Reflections on recovery from injury(s), or “Why we need crew”
26 November 2018
Recovery takes longer than you think it will and longer than you remember it did but it can still be miraculously fast. Yes, I will remember that I was in the gym four weeks after my most recent accident - but I won’t remember that I was only doing light pedalling on a reclining bike. No, it will be memories of swinging weights around my head and one-armed planks.
Some milestones are reached like clockwork or determined by when you can get an appointment. But this implies step like progress. Load bearing at 6 weeks doesn’t suddenly mean full load, nor was 5 weeks and 6 days no load. As you progress to the next step, there is always a new additional next step; regaining range of movement, an increase in strength, pain reduction and sleeping through the night without pain relief. But none of these steps are as hard as getting back to normal life.
The first step to normality is moving from drug dependency, with withdrawal symptoms that, unless you are a drug user, will be a new experience to manage. The 3D hallucinations were fun for a while but the feeling of total helplessness that hits you hours after you have taken that last pain killer takes one to new lows. For me it was not depression but a complete sense of helplessness and ability or desire to get moving. But drug withdrawal, though more apparent is easy, or at least rapid, compared to the second step, moving away from dependency on others.
At first you are unable to do anything, at least if both arms are in slings. Then you find that you can manage your toothbrush, progressing to lifting or even filling a glass of water on your own, opening a door is suddenly possible. One day this will progress to being able to pick up the shopping or do the washing up (far in the future of course) but after weeks of having someone do it all for you, tasks that should be done go unnoticed and you become accustomed to waiting for anything and everything to happen.
It is not just that it is easy to continue in a solitary world, progressing through the day at the speed of those around you. Often you can’t complete a set of tasks without support for one part, even one small part of one of the tasks. So you wait for a convenient moment and then somehow you have not even done what could or should have been done.
It is a significant challenge to regain independence. So, whilst working on exercises to get back as much range of movement and soon strength is a top priority at this stage in my recovery, now is also the time to focus on doing it “all by myself” even if I have not quite reached that digital step in the formal process.
But first just where is that cup of tea 😊.
Reflecting on our situation we have concluded that to enjoy sailing in early 2019 we will need crew to support us. The difference between being able to lead a relatively normal life and the physical requirements of launching a dinghy, manhandling sails and outboard engines have been into stark contrast through this process. It will soon be possible to live on a boat and even manage at sea long before I will have the strength to manage everyday living at sea. So this is an invitation to anyone that is interested in crewing for us over the coming months.
"Crew Wanted
We are planning to re-join the Suzie Too Rally in January, starting from Curacao. We are a couple with extensive experience sailing in the Caribbean.
Following a cycling accident, we are looking for assistance with heavier boat work such as launching the dinghy and some sail work as well as boat maintenance. Ideally the crew would be able to take night watches but this is not essential.
The initial crew requirement is to assist us in sailing from Curacao to Columbia and then Panama (February)) but the right crew would be welcome to stay with us for the entire Rally to Belize. We can accommodate a single crew member or a couple in their own double cabin.
Our yacht, Tintamarre, is a Jeanneau SO 44i. She has been extensively overhauled and fitted out for ocean cruising.
The crew should expect to bear their own costs and be responsible for joining and leaving us and all costs associated with immigration in each country we visit. All boat costs, including marina and mooring fees, will be covered by ourselves."