Life is what happens when you're making other plans...

Most of you know that Lydia and I have bought our boat and expect to get
aboard and cut the cords. Target departure date is November 1, with a
variety of things to happen first, including getting a couple of houses
(emptied and) sold. Progress is happening at an acceptable pace, there, but
just as Lydia was fixated on getting the boat bought, she's now fixated on
getting aboard, *NOW!*. I, too, want to get aboard, but deal with
frustration a bit better than she :{))

However, personally, I've had a setback and a shock to the system. I went
to my orthopedic surgeon yesterday after having had an MRI done on my
shoulder (the one with the severe dislocation and greater tuberosity [the
outside of the ball end of the shoulder bone] fracture, followed by major
surgery, mentioned in this space 3 years ago). Instead of the expected
adhesion of something, or a muscle which was too long having prevented my
having full use of my arm, the original operation essentially failed - my
top two rotator cuff muscles have come off the humerus (which in itself lost
a pretty good chunk of bone in the original accident) and retracted and
atrophied a lot, plus the biceps tendon has slid about 50% out of place. No
wonder I couldn't raise my arm!

What all that means is that to (have a chance at - there's only a 50%
success rate in such operations) regain my full function will require
essentially the same operation I had originally, along with the requisite
rehab time.

So, it would mean a delay at the very best, which would mean a hurried trip
through the upper islands in order to miss the hurricanes or delaying the op
(which would allow us to enjoy the summer, at least!) and leaving next
November. Neither prospect (see fixation, above) is very palatable to
Lydia. So, we're currently wrestling with 1) leaving it alone (which
forecloses my chance to ever have it right), 2) taking the chance that it
won't work - but also incurring the chance that it might result in pain,
later, where there is currently none, 3) doing it ASAP so that we can get
under way ASAP (whenever that actually works out to be), and 4) doing it
later (with a presumed November 2005 departure).

In any event, recalling my last op, there's a long rehab to get any
semblance of strength. I'm waiting for a call back from them to see what I
should expect in the way of total time and intermediate times, which will
partly drive our decision, should we decide to go ahead. Either way, if I
go under the knife, we'll not be outta here in November as we'd planned. If
I don't, my arm will never be better than it is today...

L8R

Skip and Lydia

--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin

Sorry to hear that! Looks like you might be in the market for a power
winch. :-) Actually November through June might be a better choice for
working your way down. More fronts to ride down to PR and better winds
once you get there. Also more places are open in the season.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Hi, Glenn and thanks for the thought - BTW, you owe me a mail or two or I
have the wrong addy for you again...

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:16ntc.16570$Sx2.7061@okepread01...
Sorry to hear that! Looks like you might be in the market for a power
winch. :-) Actually November through June might be a better choice for
working your way down. More fronts to ride down to PR and better winds
once you get there. Also more places are open in the season.


Actually, that's exactly when we intended to go. But if I have surgery now,
I'll not be in condition to get back on board before January or so, due to
the time in rehab (at least, based on last time - I'm still waiting to hear
from the ortho about how long to expect), and maybe later. That makes the
working our way down just that much shorter. The reason we found it
important to leave ASAP the hurricane season was over is that we don't
expect to be north of STT any time again (at least in the boat) and so
wanted to have a long opportunity to explore those northern islands. After
all, there are those who make a lifetime out of the Bahamas, so who are we
to say that we wouldn't have plenty to see for several months?

So, if I have a later surgery (current schedule is June 15th), it would
allow a longer rehab and also more time to get our act together about
getting houses dealt with, for a November 05 departure. As it is, we may be
delayed, unless we just "throw them away" by cutting the prices to fire sale
level (thus killing our cruising kitty - a catch 22), so perhaps it wouldn't
matter, anyway, to have a later surgery. However, Lydia's just beside
herself wanting to get aboard, so we've not yet made that decision.

My preference is to wait until, say, September, and get a good long rehab
before making the boat as perfect as we can, and heading out November 05.
That would also get us past the requirement to come back from wherever we
were to see her son graduate in December :{))

Thanks for your interest...

L8R

Skip (and Lydia, by proxy)


--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin

Skip Gundlach wrote:

My preference is to wait until, say, September, and get a good long rehab
before making the boat as perfect as we can, and heading out November 05.
That would also get us past the requirement to come back from wherever we
were to see her son graduate in December :{))

Good long rehab sounds good. How long it needs to be depends greatly
upon how much you will be required to use it and when. This depends I
guess, on your style of boating and your crew's/wife's strength. For
example if you will not be required to use the shoulder heavily *at all*
you could easily bring along an exercize device or two and continue the
latter half of the rehab during your travels.

The primary two keys to rehab a

1)Protection from excess forces (which should first be very great and
*gradually* decrease as healing occurs

2)Introduction of movement and force (which should start off very light
and *gradually* increase as healing/strengthening occurs).

