Editorial – January 2025: Matter Over Mind.

Hello everyone.

With illnesses or injuries, I adapt to its needs, believing that while my mind is busy, the body can heal itself.

However, on the 7th of December, I had an argument with a stubborn outside door that refused to shut. It’s happened before, but this time, the slamming broke the door handle off in my hand, and I went flying. Initially, nausea, but I could get up and recover, but it became apparent that I’d nudged a muscle in my right side and some strain on my right lower arm, making it hard to rotate. I know enough biology from art that I’d messed up the radial tendon in my right lower arm. Looking at the bruises here, it spread out, but it’s not an everyday occurrence, but you do depend on rotating your arms for all manner of things, even as mundane as holding a spoon or fork.

I helped my brother change the door the next day, mostly holding the screws, provided I didn’t use my right arm and shock set in the day after. The bruises on my arm surfaced on the third day, primarily due to a strained right radial tendon and limited rotation. This is the end of the fifth week, as I type here, and I still have limitations that I’ve adapted to getting by with. At least I can type for increasingly longer periods, although I pay for it later unless I rest my arm.

According to Googling, such an injury lasts from 2–3 weeks, hopefully not as long as 6 months. Living alone does present significant limitations. Laying down flat was out of the question, so sleep at night was in the chair with a blanket. Changing upper clothes was out of the question because I needed to rotate my right arm. Even if I was successful, how would I dress again? I did a little typing just to give the arm a little exercise but only in moderation, relying more on my left hand. You just adapt to the limitations.

All of you who’ve had any injury know how the body acts as a whole. Sometimes, it’s the littlest piece of the body that causes the most problems. Given the expected resilience of tendons, I must have suffered some strain. The old door is ready for dismantling.

Some good came out of it. I watched and reviewed a lot of old films, even a lot of books. I also spent a significant amount of time reflecting on these experiences. I finally figured out what was causing the problem with my TV and the DVD recorders, as you can see from the article posted online today. There’s a separate article about it just in case Google decides to spread the information, especially as it works.

Although it won’t help with closing a door, I do know now how to open a stubborn one with a piece of plastic.

I’ve also become rather proficient at using my left hand with a spoon and manipulating things with my right elbow. I learnt many exercises to improve my left shoulder, and they continue to be effective.

Lessons learnt. Despite having to quarter-drain a large lemonade bottle before I could pour from it, I learnt a valuable lesson. When clenched, it also gave out a measured amount of liquid in a glass.

Getting a coat on is practically impossible, let alone getting it off. Using some creative thinking, I managed to secure a poncho. If I used my left hand, I could get that over my head; supporting it with my right was agony. It felt like a giant scarf but, before the temperature dropped, allowed some walking outside.

You adjust to the problem and test your limits daily. Anything became a therapy for mind and body. To play Fortnite after a couple of weeks, albeit briefly, was seen as an achievement to use the other tendons. Fortunately, the radial tendon isn’t used much in moving a mouse if working from the elbow, and I saw it as therapy. It’s likely more beneficial than my previous experience with a left shoulder injury, where a 6-month sling on my left arm didn’t significantly improve my tendons, especially given my current limited mobility. The lessons from that have helped a lot. I know what exercises to do and rest my arm. Doing things first thing in the morning is better than later in the day. Always have a long ruler to scratch with and a grabber for picking things up off the floor; even closing the curtains is an asset. Applying lateral thinking is a way of life. It makes it easier to work with my diabetes and agoraphobia, especially as I can’t take painkillers because of side effects.

Optimistically, things could be a lot worse. Fortunately, I managed to avoid any injuries.

Thank you, take care, have a wonderful night, and sorry for letting loose on my woes, but I have been productive.

Geoff Willmetts

editor: www.SFCrowsnest.info

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