Ouch!

It was time to arise for my daily workout with my roommate – friend – workout partner – he really is a friend first and foremost. I got out of bed quickly and dressed – tapped on my roommate’s bed and amazingly he responds by groggily making himself get out of bed. He then - half asleep – walks down the hall to the bathroom with his eyes half-opened and half-closed. It is quite a comical sight to say the least. He manages to drag himself outside and usually greets everyone with a “good morning.” Also depending on the song playing on the radio, he sometimes is inclined to “bust a move” which again is quite comical. This morning’s workout was concentrating on the chest area and is one of my favorite workouts. I so look forward to these as they are most times the highlight of my day. Today was no exception and I was progressing through the workout. The fourth group of exercises we do are decline bench presses with dumbbells. I was moving along nicely, but somewhere in the middle of my third set as I was pressing the dumbbells forward, I felt a searing pain in my upper back which caused me to immediately let go of the rather heavy dumbbells and proclaim, “OUCH!” I remained lying on the bench with the very sharp pain in my upper back. Another person working out at the same time witnessed this and immediately told me get up while he would help me. Fortunately, my roommate has a level head and took control of the situation. He told me to stay down until I was ready to get up. I took a minute to collect myself and with the help of my roommate and the other person, I got up from the bench.

The pain in my back was as if someone severely pinched the area around my left shoulder blade. It is not a debilitating injury because I have full range of motion in that area. It just feels very sore. I stretched out after getting off the bench and my roommate told me I was done for the day. I reluctantly took his advice and went inside to ice down the area which felt very good and the pain slowly subsided. I felt much better after the hot shower and was even considering running. I quickly talked myself out of this because with 24 days remaining, the last thing I need is an injury which would cause me to be moved back to Jamestown. I am paroling from here on February 27th so missing a run or more runs is okay. I have a tendency of getting caught up in my exercise routine a little too much. I have been very fortunate to have had minimal injuries. I have thrown my lower back out twice and had a problem with my knee. All of those problems were temporary and rest was part of the remedy. The positive aspect is that whatever happened (pinched nerve, muscle or tendon) it has happened on the upper part of my back as opposed to the lower part. There is discomfort but at least I can move around. I’m sure my roommate will monitor my progress as he has unequivocally told me I will not be working out tomorrow. He is correct and now more than ever my body is telling me to rest. It won’t be easy but I will listen.


A Surprise Visit

I iced down my back followed by a hot shower and for a moment any discomfort vanished. I was entertaining the idea of a power walk, but some discomfort reappeared and I thought I would just take it easy all day. I went over to the library and selected two books; one by John Grisham THE LAST JUROR and the other by Brad Metzler ZERO GAME. I have read many Grisham books but somehow I missed this one. The first few chapters moved along slowly so I stopped reading and began writing. AS I was writing I heard my name announced over the loudspeaker informing me I had a visit. I wasn’t expecting one so I wasn’t “visit ready”. I dressed warmly and headed down to the visiting area. As I walked down, I noticed my good friend’s car resting in the parking area. This is the same good friend who attempted to come two weeks ago but got derailed by tire issues. In his letter, he stated that he would attempt to comeback and apparently today was the day.

The visiting area was quite crowded and the only table open was one without a fire pit. The skies were overcast and the temperature in the 40’s. The concrete picnic table accentuated the cold and my good friend who probably has thinner blood than I do pulled his hooded sweatshirt over his head which was underneath another jacket. We were both cold but I was warmed by the conversation. He once again brought the special submarine sandwiches from my favorite sandwich shop in Las Vegas. We spent the next 2 ½ hours talking. We were able to crowd in on an on-going fire pit for further warmth. He is truly an incredible friend because he made the 500 mile round trip voyage all today. He departed his house early this morning and returned after our wonderful visit. We even made some tentative plans for a golf outing soon after my release with a few of our other buddies. It will be interesting to pick up a golf club after an almost two year hiatus. Golf is supposedly a game of muscle memory and I wonder if my muscles suffer from memory loss! Yes, it was a great visit and I continue to be blessed with so many incredible people.

On a side note when we crowded in on the fire pit, we struck up a conversation with a fellow inmate who filled me in on “tax issues.” My friend and I were talking about my particular tax problems and this inmate overheard. Thankfully, he gave me some sage advice and any concerns I may have had have been eliminated. It is funny how life moves along and how solutions to issues are everywhere. It was a great day!


Telephone Call

After the visit I called my wife and after a brief disconnect, we were able to talk. My wife had recently received a long-term temporary job which will help to alleviate some of her financial concerns. We spoke about her coming out to pick me up on my release date and how our daughter’s first cheering competition is three days after my release. My wife was facing a slight dilemma because she wanted to stay out here with me for a few days after but also wanted to be in NJ for the cheering competition. This was not a dilemma to me because by all means my wife should return to NJ so she could attend the competition. Ideally I would love to surprise my daughter by also attending the competition. I don’t know if this is possible because I need permission to travel. This is why I asked my wife to call my parole officer to see if I could indeed travel back to NJ to be with our children. Hopefully, my wife calls this week and if all goes well I would be flying back with my wife. I also spoke with my son who was very excited about the Super Bowl and will be watching it with his uncles who are very big NY Giants fans. I didn’t speak with my daughter who was at cheering practice.