Failure in the correct starting point and gradual progress of either of
these are pretty much the only causes of rehab failure. Often one
mistake is all it takes, but if you can avoid that one mistake you can
rehab pretty much anywhere.


Stephen

Hi, Stephen, and group...

"Stephen Trapani" wrote in message
...
Skip Gundlach wrote:

My preference is to wait until, say, September, and get a good long
rehab
before making the boat as perfect as we can, and heading out November
05.
That would also get us past the requirement to come back from wherever
we
were to see her son graduate in December :{))

Good long rehab sounds good. How long it needs to be depends greatly
upon how much you will be required to use it and when. This depends I
guess, on your style of boating and your crew's/wife's strength. For
example if you will not be required to use the shoulder heavily *at all*
you could easily bring along an exercise device or two and continue the
latter half of the rehab during your travels.

Our style is very active. Noting, of course, that this year and the two
before, I was without full use of my shoulder... However, this year, during
our shakedown cruise, we were fortunate enough to be offered some heavy
weather - nothing really threatening, but very lumpy and windy, to which we
eagerly looked forward. The good news is we had a blast. However... My
attempts to get something to hang on to while in the bouncing dink off the
stern, pending the manual letdown of the 15HP, for which I'd want my good
hand free, was a wake-up call to the complacency which had developed.
Meanwhile, I've been wanting to go back for a couple of years, but had to
wait for the pre-existing condition period to elapse for insurance purposes,
so have had a long time to consider this. Unfortunately for my planning, it
never occurred to me that the first operation might have simply failed
altogether. I got complacent about thinking how long I'd be in rehab,
expecting either that I'd not have any hope ("sorry, nerve damage, can't fix
it") or something simple ("yeah, you've got some adhesion there, we'll slice
it off so it moves again and off you go to rehab").


The primary two keys to rehab a

1)Protection from excess forces (which should first be very great and
*gradually* decrease as healing occurs

2)Introduction of movement and force (which should start off very light
and *gradually* increase as healing/strengthening occurs).

Failure in the correct starting point and gradual progress of either of
these are pretty much the only causes of rehab failure. Often one
mistake is all it takes, but if you can avoid that one mistake you can
rehab pretty much anywhere.

Word is, now, having heard back from them, it's a couple of weeks of just
motion exercises, and if that is successful, then 4 more weeks of increasing
that to the point where I'm then sent off to rehab, without having to have
the arm restricted. Expect 6 months for comfortable use, and improvement as
far out as 18 months. I don't know how or why the first one failed.
Certainly, I didn't experience any pain that I could associate with it. The
operative report suggested that the bone wasn't hard enough to use the screw
anchors they'd originally expected, and so did drill holes and sutures.
Whether those failed, or the attachment never took, or the tendon tore at
the stitch, I don't know. However, I'm going to be pretty aggressive about
my rehab and following the recommendations of the surgeon. If he can bring
major leaguers back from pitching injuries, I figure I can get it happening,
too. However, there's still only a tossup chance that I'll have
improvement. I'll just have to make sure that I don't do anything to
jeopardize the chances...

Thanks for the input...

L8R

Skip

--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin

On Thu, 27 May 2004 17:01:08 -0400, Skip Gundlach
skipgundlach.sez.remove.this.and.the.dots.to.mail wrote:

snip
After
all, there are those who make a lifetime out of the Bahamas, so who are
we
to say that we wouldn't have plenty to see for several months?


It would be a shame not to take the time to enjoy the Bahamas, you could
then hole up in Luperon for hurricane season.
Personaly, I prefer to cruise the Bahamas in the summer months.
Russ

Howdy, Y'all,

Well, it was a very productive weekend in making way for our ability to
leave (all the other stuff which has to be done including the surgery), more
of which anon in other posts...

"Russ Barron" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 27 May 2004 17:01:08 -0400, Skip Gundlach
skipgundlach.sez.remove.this.and.the.dots.to.mail wrote:

snip
After
all, there are those who make a lifetime out of the Bahamas, so who are
we
to say that we wouldn't have plenty to see for several months?


It would be a shame not to take the time to enjoy the Bahamas, you could
then hole up in Luperon for hurricane season.
Personaly, I prefer to cruise the Bahamas in the summer months.
Russ

We're exploring all the options, and have no concrete idea of when we'll
actually get to leave. Lydia's a bit concerned about the potential
departure of a year later than planned, as she presumes she won't be working
at that point (earlier) and we'll not be able to afford the extra time.

