneecap started to ache. Remember you said it would probably hurt. It wasn’t that painful or discomforting I just knew it was there. During the second hour the two tendons/muscles just above my knee started to ache but not for long.

knee I think these are the quadriceps muscles shown in the picture above. The quadriceps tendon in the picture wasn’t hurting. The patella tendon was hurting just where the arrow is. Into the third hour neither was hurting much. Significantly nothing was hurting behind the kneecap or at the site of the plate. I ended up skiing for five hours. No residual pain at the end. Steady pace on medium slopes. No rampaging. Most significantly my quads,which are normally stuffed for the first couple of days, weren’t tired. At all. That’s a first for me. I put it down to all the exercises you gave me.

Today was much the same. All the muscles around the knee, but not the knee itself, ached for about the first five minutes but then it went away. I skiied for four hours today without any pain at all.

Late this afternoon, I spied from the chair, a beautiful looking run called The Bowl, a single black diamond coming off Lone Mountain, which is the dominant peak here. I’d only been on the greens and blues but thought, “Bugger it! Why not!” Went at a steady pace but didn’t stop top to bottom. Because it was steeper I had to lean out further and push harder on the broken leg. No reaction. I couldn’t feel the plate at all. I was very pleased.

Anyway, much is now clear about the rehab you gave me. The flex and range of movement part I always got, ditto the strength part with the leg press and extension and flexion machines. What often puzzled me were all those exercises you said were to fire up the muscles around the knee – One legged balance on the Bosu ball, one legged dead lifts and that exercise standing sideways on one leg and holding the resistance against a Kinesis machine. I get all that now. Rehab from a broken leg isn’t about fixing bones. That’s probably over in the first eight weeks. It’s mending the buggered tendons and ligaments and getting them all working together that takes the time.

Needless to say I’m enormously grateful for your efforts in my rehab. It’s one year and one week since surgery and I’m skiing comfortably down a black run. That’s all down to you. My daughters are also very appreciative of your skill and professionalism. If you want something to add to your rehab program, you might consider that routine I worked out on the bike – doing five sprints to 100 rpm at levels increasing progressively from nine to thirteen on a recumbent bike, all within a half hour. It’s really boring but it may also have helped with recovery.

Anyway, so far so good. I’m telling everyone here about my miracle personal trainer back in Australia. Will be fully rampaging on the double blacks by the end of the week. Look out. Hope married life is going well – the first month is the hardest.

Regards

Kieran Kelly

I’m back

February 17, 2016 by KJK 20 Comments

The alarm went off and I was dead to the world. The first thought that entered my head was, “Well, here we go, the big day has arrived.” I staggered over to the widow and looked out. A grey day, not snowing, overcast. It looked brutal up there; hard as concrete. Still, I felt pretty good. I’d had about nine hours sleep and it really does knit up the ravelled sleeve of care. My sleeve, this morning, was sporting nary a hole or even a broken thread.

Breakfasted over at the Huntley Lodge which wasn’t too bad. Found some muesli buried among the pancakes and syrup and donuts. Who eats donuts for breakfast? God, Americans eat a lot of junk, even for breakfast. A nation as rich as this and they all eat like peasants, albeit peasants with a sugar addiction. Coffee was undrinkable but I expect that now.

Came back to my room and collected the myriad of gear, trying not to leave anything behind. It was a curious feeling stepping out into the cold wind once again, skies over my shoulder, hearing my boots crunch on the snow. “How may times have I done this?” I thought. It was very familiar. This was strangely reassuring. My guide turned out to be a diminutive, American woman, Laura Herr, in her 50’s. She reminded me of Louise Stevenson, same height and build but less cheeky and more respectful. She was very much into post-surgical rehab. This is her first season back on the mountain after suffering a fractured fibula, broken ankle and torn ankle tendons. Run down by a snowboarder last winter. Screws in her ankle but no plate. When she described the accident I was amazed she wasn’t killed. We swapped a lot of war stories on the chair lift. Like me, she had been skiing continuously for 40 years without incident and then – bang – she cops a big one. She had the screws out before the season started so she could get a ski boot on. Little bit of residual pain on steep slopes and very apprehensive when she hears a snowboarder looming behind her. Understandably.

