Downshift

I was entombed for a total of about 25 minutes. Earplugs were supposed to drown out the noise that was all around me. I was told at various points that I was breathing too deeply. Shallow breathing is not really my thing, but I had no option. Unless I wanted to repeat the process, I had to obey orders.

Finally completing the task, I emerged from the tunnel. I was told it would be about 15 minutes before the results of the MRI were read. I got dressed and waited. I soon was informed that the crash landing had caused a partial tear of my rotator cuff. I won't know until next week whether surgery is in my near future. In the meantime, life continues.

I have learned how to dress by putting my bad arm in my shirt first. In taking off my shirt, the good arm leads the maneuver. Rolling over in bed is out of the question. Other daily activities have also taken on unexpected difficulties. The worst of these is that we have 3 stick shift cars, and first and third gears are beyond my reach. I have thus had to call upon the good graces of Joanne to now increase her job description to include chauffeur. Well, at least until late this afternoon.

Richie and I were going a little stir crazy. Jo was out for the day at a museum. We wanted out of the apartment, and talked of making a little trip to Whole Foods, a few miles away. How to get there? Richie's bad back and legs had prevented him from doing driving except on rare occasions. My legs were fine but my right arm would not cooperate. Together, we were either a mess or perfect. We chose perfect as the logical combination.

As I got behind the wheel of the car, we discussed our strategy. "I will let you know when I have depressed the clutch. You can then shift gears, and let me know when you are engaged". It was so simply ingenious.

The trip back and forth went without issue. It was as though this 2 headed, 4 armed , 4 legged being was a well oiled machine. Precision was followed by more of the same. While I do think anyone peering into our car would have been more than mildly surprised to see the drill, that was not our concern. We were on a mission.

They say adversity can sometimes bring you closer. Clearly, for Richie and me, combining the best of each us brought both of us amusement and satisfaction. We try to make the best of the hand we are dealt. For today at least, we succeeded.