Of course, we can't say when it will actually be that we shove off, or
whether, in fact, she can work as long as she cares to (which actually
expired some time ago, as she wants to go much more than she wants to pile
up boat bux) so that remains to be seen. *My* target is to be out of the
Caribbean during hurricane season, whether by touring the east coast, or
having left to the south, or perhaps some other modus, should we leave any
time later than November of a given year. Our insurance, when we get the
bluewater version (currently protected against falling over in the yard, or
coastal cruising, at a greatly reduced rate from what we'll have to pay
whoever Al Golden comes up with at the time), won't pay if we're victim to a
named storm in the inappropriate latitudes, so I'm loathe to be there :{))

That said, aside from the lack of crowds, what is it which makes you prefer
the summer in the Bahamas?

L8R

Skip and Lydia

--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin

"Skip Gundlach" skipgundlach.sez.remove.this.and.the.dots.to.mail wrote in message ...
Hi, Glenn and thanks for the thought - BTW, you owe me a mail or two or I
have the wrong addy for you again...

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:16ntc.16570$Sx2.7061@okepread01...
Sorry to hear that! Looks like you might be in the market for a power
winch. :-) Actually November through June might be a better choice for
working your way down. More fronts to ride down to PR and better winds
once you get there. Also more places are open in the season.


Actually, that's exactly when we intended to go. But if I have surgery now,
I'll not be in condition to get back on board before January or so, due to
the time in rehab (at least, based on last time - I'm still waiting to hear
from the ortho about how long to expect), and maybe later. That makes the
working our way down just that much shorter. The reason we found it
important to leave ASAP the hurricane season was over is that we don't
expect to be north of STT any time again (at least in the boat) and so
wanted to have a long opportunity to explore those northern islands. After
all, there are those who make a lifetime out of the Bahamas, so who are we
to say that we wouldn't have plenty to see for several months?

So, if I have a later surgery (current schedule is June 15th), it would
allow a longer rehab and also more time to get our act together about
getting houses dealt with, for a November 05 departure. As it is, we may be
delayed, unless we just "throw them away" by cutting the prices to fire sale
level (thus killing our cruising kitty - a catch 22), so perhaps it wouldn't
matter, anyway, to have a later surgery. However, Lydia's just beside
herself wanting to get aboard, so we've not yet made that decision.

My preference is to wait until, say, September, and get a good long rehab
before making the boat as perfect as we can, and heading out November 05.
That would also get us past the requirement to come back from wherever we
were to see her son graduate in December :{))

I recently broke my elbow in multiple places, along with assted other
injuries, in a fall. My physiotherapist says to forget about even
paddling a kayak for months and not to go to sea on my annual work
cruise to the Antarctic. You go to sea with a bad shoulder, half
healed, and cop a heavy roll at the wrong moment, it's not going to be
pretty. How are you going to hang onto anything? I know that I can't,
right now.

Get well, then go. Otherwise the first might be the last when it all
gets ugly & painful instead of enjoyable. Even crew won't help if the
weather gets bad and you need the strength of a bad hand.

Peter Wiley

Howdy, Peter, and group, again...

"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
m...
So, if I have a later surgery (current schedule is June 15th), it would
allow a longer rehab and also more time to get our act together about
getting houses dealt with, for a November 05 departure. As it is, we
may be
delayed, unless we just "throw them away" by cutting the prices to fire
sale
level (thus killing our cruising kitty - a catch 22), so perhaps it
wouldn't
matter, anyway, to have a later surgery. However, Lydia's just beside
herself wanting to get aboard, so we've not yet made that decision.

Nothing's changed in that department, but we've made great strides in
getting my house (encumbered by about 40 years of accumulation) ready for
sale. Put a sign on the dock this weekend, and had two calls and a showing
from it, along with two showings to prior contacts. A group letter to
others I'd cultivated in the past should generate some more activity. I
believe we'll have them sold before we'd otherwise be ready to go, as I've
determined to have the surgery, regardless of when and outcomes.

My preference is to wait until, say, September, and get a good long
rehab
before making the boat as perfect as we can, and heading out November
05.
That would also get us past the requirement to come back from wherever
we
were to see her son graduate in December :{))

I recently broke my elbow in multiple places, along with assted other
injuries, in a fall. My physiotherapist says to forget about even

OWW!!!

paddling a kayak for months and not to go to sea on my annual work
cruise to the Antarctic. You go to sea with a bad shoulder, half
healed, and cop a heavy roll at the wrong moment, it's not going to be
pretty. How are you going to hang onto anything? I know that I can't,
right now.

My thoughts exactly. My expected time line (based on prior experience and
confirmation recently from the surgeon) is 2 weeks of absolutely no activity
other than pendulum circular swinging to keep the joint mobile, up to 6
weeks of that or, assuming all is well, another 4 weeks (total 6) of minimal
exercise in a pendulum mode, followed by about 6 months of rehab/PT. That
will restore me to function, but not necessarily strength or pain-free
condition. My gauge will be not only the ability to raise my arm over my
head comfortably, the comfortable ability to hang (I'm over 200#) in any
position with it, and the ability to take a strong punch (equivalent,
roughly, to bouncing off a bulkhead in an unexpected attitude adjustment).

