Experiment in Pain
by
, June 29th, 2012 at 04:15 PM (3889 Views)
The incredibly kind Anna Lea Matysek sent me this yesterday in response to my Facebook status, which read:
After suffering a tear-inducing back spasm yesterday morning--four days before the Spire Institute swimming meet--and still suffering greatly from sciatica, pelvic girdle nerve pains, and agony in the lumbar regions--I have decided to try an experiment: I am not babying myself. I am Marquis de Sade-ing myself instead in the hopes this counterintuitive fix will allow me to swim this weekend. In the meantime, if any of my Facebook friends are secret heroin addicts with access to an abundant supply of the elixir AND a clean hypodermic needle, would you consider letting me know how much it would cost to get a little juice in the right spot?
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...pagewanted=all
Inspired by both Dr. Weinstein and my swimming coach/friend Bill White, who was swimming butterfly two weeks after a severe Grade 3 shoulder separation, I have decided to meet my fate somewhere near the shores of Lake Erie.
I shall keep you posted, perchance answering the question posed in this self-portrait by early next week.
The one thought that keeps me going is that if I somehow manage to paralyze myself while diving off the blocks, then at least the pain will go away.
--A fellow traveler for all the assorted USMS back pain sufferers, Jimmy.
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