By Alan Ashley
Lisa has documented her recent medical issues with a detached retina. She runs this one-person news website with the help of a few contributing writers and photographers covering Chelsea.
She has been improving with the goal to give the Chelsea Fair in August its usual great coverage. But “Team Chelsea Update” might be in need of an athletic trainer because Lisa hasn’t been the only one on the injured list.
You may have noticed there has been a lack of photo coverage since the beginning of the year. I have been dealing with my own injury since late January. I fell walking into my full-time job, hitting a patch of ice, legs in the air, and landed on my right shoulder. Once I gathered my senses (never hit my head), I had severe pain in my shoulder. I couldn’t move my arm without pain and had difficulty with strength.
There was a MRI was scheduled and I actually grabbed a camera a few days later to shoot a CHS hockey game. I left after the second period because I couldn’t hold the camera to take photos.
The MRI would show I suffered one full tear and two partial tears. Your rotator cuff consists of a group of 4 muscles/tendons and I had damage to 3 of the 4. So, in March, I ended up going under the knife and had surgery to repair the tears.
Ironically, the day I had surgery was also the same day I celebrated 30 years at the USPS as a letter carrier (Ann Arbor).
I would spend the next 6 weeks in a sling to allow the shoulder to heal. I am now partly bulletproof (LOL) because they used Kevlar sutures to close the tears.
After the sling was removed, physical therapy began. First day is doing some small movements to see what your range of motion is. There isn’t much strength due to the atrophy from being in a sling for 6 weeks. It’s the same as if you broke a bone and was in a cast, you need to wake your muscles around the injury.
Eventually, the exercises are increased in frequency and weight. According to my orthopedic surgeon, recovery from a rotator cuff surgery takes time. On average, it will take 6 months to feel around 80% and 12 months before you feel 100%.
After my physical therapy sessions, I have made pretty good progress. My range of motion is about 90%, enough I can signal touchdown now. I still need to work on the strength and endurance of the shoulder, though.
As part of my home therapy, I was given the green light to carry a camera. First time I went to “shake off the rust” was a couple weeks ago when I took photos at Sounds and Sights. Only took one camera because I’m not ready to go into “full blown photographer” mode like you would normally see at a football game (two cameras and various lenses/equipment).
Like Lisa, my goal is to be ready to cover the Chelsea Fair and then football.
Earlier, I mentioned that the day I had my rotator cuff surgery was also my 30th anniversary working for USPS. I will be retiring in October, which will allow new opportunities for me and not being locked into work schedules and overtime.
I have been a freelance photographer for 35 years, my first year was photographing Barry Sanders his rookie year with the Detroit Lions. I have been contributing to Chelsea Update for 9 or 10 years. Over my photography career, most of my images taken were sports, a majority being football, basketball, and hockey. Now that I will be retired soon, I will have the opportunity to photograph some sports that I have never or seldom shot before, like tennis, field hockey, or other sports that have 4 pm start times that I couldn’t make.
So while “Team Chelsea Update” continues rehab from their injuries, you can expect to see more photos and coverage of the various events and news that happen around the amazing city of Chelsea in the near future.
