Taking A "Break"

[bigskygirl]

Great news, glad to hear it!!

[Leon Peoples]

Man, that is a rough way to take a "break", hoping you heal fast.
Best/joe

[allenhopkins]

Update: second surgery and post-op finished, now in physical therapy. Doing my first gig in two-plus months tomorrow, playing just a tiny bit on my Strad-O-Lin, seniors' concert with my "klezmer lite" trio. Can't play anything yet with a wide or long neck –– not even a Little Martin six-string -- but mandolin and a Gold Tone "travel banjo" are usable, as are concertina and harmonica. Main issue is the tendons controlling the fingers, which are gonna need a lotta stretching after two month in casts and splints.

Shooting for the first of the year to get back into performing; we'll see. Three physical therapy rehab sessions a week, three exercise sessions a day, heat before and ice afterwards. Have a li'l Velcro-ed splint to wear whenever I'm outside or doing anything strenuous (like raking leaves, which I did for several hours today).

Need to start car shopping, for sure...

[Jim]

Glad to hear you are playing again!

[Richard Singleton]

Glad to see the good news at the end of the thread! Hadn't checked the forum in awhile so only just discovered the news of your accident. Best Wishes!

[allenhopkins]

Progress report: month of physical therapy, two or three sessions per week -- wrist flexion machine, exercise, finger strengthening (putty squeezing, spring-loaded exercise devices, glove with weights attached to fingers), heat and icing. Marked improvement, though still significant tightness in the finger-controlling tendons. Only wear a brace/splint when walking outdoors, due to the wintry conditions and the chance of slipping; run through at-home exercise routine three times a day. Honda Element 2006 replaced with Honda Element 2010. Two or three gigs this month, all on mandolin, banjo, ukulele and concertina, since left hand wasn't ready for the bigger guitar neck yet.

Diving back into performance next month, six gigs booked for January, seven for February, mostly seniors' facilities where the pressure's low. Playing about 30-45 minutes daily on a variety of instruments, but mostly guitar because that challenges the hand a bit more. The three-month hiatus has been a weird experience, my usual busy buzzing-around schedule replaced by lots of cable TV, but not a bad respite, in its way.

Kudos to the orthopedic doc, the physical therapists -- and to Joan, for putting up with me. Kids and grandkids coming for the holidays, 70th birthday on Dec. 31, then back to playing.

[jim simpson]

Nice to hear that you are back in action, young man! Nice to hear that you got to replace your Element with a newer one.

[lorrainehornig]

It's been 3 months since your accident...how are you doing? Have you healed? I hope all is going well.

[lorrainehornig]

Duh...I somehow missed your post...sorry! I'm glad you're on the mend!

[MaggieMae]

Allen, although I am new here, I am glad to see your positive update. Physical therapy can be so effective. I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas, and I hope your upcoming gigs go well!

[mandroid]

Heard the weather was getting nasty out east,
sounds like you got a bit of the newtonian mass in motion problem

glad you survived . try to drive like an old man in the future,

[Bill Lemerise]

Good to discover you are back in action.