I have less than four days left with my cast

The crash happened on January 25, and the cast comes off next Tuesday, March 27, in the morning at 8:30 AM. I am counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds with the help of this T-Zero iPhone application. I recommend it to all who need to keep the end in sight. It's helped me.

An inspirational video of recovery from TED that puts my torn ligament in perspective

I've been hampered lately by a torn ligament, which has slowed down my job search, blogging, and life in general. It's easy to start feeling sorry for yourself in a situation like this. But then you see videos like this talk by Ramona Pierson at Ted on her accident and recovery. It's a story of amazing recovery in an assisted living center. The funniest part for me was the men teaching her vocabulary with cussword scrabble and to talk like a sailor. The rest of the story is just inspirational; it makes my issues appear as large as a speck of dust. And I appreciate the well-told stories of people like this. They have overcome incredible adversity with the help of a supportive community to inspire others.
And it certainly inspired me.

I have a new cast! Life improves!

Life is getting better; I needed some good news. I blogged about my period of silence and would like to proclaim that it is nearing its end. I visited my surgeon this morning and now have my third cast in place as he dials back on the immobilization. I now have relative freedom. Here is the story of the three casts

1. The first cast was large, reaching almost to my elbow and completely immobilizing the thumb. It also covered, in hard plaster, the palm of my hand, which curtailed most activity.
2. The second cast went all the way to the elbow but gave up being more freedom in hand so that I could do simple movements and a bit of hunt-and-peck typing. There was still plaster on the palm, but not as much as #1.
3. Today's cast is awesome. It is 2.5 inches shorter on the elbow end and the Palm, while still covered, is just wrapped in cotton and the elastic bandage; I have freedom to move everything but the thumb; But even having the tip of the thumb accessible is a treat.

It is now easier for me to write, so I'm starting with this blog. It is the first one that has been easy to write since surgery 3 weeks and four days ago. Look for more to come soon. The cast is due to be removed in two weeks but could be removed on the 22nd if I have the need to travel. I can't wait. [I did load an application called T-Zero for the iphone that tells me the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds until my next doctor appt. to remove the cast. The diminishing count helps.]

I did get the bad news that I should not be on a road or mountain bike for two months. Spinning and other indoor exercise looks more appealing than it did before the accident. But I will be out on both road and mountain bikes, experiencing the outdoors, once I am fully healed.