Ron Sylvester
My stepdaughter lived near this subway stop in Harlem and when I went to visit her I was so excited that she’d “Take the A Train” every day. I’d grown up with this song. My father had just about the entire Duke Ellington collection and used to receive Christmas cards from the Duke after an interview they’d done many years earlier. I cut “Take the A Train” on a CD for her, along with other songs from Ellington and Gershwin and others that make up the classic soundtrack of New York City. This New York Times story about the celebration of Ellington’s birth brought back so many memories.
6 months ago • 0 notesRehab of the knee more than taking 12 steps
I have been back home from the hospital a week and a day, and total knee replacement has turned out to be a painful process, although all reports say it will be worth it. The first week meant trying to do the simple leg raises and bends that Julie, my physical therapist, assigned me. Finishing them without throwing up was the major accomplishment. Bitching about the ordeal online caused confusion. At least one of my Twitter friends missed the reference to my knee and thought I meant substance abuse rehab. ‘Hi, I’m Ron, and I’ve had my knee sawed off …’ I struggled to try and bend my new titanium knee to 90 degrees, which is some benchmark standard towards recovery. It has been since I was 15 and rehabbing from the first knee surgery, which would bring the total replacement 35 years later. Foolishly, I thought I had reached this the day I returned from the hospital after some painful bending. Even if I had, by the next day, I was back to 62 degrees with swelling and throbbing pain. By Friday, I had worked it to an incredible 70 degrees if someone pulled it back until it felt like it was about to break. Progress went better on straightening, which Julie said I must do in order not to walk like Igor, Frankestein’s assistant, the rest of my life. I went from 6 degrees to 2. I justified progress as 50 percent improvement each time. I remembered what I had endured when I was 15 years old. The standard of care at that time was to slice a knee wide open, put the patient in a cast for six weeks, then have to break adhesions in the leg to avoid stiffness. My mom used to put me on my stomach and pull back my leg until we heard pops and crackles and she could no longer listen to her youngest son screaming in a pillow. We also used to sit on the side of a table tie a weight to my ankle and drop my leg. Last weekend, I took a turn for the better. I began being able to sit up for long periods without feeling like I was going to pass out. I spent long periods in a rocking chair, using that to help push my knee a little further with each rock. And I did sit on the side of a table and let my leg drop. Gaye, my wife, partner and best friend, acted like a cheerleader, applauding each curl and bend. Earlier in the week, she said she always figured if she would be tending to a husband using a walker and drinking protein shakes, she would have expected him to at least be rich. No such luck. But her encouragement was worth a fortune to me the past couple of days. This morning, Julie measured my weekend progress: 82 degrees bending and 0 degrees straightening. We both smiled. I wanted to celebrate. I may have an extra protein shake.
6 months ago • 1 noteThis looks great (and I still eat fish). Via JoyceSchneider (@JoyceSchneider1 on Twitter)
7 months ago • 0 notes
My wife's dream of malpractice
My wife had a dream last night that my upcoming knee replacement surgery went terribly wrong and I became disabled. She went to the bank to cash my disability check but found herself having to answer questions about what she was doing by Barney, Goober, Floyd the Barber and other people from Mayberry RFD.
7 months ago • 0 notesMarch Madness ending reminds me of this memory as a sportswriter
OH from college basketball game (true story): Coach: I’ve been in this conference 10 years and I’ve never seen a call that bad.” Ref: ”I’ve been in this conference 12 years, and I’ve never seen anyone try to take that many steps.”
7 months ago • 0 notesI’m skeptical about this, but if this works it my conquer my last bit of bastion of resistance to giving up meat.
7 months ago • 0 notes