On Tuesday I toddled off in the biting cold sleet for the operation on my arm. After a brief wait, the same cheerful surgeon came in to prep me beforehand. He drew on my arm with his ballpoint, marking the amount that would be removed. It was about twice more than I expected. I feebly tried to bargain with him, but his reply “You don’t want to come back, do you” ended the discussion. Then he escorted me to the theatre, where I got comfortable on the operating table while they attached a padded tray for my arm. Then the anaesthetic was injected, and there was a short wait for it to take effect. It’s possible the wait wasn’t long enough, for when they commenced, and this is where it was different from last time, for it hurt. As the surgeon had said, “let me know if it’s painful”, I did. Then there was another jab in my arm to inject more anaesthetic. After that, they started again, and there was no sensation, apart from the stitches, which were less painful than the anaesthetic injections. As before I kept my eyes shut – some things I don’t need to see – and after the stitches I could feel the surgeon stretching and manipulating the skin around the incision. I had no idea what he was doing. All was revealed a few days later when I took the bandage off. He’d been pulling the edges together in order to tape it shut.
A Good Reason to Stay In
Thankfully, getting another piece out of my arm hasn’t slowed me down. But the weather has been either raining, sleeting or cold, so I haven’t been out much. On Wednesday morning I drove through snow to a bell practice in Thurso. By evening, after a day of blizzardy showers and temperatures near freezing, I decided it was too inclement to drive back to Thurso for orchestra rehearsal. While a rehearsal would have been better, I practiced at home instead. For the past week, I’ve been practicing nearly twice a day, and it has helped a lot. The fingering is better and the notes more secure.
Sunday afternoon
The first concert of two was Saturday afternoon in Wick. There was a short practice in the morning, to quickly run through any tricky bits and get used to the sound of the room. I was glad of this, as there were a few bars that I had to play on my own. All the practice, both at home and at orchestra rehearsals, paid off, as I wasn’t overwrought when the time came. It wasn’t great – not by any means – but it wasn’t a disaster. We get to do it all again on Wednesday night in Thurso.
Snow
Remember last week when I said the chart for the sleeve band didn’t need to be changed? What was I thinking? I either misremembered or misinterpreted what I’d been told, because when the band on the second sleeve was finished, it did not mirror the first. So I ripped it out and knit it again – it was only 11 rows. The sleeve is about halfway complete now, and as always it’ll get quicker as the sleeve narrows.
Angel’s Wing
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!
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