Well I seem to have been very much behind the scenes this week. Baz got stuck into organising the ‘final five’ jobs before our shakedown cruise – a lot of them being completed by others. I did assist with the compressor as it is simply too heavy for one person to haul out of the cockpit lazarette. This turned into a bit of a botch up when the wrong oil was poured into the wrong section, but all was fixed after waiting over an hour for the oil to drain out! You can read all about this and the other jobs in Barry’s blog #75 – The Final Five, so I won’t duplicate the details here.
So apart from filming some of the work, what was I doing?
More Mermaid's Treasures
I was making more Mermaid’s Treasures – pendant jewellery, because once we start sailing, I probably won’t get too much time to make more for a while. If you’d like to check out what I’ve been creating out of shells, pearls and semi-precious stones, all held together with sterling silver wire and lots of love, check out the Mermaid’s Treasure Store. Do let me know which one you like best.
Finally fixing my arm
You may have noticed in the last couple of videos that I’ve been wearing a black sling on my right arm. Well, do you remember way back in September when we were in Kefalonia? I tripped on an uneven pavement and fell straight down onto my hand with my arm outstretched, and broke my wrist. The wrist has healed and I have pretty much 100% flexibility again. But I’ve had problems with my right shoulder.
At first I thought the reason I couldn’t lift my arm up was because it was stiff from being in one place for so long. So I found a lady (Esin) in Kaş who does Thai massage with Reiki and began seeing her regularly. I think her fingers have x-ray ‘vision’ because she managed to open up my right hand that was all bunched up after being in the soft bandage for so long and she also helped my arm, so that I got a lot more movement with it. I’d highly recommend her if you’re in Kaş. You can contact her via the Lukka hotel where she works in summer.
After a few sessions Esin suggested I go to a doctor to get an x-ray as my shoulder really wasn’t healing and I didn’t have strength when I tried to push in certain directions. So on a recommendation from a friend I went to see Dr Munise Ozan who suggested an x-ray for my wrist and an MRI scan on my shoulder. She actually took me to the hospital and waited with me while I saw the hospital doctor, and arranged for me to have the x-ray and scan. I was so glad about that because I think I would have been lost with my very limited Turkish. I’m okay if I want to order a coffee; I’m great with “good morning”, “thank you”, “very tasty”, and “goodbye” but other than that, it’s all Greek to me, if you know what I mean.
Amazing treatment
Dr Munise also arranged for the taxi driver to collect me later that afternoon for the MRI scan, to walk me down to the MRI area, wait for me and take me back home when the scan was over. I was very impressed with her help, and also grateful to the taxi driver. By the way Dr Munise didn’t charge me for her time with me at the hospital. Amazing hey?
Once I had the results I visited Dr Munise again and after waiting a short while in her surgery with two kittens sleeping on my lap, she took me into her treatment room (which is very nicely decorated with an arrangement of potted plants, gentle mantra music playing and has a lovely relaxed atmosphere). We both looked at the results (on discs which she viewed on her laptop). She was happy with how my wrist was doing although suggested there may be some calcification that is preventing full upwards movement. When she analysed the MRI scan and after a phone call with the MRI specialist at the hospital, she told me that I have a torn rotator cuff. We both discounted cortisone injections (for obvious reasons). Instead she recommended 5 days of Ibuprofen and gave me two lots of homeopathic tissue salts (1 and 8) and also a proper sling, telling me that the very best way to heal my shoulder is to rest it.
“No lifting, no carrying and try to rest it as much as possible.”
Well, I thought, that’s going to be interesting on the boat.
As it turns out, while I am resistant to resting and wearing the sling, I think I’m finding a good balance where I do my chores, but rest my arm the other times. I am also rubbing Lemongrass essential oil into the shoulder and that also seems to be helping a lot.
I am finding that I sleep better at night now that it isn’t aching all the time, and I do feel that I have a bit less pain when I move the arm in certain positions. Obviously I’m trying not to move it in the positions that definitely aren’t good for it!
I’ve also noticed how much I favour my right hand, even though I’m left-handed. For instance, I tend to carry things in my right hand so my left hand is free to do fine motor stuff. Of course, that’s something I’m having to re-learn.
It does seem though, that I’ve finally found the best solution for my shoulder, although I can’t thank Esin enough for her initial treatments, and recommending that I see a doctor.
Have you had an injury that has taken a long time to heal? Do let me know in the comments below, and what you found helped to heal it the most.
