wellness – Sink or Swim

It seems like a long time ago when I was walking Bear, our sweet Golden Retriever. He was provoked by a neighborhood dog who was being walked by an older woman pushing a baby stroller. Bear had had enough of this dog’s aggression and constant barking and decided to lunge toward it, taking me with him. This happened just 20 yards from the house, naturally. It was kind of like that last ski run of the day.

I went down onto the street, and fractured my wrist in 2 places. I’m told that a “FOOSH” – an acronym for Fall On Out Stretched Hand – is likely the most common injury at the Emergency Room. Lucky me.

Eek, pretty graphic, isn’t it?

Five days later, I had wrist surgery and am now the proud owner of a plate and some screws in my wrist – which fortunately does not affect airport security.

“Nurse Bear” made sure I recovered!

The day before this happened, I had a good swim and between sets, I thought about entering some Masters meets while the season was still young.

Be careful what you wish for!

I focused on recovery which included a lot – a lot -of physical therapy. Four times a day I gripped, twisted and turned my wrist back into shape all while the Physical Therapist “helped” bend my wrist back into shape. Ouch.

No pain, no gain has been my modus operandi.

When I finally got the green light to go back in the water (the incision had to be completely healed), I remained hesitant and told myself I’d go back in the pool when both I – and my “Frankenwrist” – felt like it was right. My group of swim friends have been part of my support system, and I missed them terribly. One of them had been competing and doing quite well. I’m a participant, not a spectator, so to think of her competing – and not me – well, I was admittedly jealous!

But into the pool I went, and for the most part it seemed like old times…except for being terribly out of shape, and rather nervous about touching the wall with my left hand. Actually, my biggest fear was sharing a lane with anyone – even my friends. The thought of two wrists colliding while passing one another terrified me, but it’s just one of those unfortunate “things” that can happen if you choose to share a lane.

Fast forward – about 6 months later…and kind of ready to swim!

Since the Empire State Senior Games happened the same day as the 60th Anniversary of the Oswego State Swimming & Diving program, I chose to attend the latter, especially since we are all blessed to have our college swim coach around – she lives in Oswego during the summer and was eager to see everyone. It turned out to be the largest group of Alumni in Oswego that weekend – 60+ strong, and all so glad to be back.

Oswego’s finest swimmers and divers!

One of the Oswego Swim Alumni came up with a fun challenge to swim 100-yard Freestyle and use your age as a handicap. Initially, I was not going to swim at the planned “Alumni Splash Party,” but decided that it could be a unique opportunity to have my coach watch me swim at Laker Hall Pool once again. So…in I dove – and yes, from the starting block – swimming against a woman who swam in the 1990s. I had a fairly decent time for someone who had not been swimming consistently in 6 months. They say it takes 3 months to get in shape – and 3 DAYS to get out of shape – and I’m likely the Poster Child for that!

Kirsten and me…swimming the 100 Free!

What was most exciting memory – more than seeing former teammates and coaches – was being able to see clearly in the pool! Eighties Rewind Time – I wore large, ugly glasses throughout college, and while some thought they were “stylish” back in the day – sorry, that’s a big NO. Even with goggles on, navigating through the water was still pretty fuzzy. Sometimes I would even miss the wall while doing flip turns during practice. Luckily, I had both of my eyes “done” – with lens replacement surgery – due to shingles in my right optic nerve several years ago. My blindness in the pool was gone for the first time everrrrrrr – and to see every tiny white tile and the crystal-clear stripe on the bottom – and “T” at each end – brought me nothing but sheer joy.

Coach Grace had a wonderful time watching me swim and reuniting with women from 3 decades, while also meeting the future of the swim program.

We are grateful for Coach Grace! (she is 4th from Left)

There is a new sign in the kitchen window sill – “Begin each day with a grateful heart” – and I sure am grateful for having the opportunity to have a new and hopefully improved wrist, the ability to still swim and someday compete again, and especially making new friends and keeping the old, like the saying goes.

Time to wrist, oops, I mean rest – from writing! 😉

NOTE: This story was edited and then published in the 2025 January/February edition of SWIMMER Magazine, the US Masters Magazine for us old swimmers who still love the whole competition side of things! For more information, go to usms.org

Studies have always suggested that you’ll remember your dreams if you have a sound sleep and are not disturbed when waking up.

One begs to differ – did you ever have a dream or nightmare that jolts you awake? And yet, you remember it in full detail?

Dreams have always fascinated me, and although one of my resolutions was to write them down before I forget, I’ve not made that happen quite yet.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Luckily, due to an occasional evening dose of Extra Strength Tylenol to ease the pain in my post-surgical wrist, I’ve been remembering many of my dreams.

The dream that was a real doozy was both wishful, comical and scary all at once. Let’s preface it by sharing that I’ve had many restrictions from physical activity due to both the incision and being a fall risk, so naturally, my inner child wants to do nothing other than swim.

It went something like this:

Once Upon a Dream, I “snuck” to the pool, changed, looked around, walked onto the pool deck, took a good whiff of the chlorinated air, quietly slipped into Lane 3, and began swimming…in fact, I was swimming pretty well.

Yup…definitely a dream at this time

In reality – my current swimming stroke would be described as Mastery of Doggie Paddle in a Beginner I Class.

But it wasn’t. There I was, loving every second of being back in the water. Churning through my typical workout, there was not a care in the world until I stopped, and rather abruptly.

There he was. All 280 pounds of him. Standing in the shallow end of the lane. He looked like Mr. Clean in a wetsuit, and even donning the hoop earring. I panicked – because I knew that he was none other than…wait for it…….

THE SWIM BOUNCER!

Now, if you recall those days when you and your friends would hit the campus or downtown bars and nightclubs at 10:00 p.m. (which is now when I go to bed), you would see guys like this standing at the door, ready to “greet” you. They presented themselves in a very intimidating manner, although they probably had hearts of gold hidden beneath their large physiques.

You all remember this guy!

I chose not to “greet” him. I knew I was toast, and soggy toast at that. Looking to the side of the pool for an escape route, I saw my Physical Therapy team standing on the pool deck, ordering The Swim Bouncer to bounce me out of Lane 3.

Rather than letting this guy try and grab me, I looked to my past lifeguarding experiences and got away. Studying and practicing The American Red Cross Water Safety section on “defensive measures while avoiding an aggressor” really paid off.

By some miracle, I butterflied to the deep end (that’s definitely a dream) and pulled myself up on the deck, next to a starting block. But it was too late. The PT Team had me surrounded and The Swim Bouncer was slogging his way toward the deep end.

With no other option, I climbed onto the starting block, took my mark, got set, and dove over The Swim Bouncer – just like that naughty kid who escaped from the lifeguard simply because she wanted to swim during Adult Swim (who WAS that kid?!).

My dive into the water shocked me awake!

I was sad because I wanted to go back to sleep and finish out this silly dream. And I couldn’t help but wonder if the escape was a success, or if The Swim Bouncer and PT Team corralled me and got me in handcuffs – or at the very least the wrist brace I’m expected to wear.

The “new normal” for the forseeable future

How would you finish this dream? Do your dreams have an ending or resolution?

Dreams are one of those great mysteries that someday, our scientific community may find an answer to, or maybe just some good theories in the meantime.

For now, I’ll just keep dreaming – and perhaps I’ll encounter The Swim Bouncer in my next dream.

Tag: wellness

FOOSH! aka (W)rist, Recover, Re-boot, Reunite!

Dream On!