Getting it done – Day 1 Big Sky, Montana. So far , so good

Anyway we started up the Ramcharger Quad and onto an easy blue groomer called Pondersoa, which became the first slope I’ve skiied down since breaking my leg. Not bad. No pain so we kept at it. Ended up skiing solidly for 3 hours. I had an ache in the Patella tendon, just below my kneecap but Belinda had told me to expect this. No pain from the plate even when I leaned hard into a turn on that side.

After Laura clocked off I had a quick coffee…Yuck, it would kill your old brown dog on a chain, and kept going. Became acquainted with mellow runs like Elk Park Ridge and Big Horn. They are only blues so I haven’t let the dog out yet, but they were fun to ski without any pain. Surprised myself and kept going until 3pm – that’s 5 hours of skiing on the first day. Much more than I had expected and surprisingly, my quads weren’t sore which is unusual for a first day’s outing. Maybe I’m fitter than I thought or maybe Belinda’s exercises have done the trick. Either way I’ve realised that If I want to keep skiing I’ll be in the gym for the rest of my life. I also realise that I wouldn’t be here expect for Belinda – She who must be obeyed – was worth every cent I paid her.

: Getting ready to put skies on for the first time. I remember when Catherine was in this position in Japan. It took her about an hour. I now realise what she was going through

: So brave on the green runs. I should get a medal for performing on such flat terrain

: Typical Montana scenery

The day of reckoning

December 1, 2015 by KJK 2 Comments

So after tibial plateau surgery and physiotherapy, after pain and gym sessions, after exercise bikes and endless walks, the day will come when you have to go back to the surgeon to see if the operation he performed was successful. After all the work and the sleepless nights you will find out if it has been worthwhile. This will come for most patients about 10 months after surgery. It did for me.

The cluttered paraphernalia on an orthopaedic surgeon’s desk. My list of questions is also in the photograph.

At 10am I was shown into Dr Matt Lyons (now familiar) office at the Mater Hospital. Lot of water under the bridge since I sat in this same room in February after arriving back from Canada with a broken leg. Now, tightly clutched in my hand was a list of questions I had composed that I hoped he would answer. It was quiet in the room where I sat alone, inspecting the stuff on his desk. Surgeons have really neat stuff on their desks. He arrived after a time, same cheerful smile and R M Williams riding boots. I never thought about the whimsy of being cut open by someone wearing footwear designed for breaking horses. But hey, life is strange, right?

He did the expected examination and said my leg had made “an amazing recovery.” I have only a minimal amount of lateral movement in the broken knee. This is known as “laxity.” It can be from grade 1, which is very little sideways movement to grade 5, which is lots of sideways movement. If you had much more than about 3 you would have such a wobbly knee that I suspect it would be very difficult to go skiing. He pushed my thigh one way while pulling my shin the other, pushing back and forth. Even I could tell that there wasn’t much movement. I have grade 1 laxity. “You’ve done really well, There is a lot of muscle development around your knee,” he said.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR SURGEON: Anyone who is consulting a surgeon, for the final time, after a significant procedure, should take along a written list of questions. Why? If you don’t take along a list of questions you are likely to forget to ask something important. Surgery and rehabilitation are very complex matters for the layman, involving arcane medical terminology, replete with complex Greek and Latin words. It is easy to get lost in the jargon. Also, if you take a written list you can write down the answers as the surgeon talks. This helps later. Sometimes, I can remember asking the questions but I can’t remember the answers and it is easy to get confused. Some, not all, surgeons are prone to talking down to their patients, which makes it really difficult.

My questions were:
1. Can I resume skiing?

2. Am I likely to get arthritis in the injured knee?

3. Will my leg make a complete recovery?

4. Should I have the plate out? If not what are the risks?

5. Have I damaged the meniscus?

6. Should I keep going with the exercises?

You may have a different list of questions after a tibial plateau fracture and surgery. That’s okay they will be your questions based around your particular experience. But you should have some questions.

