I feel good...I knew that I would

Fast forward to August 29, 2009.

At the beginning of June I could only walk about three blocks before I had to turn around because I was too tired. I wasn’t able to do the grocery shopping because it was too much for me. I wasn’t doing any yoga, I couldn’t get down on the floor without the help of a couch. I was afraid of trying a downward dog, I didn’t think my arms could hold me up and that I would land on my face.

Today, three months later, I did 40 minutes of yoga and rode my bike 12 miles. That’s the farthest I’ve gone since sometime last fall. Now I wish I had kept track of my progress, my first bike ride last June was 6 miles and my lungs were sore for two days afterwards. I started walking more, because I was bound and determined to take my niece to the Renaissance Festival, and that meant walking all day. So I began walking every day, first six blocks, then ten, increasing by two blocks until I got up to thirty minutes. Now I’m walking 30 minutes and increasing my speed, thereby increasing my distance. Now I can walk 1.4 miles in 30 minutes, it was six blocks in about fifteen minutes.

August 1 we went to Glenwood Springs, and we took our bikes. I rode eight miles the first day, ten the second. I really wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it. Granted, I did walk up some of those hills, but my body went ten miles. That was when I started to ride more often, trying to add more miles each time. Sometimes the hills really killed me, and these are tiny little increases in elevation that another person wouldn’t even call a hill. My lungs are still compromised, but I think I can breathe better every time I ride.

Back to my narrative...

In August of 2008 we scheduled studio time to record a new CD. This was going to be a CD of vintage and gypsy jazz, in the style of my violin hero, Stephane Grapelli. For those of you not familiar with his playing, he puts all other virtuosos to shame. I wasn’t going to TRY to play like him, but even so, I had big shoes to fill. Since these aches and pains were playing injuries I was certain I’d be over them by the time the recording session came along, so I didn’t think about it.

The recording session was in late October. By this time I was having trouble with muscle pain in my arms and legs, and stiffness in my hands and wrists. I told myself to just play within my limits and not to try to show off. I ended up playing licks that I normally don’t play, and I really like the end result because it’s not what I expect to hear myself play. I had to warm up a lot before recording, and take a lot of stretching breaks between takes, but I do think it came out well. I was apprehensive because I knew my hands weren’t doing all the things I wanted them to do, but my trusty producer (Tom) assured me that he couldn’t hear any decline in my playing. My best friend, Alyson, who has listened to me play for 26 years, also said I sounded great. I trusted both of these people to be honest with me. Tom and I made a pact years ago to keep the music a priority and not let criticism be personal, so I knew he wasn’t trying to spare my feelings.

At the beginning of November I knew I had a problem. I scheduled an appointment with the Denver Arthritis Clinic, but the earliest they could see me was December 28. Meanwhile, I had a bunch of Christmas gigs coming up. To make it a little more taxing, the economy was bad and not as many gigs were coming in as a typical Christmas season. I had several days with two gigs, and then a week without a gig. So I had to take the two gig days, and now I was wondering just how was I going to manage. I kind of manipulated the system by telling a podiatrist that I had seen a year earlier for an arthritic toe that it was acting up again, and could I please have some steroids? From my earlier experience with steroids, I knew that all the pain and inflammation in my body would go away for about three weeks. That was all I needed, just to get through Christmas.

So I went on my steroid high. I can see why those baseball players get in trouble. I didn’t get mean or aggressive, I got euphorically happy. Maybe that was just because the pain had gone away, and the stress of wondering how I was going to play a five hour gig had gone away with it.

I got through Christmas, and then it was time for my appointment at the Denver Arthritis Clinic. My appointment was with Dr. Tim Gensler. I had no idea if he was any good, but I was hoping that working for the clinic meant he had some sort of skill. It was a total crap shoot, luck of the draw, schedule me with the first doc that has an opening because I can’t wait any longer for an answer to my problem! Give me some drugs, please!

More later...