So, five weeks out from surgery (sugary), not a whole lot new to report. It's six weeks that's the biggie--next Tuesday when I see my surgeon and he checks out the state of his handiwork, x-rays it, and hopefully gives me the OK to pop wheelies on my 29er down the mean streets of Bellingham. Shoulder feels great, I've had no real pain, and last weekend I went for a very mellow two-hour bike jaunt (flat pedals and jeans, pantlegs tucked in socks) down the Interurban to the spot where last November a tree fell upon us. But it didn't kill us, so it's a place of grace. I rubbed my collarbone on the fallen tree. Kind of for healing or positive juju or something.
As you might imagine, Mellow Johnny Boy and I talk about our surgically repaired and healing collarbones all the time. Because we're both filled with fears of things that could go wrong--our titanium collarbone plates will twist and snap, the screws loosen and fall out, we fall on that shoulder and we can't get up, etc.--it's not always a good thing. Lately, I could swear I feel an odd slant on my collarbone that I don't think was there a week or 10 days ago. Did part of the bone get yanked off the plate? I called my surgeon's office and described it to the nurse who told me I was being paranoid. There's no way it could come off, she said, and if it did, I'd be in a lot of pain. I'll guess I'll know more next Tuesday. For now, I keep fingering my scar and feeling the screwheads on the plate through my skin. (Meanwhile I read about Thor Hushovd who broke his collarbone in early May--probably about the same time I had surgery--and who is returning to racing this Sunday in the Tour de Suisse.)
In other news, I started work on my sixth book and can proudly say that I'm two-75ths done. Feel free to pre-order now.
Sunday, I have a story in the Seattle Times Travel section on biking in Paris. The website will have a cool video I shot of our tour group maneuvering our cruiser bikes through the Place de la Concorde. Pretty cool. I'll include the link on Sunday.
Appropo of nothing, the above photo is from a streetlight on the Champs Elysees. Enjoy.
Thanks for documenting your progress! I had the same surgery 5 weeks ago and it's good to know it's normal to feel paranoid about it & to know I can get back to physical activity soon!
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