Dear Diary:
I didn’t tell you but two weeks after spending 11 weeks on the pickleball sidelines with a left ankle injury I was sidelined once more, this time with a right shoulder injury (no pictorial evidence this time).
When it happened I thought it was a minor setback. I could fully raise my arm in front and back. But an hour later I could move it barely an inch from my side. Pain was constant. Sleeping was difficult as I could find no position that did not produce sleep-inhibiting discomfort.
By luck, I secured an appointment the next day with an orthopedic shoulder specialist. Originally I could not see him for a week but when I called back an hour later to say I could come in if a cancellation occurred I was told one had just opened up for later that day.
What I theorized was a reaction to too many poorly performed backhands was, after diagnosis and x-ray, calcific tendinitis of the shoulder and a possible pinched nerve. I got a shot of cortisone and a prescription for physical therapy.
Often, cortisone immediately resolves the pain as it shrinks the inflammation. Not so for me. I sent an email to the doctor the following day, only to get an automated response that he would be out of the office for four days. His assistant later replied that sometimes the cortisone takes a few days to take effect.
So it did. By my two week followup appointment the shot and PT had my shoulder back to normal. And the doctor said my backhand form had nothing to do with my injury.
He cleared me for playing, gingerly at first. I played last Thursday. No pain, before, during and after.
Friends—non players—keep telling me to forsake the game. At 77 I am one step or one swing away from another setback (I’d rather not say “injury”), they reason. Of course, they have a point, but no one ever described me as “reasonable.”
So on most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons you will find me on Lifetime’s pickleball courts. Your prayers are appreciated.