Four golden rules for dealing with surgeons:

1. Don’t be intimidated

2. Don’t be frightened to say you don’t understand

3. Don’t hesitate to ask the surgeon to repeat the answer to a question if you are not certain and

4. Always get a second opinion. I got three for potential spinal surgery

There is really neat stuff to play with on a surgeon’s desk when they are not there, like this model of the human knee. Such fun and your health care fund pays for it all.

We then got down to my detailed questions:

CAN I RESUME SKIING: “Yes, the leg is strong enough to go skiing.” I inquired whether it will hurt the first time and whether it will hurt when I have to twist out of bindings in a fall. “Probably,” he replied. “The only way you will find out is to go and give it a try. It will be trial and error in the beginning” That’s pretty good news. Montana, here I come.

WILL I BE MORE PRONE TO ARTHRITIS IN THE INJURED LEG? “Yes you will be more prone to arthritis in your broken leg. It was a significant injury with surgical intervention. However, when that presents itself is anyone’s guess. You can delay the impact by keeping your quad strong, keeping your weight down and only doing low impact exercises, so as not to stress the knee joint too much. No running from here on.” All of this was fine with me.

WILL MY LEG MAKE A COMPLETE RECOVERY? “No. You have made an amazing recovery in the last 10 months. However, the injured knee will never be as good as the other leg. There was some strain in the medial ligament which has left you with a grade 1 laxity. This is about as good as you can hope for after surgery. I expect the knee will continue to improve and get stronger if you keep up the exercises.”

SHOULD I HAVE THE PLATE OUT? IF NOT WHAT ARE THE RISKS? Depends if it is bothering you. I wouldn’t make a decision on that before about 18 months to 2 years. The major risk of leaving the plate in there is that if you have another traumatic accident while skiing you can get significant fractures around the plate.” When I said it’s not bothering me, I don’t even notice it, he suggested we just leave it alone, at least for the time being.

HAVE I DAMAGED THE MENISCUS? I asked this question as my daughter Catherine discovered that she had, not only broken her leg, but severely damaged her meniscus which required surgical repair. “No, you seem to have avoided that although you have strained the medial ligament.”

SHOULD I KEEP GOING WITH THE EXERCISES AND IF SO, FOR HOW LONG? Yes, I think to continue the exercise routine would be beneficial. You can increase the loads and resistance, in my opinion, as long as it is not causing any pain. You might like to change from such a target orientated exercise program to one concentrating more on lack of pain. Pain should become the guiding principle rather than specific targets.”

I thought this was an interesting view and one I will have to discuss with Belinda. “She who must be obeyed,” at the Virgin gym will have a view on this no doubt.

Going through my questions with Dr Matt Lyons in his rooms at the Mater clinic in Sydney. He was very patient, not only answering my letter in detail, but also my page of questions at our final meeting.

The swim of shame

November 28, 2015 by KJK Leave a Comment

Saturday dawned very breezy. It would be tumultuous in the ocean. Bit of pain in the hand when I awoke but today is a special day – the 2km/4km/6km swim at Balmoral Beach Club. This is a gala day down there and I wasn’t going to miss it no matter how bad I felt. I’ve had a week off because of the pain. Enough. Time to get back in the water. I have done the 6km course every year for the last 8 years.

Finishing the 2km swim at Balmoral with flippers and snorkel in hand. I was happy just to be able to participate

So there was great noise and hubbub when I arrived with flippers and snorkel in my bag. It is one of the few times we throw the club open to the public and the longer distances attracted some good swimmers. I put my name on the board for the 2km swim. Shame. Walked across the sand carrying my flippers and snorkel. More shame. Nevertheless, it was great to be part of it, even though it was a rough and windswept day. I had to be careful not to kick anyone with my flippers as the scrum reached the first turning point at Deadmans. I toyed with the idea of doing 4kms but my hand started to burn on the last lap back from the baths, so packed it in at 2km. While it was disappointing not to be able to keep going, I was happy to be able to participate and at least do something. Barry couldn’t even get in the water, so he’s in worse shape than me.

