I'm a very lucky and happy man

Mike, I've been following Barbara's posts about this on FB. I bet after surgery, the healing will speed up and you can concentrate on getting back up to speed. I can sympathize with having your dominant side being affected. We really never know how dependent we are of our dominant side/hand until it's taken away from us. Back in 1990 I broke my right elbow (shattered it, actually) after being thrown from a horse. And yes, I am right-handed. Couldn't open a can, had to scribble my name on checks, and all the stuff you are learning about. You will become quite proficient with your left hand In the meantime, I hope the pain isn't too bad. And most importantly, your injuries will heal.

Yikes, glad you are okay! Do everything you can to ride safe. If you get hit of course it impacts you and your family/friends, but also the driver. I had an employee, probably the best one I've ever had, who's whole life got turned upside down when he accidentally hit and killed a bicyclist. Happened on a major highway near Palm Springs, he was going 65 mph. He said the bicyclist drifted unexpectedly into his lane of travel and before he knew it he hit him. Wasn't found to be at fault, but in the meantime his vehicle got impounded, his cell phone confiscated, a warrant was issued but he was never arrested or charged. Because there was a warrant he lost his job. I don't think he ever had recovered financially or emotionally from the accident.

Of course, but there are so many reasons even beyond the obvious to be careful

Thanks! I'm taking time to heal (waiting for surgery now so I can begin recovery in earnest), but I can't take the "recovery is your full-time job" thing very far. In the three weeks after surgery I'm scheduled to (1) finish a radar-processing algorithm, process a bunch of Greenland GPR data, and then get a finalized manuscript out to my co-authors for publication, (2) Give a keynote "TED" style talk to kick off Science Fair Week at a local school and (3) Give an invited presentation at a major science conference in San Francisco, where I'll also have a bunch of meetings with colleagues to crystallize our 2016 Greenland field campaign.

Sigh. No rest for the wicked, as they say. I'll have to learn to work in a sling, for sure. But yes, I do need to pay religious homage to my PT routines in the meantime. A full recovery is a very important goal and doesn't happen accidentally. Thanks for the reminder there.

Oh my! I'm glad it wasn't any worse, but it certainly sounds bad enough. Heal fast!

Thanks guys. Latest updates here: bpbasecamp.freeforums.net/thread/1241/hey-mike

I'm a bit sore today. Yesterday Barbara was stressed at home and I was feeling bad laying on the couch. She was in charge of the baby, of the entire kitchen (meals + dishes), keeping the whole place clean (non-trivial with the 2-yo around) and of getting her own work done simultaneously, all while I'm playing a crossword on my phone on the couch. Feeling confident that my shoulder's been feeling progressively less painful, I loosened up the sling a bit and tried to help with dishes a couple times yesterday. She appreciated it.

T'was a bit premature. My shoulder was quite sore by the night's end and again this morning. Gotta take it easy. It's still pretty frustrating.

Tomorrow I see the surgeon again and will take the bandages off. After that I can (hopefully) take an honest shower. I hope it's a good prognosis with the surgeon.  We'll see.

- Mike