THR staffsknot story so far

[sharonslp]

Alan, you were one of the "oldtimers" when I first got here, and I remember you being filled with good wisdom...I don't remember impatience at all. Of course I might have been too busy being impatient myself at that point.

At any rate, I think your gold medal is a triumph, and well-deserved. No one else showed up? You win for a lot of categories: perseverance; attitude; attendance....among others.

Sharon

 

[Jamie]

Alan, how great to hear from you and to find that you're still swimming!!! And in the WINTER, no less! Now, I beg to differ with you because I think that takes a very, very special person to attempt such a thing. I'm so pleased to hear about the gold medal. It doesn't matter about who else was or wasn't entered in your competition.....the fact that YOU were there really made a statement to the other attendees and spectators. I am in awe of your ability to do this and live to tell about it!!! Bravo!!!

 

[Poppet]

Alan, how great to get an update from you.. I have never forgotten, our conversation of the 'sand between the toes'

What an achievement, I am so impressed, you give me hope and the will to do the same when I retire to our beach house - well done you

 

[Z15]

Alan,

You deserve every bit of that Gold Medal....I dare say you would not find me braving those conditions or anything even close.

I impressed by your "Moxie"!

Be well,

Z

 

[welshjane]

Alan, what a wise man you are! Crazy (swimming in that cold water????) but very wise. You always talk such good sense, and so eloquently. Congratulations on the goldish medal, and well-deserved. Who else aged between 70 and 80 would brave those conditions? So what if you were first in a class of one? You deserved a medal just for taking part! Thank you for being an inspiration to us all.

Jane

 

[Anniepops]

Oh wow Alan, you are special. I am amazed by your swimming prowess and think it is fantastic that you are doing something you truly enjoy. Brilliant stuff

Lovely to hear from you

Take care

Ann

 

[staffsknot]

Hallo, Folks,

Thank you for all your good wishes and congatulations about the cold water swimming. It is getting more popular in UK now, but at the Great Chill Swim at Windermere in February, the Russians and Latvians certainly showed us how to do it. Anybody interested could follow www.chillswim.com and go to the results section. Towards the end, there is an event called "Ice Mile Swimmers". One of the 3 out of 4 to complete a mile in 5C water was Jackie Cobell. I can't call myself special when there are people like Jackie around. She holds the world record for non stop swimming, 28 hours in the English Channel in 2010. She had a lot of make up on the day in question, saying lots of lippy helped stop her face from cracking. She is 58 and as mad as they come. Great!

So you see, there is nothing special about me. But I feel special and that's all that matters. Make yourself feel special even if your current target is getting to the corner shop and back on one stick.

All the best to you, Alan

 

[sissy46]

I just read through this entire thread with my morning coffee. What a treat! Thank you, Alan.

 

[staffsknot]

Hallo, fellow recoverers. It's almost three years now since THR on the right. The left is starting to make grumbles but I'm hoping it may be quite a time before I have to take a break from active life to have it sorted out. Then I will be back on here doing more than my fair share of weeping and wailing. I would gnash my teeth as well, only I haven't all that many left so will be saving them for something more gnashworthy.

The only problem left over from the operation and its aftermath is now a stiffness and soreness around the site, focussed on the tissues that were most heavily mangled at the time. But I do have to say that I give them hell, so I can't and don't complain. Since my adventures swimming in the ice and snow of last winter, I have entered for the same event at Windermere again. In the summer I was in a 1500 metre race in Semer Water in Yorkshire, UK. Out or 30 finishers, I was 25th, with a time of 39 minutes 30 seconds, so I needed a lot of holding down that day. On a gentler note, I have been busy swimming what we hope will be the whole length of the River Trent, from near Stafford, as far as Nottingham, up to now. I haven't done all the stages, but have completed almost 40 miles, the longest stage being about 5 miles. This is downstream, but it still seems an awful long way.

My generation tends to regard Facebook as an evil creation, but it can be beneficial, if handled correctly. It has brought me in contact with a bunch of lovely eccentric people and I love what we are doing together. If you are a Facebook user and would like to see some detail about what we have been doing, visit a Group page called "Alan White Poems and Scribbles", open up the files and look at any whose titles contain the word "Trent".

I, like many of you, not too long ago spent half and hour planning a visit to the toilet or rest room, and then nearly as much time putting the plan into practice, with much moaning and groaning, so I am here to tell you that it can and will get better. Just keep moving forward in baby steps and you will amaze yourself.

All the very best to you, Alan

 

[Poppet]

Hi there Alan, I remember you well.. Lovely to hear from you..

Great achievements with your swimming, I remember your tale of the ice cold water...

 

[Butterfly]

staffsknot Upon your recommendation, perhaps I might try Facebook. Since I am a "lovely eccentric" person" I would probably fit right in!

 

[staffsknot]

It seems a long time, over 4 years, since I went through all this. A friend is just undergoing the same experience and wanted some moral support so a wrote her this little rhyme, which she said made her laugh. So just on the offchance that anybody else out there has a sense of humour that roughly coincides with mine, here it is:

HIP HOP
I feel I've been put through an old fashioned mangle.
My muscular leg can now only dangle.
I'm not expecting a trouble free cure all,
What they did under cover of that epidural.
Take it easy my nurses and visitors say.
What other choice? on my rear end all day?
I'm surely not going to get any slimmer
With the moves I can do on that unyielding Zimmer.
Let's describe all the pitiful steps I can take
When from buttock to foot I unbearably ache.
The physio says come, let's move you around,
But I say my foot won't come up off the ground.
Move your frame and put your bad leg in front,
Clenched teeth, teary eyes and an agonized grunt.
My bad leg still seems to be nailed to the floor.
I'm in total despair; I can't take any more.
Then I rise on my toes, swing my crippled leg out.
At last, at long last, I'm moving about.
But just when I feel there's a faint ray of hope,
Yet more instructions, don't think I can cope.
At least I can eat all the food they can send
But nothing comes out at the opposite end.
Without drugs I'm in pain, I'm not very well;
But drugs give me gastro-intestinal hell.
My legs have swelled to hilarious size
While vice like talons are gripping my thighs.
Will it be worth it? I really don't know.
But one thing's for certain: I'll give it a go.

I did give it a go, and now, at the age of 72, my legs, though by no means perfect, have carried me for another year or so of outdoor swimming. I have made dozens of new sporting acquaintances and lots of strange and wonderful adventures have happened. So it's thanks to all the Bonesmarters who helped me along the way, especially Josephine, who told me to try doing all my activities or otherwise why had I bothered to have the operation? Thanks to the bone mender and all nursing staff, without who my life would have consisted of sitting in a chair just surviving.

I went back to Windermere on the last day of January this year and swam in three cold water events, winning two more gold medals for first over seventy in 30 metres breast stroke and 60 metres freestyle. the water was at 5C. The 3rd event was a relay where our team came nearly last, dressed as Darth Vaders. Don't ask!

Good luck to all of you wherever you are in your cycle of being mended. I hope you take some comfort from my story. It is possible to take up a physical life again.

Go for it.

Best Wishes to All, Alan

 

[Dmcfad2]

What a wonderful story and poem. Thank you!

 

[Josephine]

Well, I never! I wondered who was bumping old threads and here you are!
Good to see you again and to hear you are doing so well!