And so, it begins.....

One Armed Sabattical? What is that? Well, let me begin by quickly catching up those of you who may be asking that question. On June 8, I'm going to have surgery to fix a torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder, along with some other problems there. A few weeks ago, to my surprise, the doc let me know that I will have to keep the arm in a sling for six weeks (I was planning on a few days) during which there is no driving or use of that arm. So, that also means no work as I use the computer extensively and have to keep my right arm steady. I'll be taking my first medical leave in almost 36 years of employment.

Loretta gave me the idea of keeping a blog to document this momentous occassion. My good pal and guitar playing buddy Marty came up with the name "One Armed Sabbatical" for my time off of work, hence the name of the blog. There, now you are all up to date.

Since it's my right shoulder, which is my dominant arm, I have been practicing random everyday acts with my left arm. Last week I tried brushing my teeth left handed and made such a frigging mess on the mirror that I went out today and bought a power toothbrush. Along with the toothbrush, I had to pick up some Glad "Press and Seal" which goes over the surgery incision sites when I shower. You know I am looking forward to that.

Today I cut the grass and tried pushing the mower with one hand. Hopefully there is some kid in the neighborhood who needs a part time job for six weeks.

I found a video of the procedure on YouTube but only made it part way through before I almost passed out. If you want to watch, click the video below and tell me how it ends. Or maybe I'm better off not knowing.