Still in PDX

Post "swim" bliss last Sunday. It's been six weeks since my rotator cuff injury (more on that below) and my recovery is going well. Still not cold swimming but got the go ahead to try some light breaststroke and freestyle in the pool. For now, I'm pretty happy floating on my back in the Columbia. Water temp going between 36-38 f. So, not staying in as long as I would like, especially since I'm not moving much, but pretty happy none the less. It hurts to not be in my final fieldwork/clinical for my OTD, but everything happens for a reason. Maybe there's a bigger purpose to the timing of my injury. Don't fret though! I'm still planning to swim another 24.5 mile Lower Willamette this summer, this time jumping through all the hoops for MSF. I've done a few swims in the pool using fins to push me through the water and, as best I can, passively moving my arm through the catch phase. It's really hard. I am constantly catching myslef (ba da bum!) pulling when I don't mean to. I swam 1500 yards this morning and a few hours later my shoulder is a little sore, but hard to tell if its sore because the muscles don't get worked out or because the underlying structures are injured. Ugh. (Update: later that night, terrible pain that lasted for several days, but not in the locations that sent me to PT in the first place. Grrr.)

This week has been terrible. My furry hot water bottle (Dixie-Mae) isn't doing so hot. She's got left ventricular heart failure and it's getting worse. As much as I wish I was at Mayo Clinic in my rotation, I'm glad I'm here to care for her and make her comfortable. She struggles to breathe and sometimes doesn't eat for days. On another note, I received word about my final clinical placement and I'll be here in Portland doing Home Health through a major hospital system. Yay! Excited to be able to stay close to home and complete my education. Well, that's all I can really say right now. Not feeling the best and writing about swimming (especially when I'm not swimming) is painful. I'll make it through this recovery and be back and posting more by late spring as I prep for another Lower Willamette swim. Since I got back in town there have been a lot of great swims/dips. Most memorable (and day of the accident) is the Daylight Solstice Relay swim that I organized for the Oregon cold water community. While it was a blast to see so many folks get chilly, the day is bitter-sweet in my memory since it was during cleanup that I injured my shoulder.

We've had a few spectacular sunrises as well with the Brought Beach Yetis.

I even made it to the coast for some cold water and crabs (the tasty kind!)