Bone Spurs
Happy Labor Day weekend! Summer’s heat has reasserted itself this past week.
Update on the personal health issue I wrote about four weeks ago (Back To Back Rehab):
My back is healthier than I feared, but the issue is likely to affect me for some time. An X-ray yielded a quick and definitive diagnosis: Calcification/Arthritis is forming on the right side of three of my vertebrae. As the bone of each vertebra grows toward each other, little hooks, or “bone spurs” have formed. They look like sharp, pointy things in the X-ray. It’s not hard to imagine that when the muscles fire along the right side of my back, these pointy things dig into those muscle fibers, triggering the spasms that I’ve been experiencing. Maybe that’s what’s happening, maybe not. But that’s how I’m picturing it.
This brings both welcome and disappointing news:
The Welcome: My back is otherwise healthy, and the muscle spasms that I have been experiencing only happen when I make a golf swing. Until proven otherwise, I can continue my general exercise routine without fear of rupturing a disc or something like that. So I’m getting after it in the gym. It seems unlikely to hurt and likely to help me forestall the negative effects of arthritis as I age.
The Disappointing: It is unlikely that I will be able to effectively swing the golf club very much for the foreseeable future. I’ll keep testing this, trying to crack the code on quieting the muscles. Thus far nothing has worked.
Reason for hope: The doctor tells me that the muscle spasms may disappear once the vertebrae fuse together (this is what the calcification is building toward). So, once this weird biological process is completed, my function may return to normal.
So, we’ll see. The physical issues are pretty minor. Much more significant are the questions this experience has surfaced.
What if golf is effectively over for me?
Would I re-learn the game as a left-handed player if that meant I could play pain-free?
If life has taught me anything thus far, it is to avoid spending time, energy, or focus on things outside my control, as much as possible. If I decide that my golf era is behind me, I intend to celebrate the good times, and look forward to reclaiming the future hours I would have spent on the golf course, redeploying them into something meaningful. I'd probably test the left-handed side of the game first, to see how quickly I could develop, before giving up on golf completely..
One of many things golf has taught me is to not dwell on the prior shot that turned out poorly. Let it go, refocus fully on the next shot. Maybe the game was getting me ready to leave it altogether.
Sunday Supper
Lori and I recently enjoyed a wonderful meal at PostBoy, in New Buffalo, Michigan. If you are ever in the neighborhood, we highly recommend dropping in! Some of this week’s recipes are inspired by things we enjoyed at PostBoy.
Japanese Sweet Potatoes w/ Tahini Crème Fraîche
Bean Salad w/ Charred Jalapeño-Lime Dressing
Sunday Music
John Legend Live at North Sea Jazz Festival
Nightmares on Wax Live at Royal Albert Hall
Charles Mingus w Eric Dolphy, Belgium, 1964
Enjoy!
If you know anyone who might like this essay, please share it with them.
Have a great week ahead! You can do anything you set your mind to. Let me know how I can help.
Peace & Love,