After the shower, I stood on the verandah drinking coffee and watched the 4km swimmers come. I clapped them off the beach. Stayed till Jon Attwater and Doug Sturrock, the last of the 6km group, came in, looking pretty worn out. This swim has special resonance for me. I went in the event on the first weekend I was admitted as a member of the BBC in 2008. I only made 4km, but felt pretty pleased. I was severely injured in a horse riding accident the following weekend and underwent surgery and a c6/c7 spinal fusion shortly after. I didn’t return to the club for 6 years, and spent the intervening time ploughing up and down North Sydney and Manly pools with a snorkel. I had been told I would never swim normally again. My return to the 2/4/6 event in about 2008, and successfully completing 6km numerous times in recent years, has been a great restorative for me.

Another great voice

The exercise routines have finally caught up with me and I couldn’t face the Saturday afternoon torture up at Virgin Gym at French’s Forest. I had a sleep in the afternoon and Catherine came over. We swapped tibial plateau fracture war stories. I showed her some of my exercises. She was impressed with the jump turns.

I watched a documentary – All or nothing at all – on the life of Frank Sinatra in the evening. I’ve always hated his voice and his songs. He is not as interesting as Amy Winehouse but I can now see why people like him and the doco was not hard to watch.

Josh Dugan and me

November 22, 2015 by KJK Leave a Comment

litery Some days you can do it and some days you can’t. Today, I couldn’t. I was in pain when I woke up and my arm was burning. It was a hot, still Sunday morning. The ocean had a glassy sheen. Shimmering like syrup. Perfect. I had fully intended to get up and swim at Manly but my resolve weakened and I just couldn’t do it. I have overdone it since I had the spinal block and probably should have had a couple of weeks off swimming. Spent most of the day reading a fantastic book that I first read 20 years ago. Called Literary Las Vegas, it’s a selection of excerpts from some of the best writing about America’s most infamous city. Some of the greats are featured here – Tom Wolfe, Michael Herr and the incomparable Hunter S Thompson. These were peerless authors who obviously found Las Vegas important enough to write about. No doubt about it, LV is the best and worst of America. I’ve been there twice already and am really looking forward to revisiting it next year

While reading the Sydney Morning Herald, I came across a story about St George rugby league player Josh Dugan. A sublimely talented athlete, he will sometimes be remembered more for bad behaviour and lots of tatts than his skills. But this caught my eye:

“By then Dugan hopes to be back in full contact training after recovering from a neck operation in which surgeons shaved two of his vertebrae to relieve a nerve problem that was causing numbness in his fingers.

Dugan first began feeling pain in his neck and shoulders last year but the injury intensified after this season’s opening game and he often struggled to finish games or train with the team between matches. `Three of my vertebrae were pushing on each other and they were pushing on my disc, which was then pushing on the nerve,’ he said.

Josh Dugan - a superbly talented footballer who paled a whole season with a nerve root problem in his neck which ultimately required surgery

Josh Dugan – a superbly talented footballer who played the 2015 season with a nerve root problem in his neck which ultimately required surgery

`I would get constant aching in my shoulder and in my neck, and there were times I would get tingling down my arm and numbness in my fingers. It started last year, there were times I would get burners in my shoulders and that sort of thing but pretty much since round one it has just been gradually getting worse and worse. I didn’t want to go through that again next year so I wanted to get on top of it and I can already feel the difference.’ “

Sydney Morning Herald November 21 – 22, 2015 Pages 56 – 57

Lucky you. I wonder who his surgeon was? I think I’ll write to him and ask. Poor old Josh has got a C6 C7 nerve root problem. He has a cervical radiculopathy resulting from neck arthritis or degenerative disc disease, which forms bone spurs and decreases disc height. This reduces the opening through which a nerve travels and pinches the nerve. Problems with a herniated disc can place pressure on the nerve along with inflammation which can irritate the nerve. Neck injury is another cause of a pinched nerve. It’s quite a shock to see someone so high profile and obviously so tough, who has exactly the same complaint as me. He is also about 30 years younger than I am. I can only presume that his injury is a result of football trauma rather than advancing years. However, I had my first episode of neck spasm at the age of 22 in exactly the same place I have it now. It certainly doesn’t seem to be a respecter of persons

So me and Josh Dugan. I can’t play footy like him and I don’t have as many tatts, but Josh, I feel your pain. Believe me, I feel your pain. How you ever got through a rugby league season with this ailment is beyond me. You seem more human to me now not just a distant footballer. You have the same ailments that all us punters in the cheap seats have to endure. It makes us feel better. I wish you a speedy recovery and hope it doesn’t effect your side-step. Also stay off the beers – they don’t help rehabilitation (or anything else for that matter, especially your reputation.)

