5 months since being hospitalised with Multi-Focal Pulmonary Emboli I’m back into an exercise program. I left hospital bursting with vim & vigour and was somewhat surprised when the Doctor insisted that I take 3 weeks off work then a staged return to work. I really couldn’t believe I was that ill... Actually if you’d told me 2 months earlier I might have believed you, but by the time we realised what was wrong the blog clot was splitting and I’m eternally grateful that the fragments lodged in fairly benign places rather than taking the opportunities for mischief that they had.
It didn’t take long for it to sink in though that there had been a significant hit on my health. Everyday life was wearying - possibly a wee bit psychology involved in that too? Up in the morning and ready to take on the day very quickly dulled into tired afternoons. I tried to lose some weight and took to walking, which was wonderful. For some reason Spring came to Scotland exceedingly early this year, February was fabulous and I made the most of it. The outcome of which was that I quickly escalated my walks too much and ended up with a spot of Plantar Fasciitis.
Regret 1 - Should have invested in better shoes for walking.
For all that the heel pain of P.F. Makes the mornings a bit miserable, it’s actually fine once you’re up and about and just requires a bit of stretching and taking care of your feet - I had the time, so no problem.
Having previously played rugby for too many years, I have a few wee niggles here and there that will always be with me. I’m missing a ligament in my shoulder that means I need to keep it conditioned so that the muscles provide the necessary stability. Those muscles have a habit of atrophying more quickly than the others and if I don’t maintain it, I end up with an unstable and painful shoulder. It really doesn’t take much to maintain them either, but as I was in complete rest, I didn’t...
Regret 2 - Should have added a daily movement routine to my schedule. Just running the joints through a sequence of moves designed to ensure the stability was maintained. No need to view it or manage it as ‘exercise’; no need to get tired or stressed (physically) by it, just keep things ticking over by moving those joints, maybe even tai-chi style... think that's what I might recommend rather than anything even as stressful as Yoga.
Regret 3 - Whilst doing that sequence of joint mobility exercises should have introduced some moves to make me less right sided. See the above comment on tai-chi, damn! Should have thought of that, it always seemed a bit of a weird thing to be doing, but actually kicking myself now that I didn't do that.
The move I’m using just now to return my shoulder to form is a bit like Saturday night Fever dance move. The Physio calls it ‘drawing sword from scabbard’ but I’m definitely more John Travolta than Braveheart, so ‘Staying Alive’ it is. She’s given me one of those rubber bands to add resistance, but honestly, just doing the move on it’s own and twisting the hand at the end so that the palm faces upwards is enough.
See a video version of it here
Most of the problems I had with it in the first instance I’m sure are to do with the fact that my brain didn’t know which order the muscles should be firing in. Getting there though.
Regret 4 - See all of above but apply it to the left knee, which is only slightly less damaged than the left shoulder
Regret 5 - Should have learned to juggle
Regret 6 - Should have played more guitar
Regret 7 - Didn’t make enough use of my Busuu account to practise languages
Regret 8 - Should have played more guitar
But here we are. Nothing to be done about what I didn’t do. I’m now back on the machines at the gym (cross trainer is nice and easy, rowing machine a brute) and I’ve been in the pool getting a few lengths done, so we're well on the way to recovery.
In the interest of balance, I don't regret stopping the booze for the last 5 months. It was pretty easy for the first couple of months as I felt so shitty anyway. After that it just seemed to come down to reminding myself that I didn't drink when people offered - which is more difficult than you might imagine, but with the negative impact of a bang on the head when on Warfarin, the internal debate doesn't take long to reach a conclusion.
Trials, tribulations, tales and titillations of a now 50- something year old, Scot, determined to stave of his cultural and genetic destiny with sporadic efforts to attain Physical perfection impaired by unhelpful refueling strategies and familial responsibilities. This blog will now track my efforts to recover from Multi-Focal Pulmonary Emboli, caused by a dislodged DVT.
