In the category of a little good news at last, I visited the orthopedic doctor yesterday, and he declared my fractured proximal humerus fully healed. As you may recall, that’s a break in the arm up near the shoulder. No restrictions other than to use pain for a guideline as I return to activities.
He also said my range of motion was excellent for this stage, which is four months from the day I tripped over a power cord and went down onto a hard tile floor. I did my physical therapy religiously, and it’s nice my hard work paid off.
Of course, I still do have pain and expect more, but it’s not awful and I don’t have to fear the bone anymore. It’s all soft tissue recovery at this point.
I set up the golf net in the garage when I got home and hit a few wiffle balls. Today I will start with some sort of a program to re-enter the golf world. There are also lots of little things around the house I was avoiding due to restrictions on how much weight I can lift, but now I can get to those, too.
Again, I’m being mindful and taking it slow. I mentioned I’ve been studying Stoicism. In my last post, I had a little fun with it, but I am serious about this and have started to feel much better about a lot of different things. I’ll write more as this progresses, but I’m eager to share my experiences because I think it’s going to be a game-changer for aging and navigating the next phase of retirement.
I remind myself many times a day to live up to the four pillars — wisdom, justice, courage and moderation.
May I suggest the book…The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday. I read the short passage daily every day for 365 and then Read again each year. Been doing this for years. Amazing how smart and insightful the stoically were all those years ago. A dear friend recommended this about theee years ago when I was struggling. It’s been very helpful to me to try and get things in perspective.
Happy to hear about your progress. My big fear is injury since I’ve no family and out here on my own at 71. Scary.
Congratulations on the full healing of your bone and the beginnings of getting back into the game you love. I’ll be interested to read abut what you gain from your study of stoicism. Anything that aids positively to the aging process has my attention.
Hey, congratulations on your fully healed bone. Being able to start doing the things you haven’t been able to do in the last four months must be a relief. Maybe the physical therapy will have helped your golf game in some way–I don’t know how, but stranger things have happened. I’ll be interested in reading about your stoicism journey and plan to check out the two books you mentioned.
Congrats on your healed bone, and the ability to get back into the swing of things! Please share your recs on stoicism. Many of us here are interested.
I’m on the waiting list for that book at the library, but I suspect it’s one of those I will need to buy. Probably a hard copy not Kindle. I also signed up for their daily email. I’m glad to hear it is working for you. It is already helping me manage the emotions about all the injuries at our house. I know what you mean about no family. We don’t have anyone close by, either. It is scary, but the Stoics help me with that, too. I play through all the worst things that can happen and then work through how I might deal with that logistically. Not emotionally.
Yes, I will have lots to share. I definitely think it will help with the aging process.
Thank you! It is a relief.
I asked ChatGPT to design a curriculum for learning about Stoicism, and the book the bot recommended to get started with was “A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy” by William B. Irvine and others. I’m reading a little bit every day and then writing in a journal about what I learned and how I feel. So far, it seems like a really good introduction.
The swing of things — got it!!
Yes, definitely more to come on Stocism. The big eye-opener for me was that it’s not about deprivation. That’s a different philosophy. Whew.
Yes, I think that it’s best to buy the book….its paperback…..I have underlined the highlights of each day….was not aware of any daily email…..would you mind sharing the link to the daily email. Yes, don’t get emotional…get focused! Easier said than done!
Congratulations on your recovery! And Bravo for all of the physical therapy you did to get to where you are now. I know quite a few people who expect the physical therapist to do all of the work for them and then they wonder why nothing’s happening. So, Hats off to you!
So glad your injury has healed. Interested in hearing more about your study of Stoicism.
It’s dailystoic.com, although I unsubscribed. A little too commercial, but there’s good stuff on the website.
I know — some people just don’t accept they have to do this stuff! I’m glad I stuck with it and continue to stick with it. I met a youngish woman in the PT waiting room who said she never did PT after a broken arm and still can’t life her arm over her head.
Yes, I am eager to come back to the field! And I’m so happy you are interested in Stoicism. So many good things for us to learn.
The physical therapy aspect is so vital. I fell many moons ago when in my early twenties. I didn’t break anything, but doubtless damaged all manner of stuff. Physical therapy wasn’t as big a thing back then, so I had none, and have never regained full mobility in one arm. Nothing terrible, but I can’t reach as far across my back on that side. Fortunately a long-handled brush has picked up the slack, but if only I’d been given some simple stretches to keep moving.
Anyway, what I should’ve said first is well done you on the hard work you’ve put in and in reaching your recovery.
Am fascinated to hear more about your study of stoicism. I’ve ordered the book you mentioned – on Kindle as no paperback available, so I’ll wait to see how I feel about it before considering the hardback.
Reaching behind the back is still the hardest for me. But I will keep at it. More on Stoicism coming your way!