That may well take us to November in any case, though I really don't think
so. I'm sure it will work out in the end.

Get well, then go. Otherwise the first might be the last when it all
gets ugly & painful instead of enjoyable. Even crew won't help if the
weather gets bad and you need the strength of a bad hand.

:{)) No kidding. We made a great deal of progress on my house (we don't
yet live together, as she lives and works 80 miles away) this holiday
weekend, sending a van-full off to the charities and some to the landfill,
which was preceded by my son's wedding a couple of weeks earlier, during
which a great deal left with relatives. Lydia's committed to doing all the
things I won't be able to do physically in order to get things going ASAP,
so I'm confirmed for Cutting about 334 hours from now (two weeks less a
couple of hours).

On the procedure, I have no qualms. The outcome won't be any worse, other
than a small potential for residual pain, of which there's none, now, and
there's every possibility (though only a rate of 50% success factor in the
procedure) that I'll regain full use of my arm. The surgeon is the best
there is in this field.

A side benefit (when life hands me lemons, I try to make lemonade) is that
the work I'd expected I'd do on the boat now will be most likely in the
winter, rather than the FL summer, which is brutal in a boat on the hard and
un-airconditioned. I expect I could be able to do the kind of work I'd want
to do (tracing some wiring, redoing some plumbing, taking a windlass off for
reconditioning, supervising some new fabrication) without being fully
rehabbed, or being rehabbed, but not yet strong enough or pain-free enough
to want to splash it, so perhaps it will all work out for the best. I'm
just enough of a perfectionist to not want to have to 'sit around' in a
period when I'd expected to be making measurable progress. But if I have to
sit around, better it should be in a time when I'd not really want to work
in the bowels of Hades, anyway! :{))

L8R

Skip and Lydia

--

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a
clear night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize
that you are quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to
you that in the general scheme of things you are merely an
insignificant speck on the surface of the ocean; and are not nearly
so important or as self-sufficient as you thought you were. Which is
an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one that may effect a
permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly appreciated
by your friends." - James S. Pitkin

Skip,
Man, that's gotta be frustrating!

How long is the rehab before you could work the boat in benign
conditions? Any chance you could have the surgery ASAP, then spend time
on the boat coastal cruising until you feel your shoulder is up to
longer passages and rougher conditions? I dunno if this makes any
sense, but to me, it I couldn't have the hole enchilada right away,
having some of it now would be better than waiting until I could handle
the whole thing.

Best of luck - Dan

Skip Gundlach wrote:
Life is what happens when you're making other plans...

Most of you know that Lydia and I have bought our boat and expect to get
aboard and cut the cords. Target departure date is November 1, with a
variety of things to happen first, including getting a couple of houses
(emptied and) sold. Progress is happening at an acceptable pace, there, but
just as Lydia was fixated on getting the boat bought, she's now fixated on
getting aboard, *NOW!*. I, too, want to get aboard, but deal with
frustration a bit better than she :{))

However, personally, I've had a setback and a shock to the system. I went
to my orthopedic surgeon yesterday after having had an MRI done on my
shoulder (the one with the severe dislocation and greater tuberosity [the
outside of the ball end of the shoulder bone] fracture, followed by major
surgery, mentioned in this space 3 years ago). Instead of the expected
adhesion of something, or a muscle which was too long having prevented my
having full use of my arm, the original operation essentially failed - my
top two rotator cuff muscles have come off the humerus (which in itself lost
a pretty good chunk of bone in the original accident) and retracted and
atrophied a lot, plus the biceps tendon has slid about 50% out of place. No
wonder I couldn't raise my arm!

What all that means is that to (have a chance at - there's only a 50%
success rate in such operations) regain my full function will require
essentially the same operation I had originally, along with the requisite
rehab time.

So, it would mean a delay at the very best, which would mean a hurried trip
through the upper islands in order to miss the hurricanes or delaying the op
(which would allow us to enjoy the summer, at least!) and leaving next
November. Neither prospect (see fixation, above) is very palatable to
Lydia. So, we're currently wrestling with 1) leaving it alone (which
forecloses my chance to ever have it right), 2) taking the chance that it
won't work - but also incurring the chance that it might result in pain,
later, where there is currently none, 3) doing it ASAP so that we can get
under way ASAP (whenever that actually works out to be), and 4) doing it
later (with a presumed November 2005 departure).

In any event, recalling my last op, there's a long rehab to get any
semblance of strength. I'm waiting for a call back from them to see what I
should expect in the way of total time and intermediate times, which will
partly drive our decision, should we decide to go ahead. Either way, if I
go under the knife, we'll not be outta here in November as we'd planned. If
I don't, my arm will never be better than it is today...

L8R

Skip and Lydia


--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG