Sunday, January 13, 2019 (Court Day #240)
I got to Derby Park about 10 minutes before opening and got to work with my site coordinator duties of setting up. Visor Tom (Tom B.) had walked up just before me and helped.
Chris, Wayne, visor Tom B., Di warm up for their first game. Early arrivers.
It wasn’t long before I was in a game—playing left-handed. Boy. My serves are horrible left-handed, those will take some work. Still, it was great to get back on a court after a 12-day absence.
I was in a game with Janet as my partner against Ted B. and Christine. Janet said she loved my attitude when I missed my serve. I found it hysterical each time my serve went wild. To be honest, I appreciated Janet’s understanding and patience! The game was fairly balanced even with me only getting in about half a dozen serves in during a back and forth game that finally finished with a 17–15 loss for us. My lefty game is tolerable overall, most of the shots I can hit fine—including some winners—but they are countered by my inability to get my serves in!
My next game was with Gary (who’s about 80) against Brian and a woman I don’t know. At Stuart’s prompting, as site coordinator, I’d announced “play to 9, win by 1”—it was a busy morning—and it was merciful since Gary and I were put to rest 9-0!
Some On-Court PT Probing
John P.’s wife Diane—a retired physical therapist—poked around my arm evaluating my tennis elbow. She suggested ice and massaging the muscle as well as doing some exercises when the pain starts subsiding. That may be a while. She also suggested maybe going to a PT for treatment. (Diane is retired after all.)
My third and last game of the day was the four of us again but me paired with the woman against Gary and Brian. After one winner that I hit, Gary said, “You aren’t supposed to be able to hit those!” But outright winners were the exception for my shots. This game was more evenly matched, though I think I was still on the losing side. The score didn’t stick in my mind.
Colleen happened to ask how I was. I told her about my tennis elbow and she said hers went away quickly. Though when I described my symptoms, she realized that my condition was much worse than hers had been: “Mine only hurt when I played.” I told her that it developed after the tournament that we’d played together in November when we’d won the silver medal. “It was my fault!” “Nah, it was my fault. And it was still worth it!”
My wife and I would be leaving town at 11 a.m. to visit her mom, so I was in my car heading home early by 10:30. I left John P. in charge.
My biggest short term concern—aside from getting better—is developing my lefty serve. It’s the glaring weak spot in my game for the time being.
Friday, January 18, 2019 (No Play)
Boy. It feels like forever. I played last Sunday, but it feels like two weeks easy. I’ve played only twice this year—twice in 18 days. That’s the least I’ve played since I took up the sport.
The good news is two-fold. One, the pain is changing. It feels different. It’s hard to finger down exactly, but it’s better. Two, I shook someone’s hand two days ago and I didn’t nearly collapse in pain. As a matter of fact, it didn’t hurt at all. Woah. That’s a big change. Extending out my arm straight still hurts. The tip of the forearm bone at the elbow is still tender. Splaying out my fingers still hurts. But it is definitely getting better. As my doctor said, it’s slow going.
Number of days on a court: 240
Number of total hours: 661
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