Let's start with good news. Word has spread that I'm available during the day to cover classes so I've been busy teaching at my regular clubs. I also contacted a bunch of other health clubs in the area and got positive responses from many of them - I've already been contacted to cover classes, which will hopefully build up to keep me busy with 2-3 classes a day. Enough to earn a decent basic wage...
I've also decided to develop further in the fitness profession by qualifying as a personal trainer. Taking an intensive course means I should be qualified by September, although most of the work will need to be done in the next two months. This will hopefully allow me to work not just as a personal trainer in a gym (a good steady wage) but also to train in the way I think is unbeatable - no fancy machines, weights sessions, etc. Just good old-fashioned hard work using basic principles - shuttle runs, rope skipping, medicine balls, benches, running, exercise that use nothing but gravity (press-ups, etc.) to increase conditioning... oh, and cycling, of course!!
Now for the bad news - on Thursday, I was on my way to a class I'd agreed to cover and riding my moped on a clear, dry day. While riding along on a main road, a car pulled out from a side turning right in front of me, leaving me with only two options: brake sharply and skid into the back of the car or dodge to the right and overtake (the opposite lane was empty, fortunately). At this point the woman driving decided to make a sharp right turn in front of me without looking, indicating only as she made her turn. It's difficult to describe how it feels in a split second to realise I had nowhere to go at this point, that a collision was inevitable, realise my best option was to avoid going over the car by sliding into it sideways, then feeling the jarring as my shoulder took the brunt of the impact, landing on the ground in agony.
I managed to stay conscious throughout - unfortunately - and have to give credit to the bystanders, the police and ambulance crew for getting there so quickly. I managed to thank all those involved, despite the pain... and thank scientists for inventing anaesthetic - it made the unimaginable pain more bearable, although I did feel like everything was happening in a distant dimension! On Thursday night I was so drugged up on morphine that I got fed up of the noise in the ward and went into the toilets, where I promptly fell asleep in a chair for four hours - I was found by the nurses at 6am after they searched for me, fearing I was wandering around the hospital like a zombie!
Anyway, diagnosis was a fractured scapula (shoulder blade) and thumb, as well as the usual cuts and bruises. I was determined to be discharged the next day - I had a Spinning weekend workshop to attend! - so I refused the pain killers and spent most of my day working on my mobility. The risk was that I might need surgery but I could not spend another night/day in that bed without getting cabin fever. The surgeon finally saw me and was impressed that I managed to regain about 40% mobility in my arm/shoulder, so he discharged me in time to get a decent night's rest before going to the workshop the following day. I also got rid of the thumb splint, so I could use it despite the fracture. Funny thing is that the shoulder is not the source of my main problem - it's the muscles in my arm cramping up whenever I try to engage them. It means I can ride a spinning bike one-handed but not be able to tie my shoe-laces!
So, an eventful few weeks. Luckily, I only have one class tomorrow evening and another two on Tuesday before heading off for a week's holiday in France. No cycling, unfortunately, but it'll do me good. When I come back I'll be ready to head off to the Schwinn Revolution event - a weekend of spinning classes, in my case two rides on Friday, eight on Saturday and five on Sunday. I'm not going to let a measly fractured shoulder stop me from riding!
Oh, the best part is that the surgeon wants to see me the week after to check on my progress... wait till I tell him what I've been up to! Hehehehehehe
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