7 Weeks Today

Today, Feb. 23,  marks the end of seven weeks following my knee surgery.  Things are still going well.  I still have pains and soreness here and there.  Inflammation and swelling are still with me somewhat, but all of that is expected.  Late yesterday, I took a 7 iron out onto the fairway behind our house and hit one of those soft, ‘almost golf balls’ for about half an hour.  The ball won’t go more than 30 or 40 yards, but you still get the feel for hitting a ball.  It’s not like I play a lot of golf, but my brother does and perhaps I’ll get into it more when I grow up.

The thing of it is is (what movie / tv show is that line from?  I can’t remember, but I love it) I haven’t really walked very far for several years.  Something about that bone-on-bone thing in my left knee just wasn’t much fun after about 10 yards.  I know, I’m a wimp, but, I just couldn’t do it.  So, yesterday was the first time I walked substantially in a long time. (Well, I actually did walk a good bit last Sunday at the Water Station #18 for the Marathon, but I don’t know how far.)  I just kept hitting the ball, walking to it and hitting again.  At the bottom of the hill, I would turn around and go back up.  Nothing to write home about in terms of golf shots, but, it was good to know my knee didn’t undo itself in the rotation of the swing.  Dr. Mark at TPTS of Austin wants me to use my short irons at first so I’ll graduate to longer later.  He doesn’t know that I have no nuance in my swing … all or nothing, swing for the fences.  Maybe he does know that and knows that a driver would generate enough torque to turn my knee inside out if I haven’t strengthened all the muscles in the knee area.  Thanks, Mark.

So, I was exhausted after my outing, yesterday, but this morning, I’m ready to go again about six. I walk out onto the greenbelt about 6:30 and this is what I see.  It’s not the greatest photo, because the contrast between skyline and below is too intense. I used an App on my iPhone which is supposed to take multiple exposures, merge them together and this is the result. You need a tripod to do this well.  Or at least, I do.  I was into walking more than photoing, so, I take the shot, do the merge and walk on.  Oops!  Just in front of me, about 150 yards I spot a skunk coming out of the woods crossing the field.  Great, just what I need.  I bet he’s the guy who’s been smelling up the neighborhood some evenings.  I give him plenty of clearance, let him get through the fairway and then go on with my walk.  I managed to traverse the length of the 18th hole twice, which would be at least half a mile, I think, just to be conservative.   It is very good to be walking again.

Today is the second day of praying for our cities from “Seek God for the City.”  We join our voices with many others asking our Great God to break through our pride and complacency.  If you don’t know, there’s an app for your smart phone if you want to join in with us.

Thanks to all for the prayers and support.  Walking on to recovery.