Hey, I just had a thought. Maybe Josh Dugan is the Hunter S Thompson of rugby league. Both were supremely talented, both cannoned around crashing into things. Both got arrested (a lot!) and both had periods of life, under the influence of mind altering substances, which will forever remain a black hole in their memories. “Now what did I do last night?” I wonder if Thompson had tatts? He probably didn’t play Rugby League for St George.

Skidding in sideways

November 21, 2015 by KJK Leave a Comment

I swam at Manly on Tuesday and Wednesday and Balmoral on Thursday. Nothing too serious, just a couple of km’s with my snorkel and flippers. On Friday backed up at Manly, swimming to Shelly Beach and back, head down looking at the fish on a scorchingly hot day. I may be overdoing it as the pain in my neck and spasm in my hand, is coming back. In the first few days after the spinal block, the pain abated and I felt really good, but now it’s as bad as ever. A sure sign is how difficult it is to get out of bed in the morning. It’s suddenly hard again. Even though I’m using a snorkel it seems to be irritating the nerves in my arm. I was really weary on Friday night after a busy week at work, but struggled down to Balmoral for the extraordinary general meeting to elect the new life members at the club. Terrific evening although I was really sore.

I surprised myself on Saturday morning, once more getting up and returning to Balmoral for a few loops of the bay. I do enjoy the coffee and conversation afterwards.

Saturday afternoon found me as ever in the Virgin gym at French Forest. I was feeling very lethargic and my arm and hand hurt. Still I have broken leg and the rehab must go on.

Bike……………………………5 mins on resistance 9, on 10, on 11, on 12 and 5 minutes on resistance 13 for the first time. I was able to get to 100rpms, five times on levels 10, 11, 12 and the new level 13. Increase in resistance. This was a real surprise to me. I upped the resistance to 13 but could still crank out 100 rpm five times. I seem to be getting stronger and stronger on the bike despite the increasing resistance. Maybe this is a sign that my leg really has healed.

Leg Extension……………….10 reps x 30kg x 2 sets both legs

Adductor……………………10 x 40kgs x 2 I did 45kgs last time but it hurt this time so stopped

Leg Curl …………………..10 reps x 35kg x 2 both legs

Leg Press………………….10 reps x 70kg x 2 both legs Didn’t warm up with lighter weights

Leg Press………………….10 reps x 80kg x 2 both legs

A change from reading about Islam. A lot more light hearted and an antidote to pain

It was not a long session. I didn’t have much energy. I felt melancholy driving home and afterwards sitting quietly in my apartment. With a broken leg and neck injury, I was feeling battered. Pain changes everything. To cheer myself up, and because I’m going on a road trip in the USA next year, I started pulling out some of my books on Las Vegas. I particularly like Hunter S Thompson. I think if Mark Twain represents the Mississippi, Herman Melville the north-east and John Steinbeck, California, then Hunter S Thompson represents the old southwest. I found this quote:

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”

The Proud Highway:

Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967

This just cracked me up. For a guy in his 60’s, this is the only way you can live. This is the only way you can reconcile the pain and the injuries and the failing athletic capability. Unlike Thomson, I don’t do bucket loads of drugs and have always tried to look after myself, but on this Saturday afternoon I feel like a wreck. The quote makes me laugh. He was a mad, wicked guy but gee he could write.

“Skidding in broadside.” How could he have thought of that? Amy Winehouse and Hunter S Thompson may just get me through this difficult, post-surgical, period of my life. That’s a strange triumvirate. I wonder what we each have in common?