Not the brightest bulb in the package

When a guy gets to be a certain age, he thinks he can still do what in his 30s was pretty simple stuff, but eventually has a rude awakening about his youthful abilities: they fled some time back and never told him they were leaving.

My turn was a little over three weeks ago.  After finally this June selling our house in the prior metropolis where we moved from 3+ years ago, we finally decided we could buy a house here.  We found one we think we can pay off before retirement, and agreed to make the jump.  Moving day into residence #17 (in 38 years) happened three weeks ago.

It's not like we didn't have professional movers, we did.  But yours truly jumped the gun a bit.  The Friday of our move-in weekend I had an appointment set up at the new house to have a technician hook up the cable.  So to get there in time, I had to unplug the cable box and run it over.  In order to get at the box, I attempted to move the TV, a big plasma job, alone.  In hindsight, not a real bright idea.  But I only had to move it 2 feet, it wasn't like I was going to carry it to the truck to save the movers some grunting and groaning.  I did, however, have to lower it down one level to a coffee table.  The TV was just wide enough to get my arms around, but heavier that I remembered.  My left arm was fully extended on one side - the side bearing most of the load.  Again... not bright.

As I’m lowering the TV to the coffee table, I hear: “rip; rip; rrrrip.”  I could hear the tendon tear off the bone, as well as feel it shred.  Ugh.

( I didn’t drop the TV, though: sacrificed my body to complete the play…)

I'll spare you the gruesome pictures of the internal bleeding that is STILL working its way out of the forearm.  Most of the pain is gone now, and after 10 days in a sling, handfuls of anti-inflammatories and  more than a little Vicodin, I have pretty good range of movement, considering that in the first three days I couldn't tie my shoes, put on my pants, shampoo my hair, etc.  It's amazing what you need two hands for!

The next question, though, which I have to decide by Monday the 11th, when I go back to see the orthopedic surgeon again, is “do I want to have surgery to reattach the tendon?”

At our first visit the surgeon said that it could go either way, surgical repair or live with reduced functionality in the arm, but I only have 3 weeks to decide before the muscle is too atrophied to work with.  It is fully detached on one side of the bicep, still in place on the other.

Surgery has so many complications possible, and for this one in particular a long recovery time – 6 months.  But, I would get all the strength and functionality back.  Probably.  On the other hand, if I leave it as is, it will NOT reattach and will likely have 30-40% less capacity in all respects. The other muscles still in place will adapt and help out, but it will always be less than it was.  Thankfully, it’s not my dominant arm/hand, and already I see that my finger, hand & elbow function is fine.  I just can’t put much of a load on it.  But I can use it to steady a load I'm lifting with my right, can toss a tennis ball up for a serve, can execute an under-arm turn in the rhumba, etc.  So at this point, I’m leaning away from surgery.  Of course if I were 20 years younger there’d be no hesitation to have it repaired.  Same thing if I worked at something other than a desk job.  But the calculus is different now, and so the conclusion should be.

Guess this was my epiphany of the effects of encroaching age on my body… and my spirit!  I’ve been a bit bemused by the whole thing, reflecting now on what the years ahead will likely bring, sort of dividing them into trimesters of 9 years each (more or less):  the first 9 working full time, paying off debts; the second trimester enjoying a hard-won debt-free retirement in good health (God willing!), the last third dealing with a body running out of vigor and health, like an old car on a dry engine about to seize up.

But you know... if I die before I've gotten everything done... on the other side I'll have all that youthful vigor and good health back!  At least that's what the Book says.  :)