Rehab / Fun House / Bye-bye ’25
Hey divers. It’s been a while since I laid my thoughts to pen and paper… Excuse my flashback; thumbs to screen. Mostly because on the last day of Jessi and I’s epic 3500 mile, 2 week road trip, I blew my left shoulder out. That was October 5th. Your first question is of course, how? I slipped on wet, sloping ground and fell hard on it while playing the rigorous, physically demanding game of frisbee golf. Being on ground that isn’t flat throws my balance off! After living with a torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder for 5 years prior to having it repaired in 2022, I consulted an orthopedic surgeon promptly for my left. Turns out there’s a rather new shoulder replacement surgery that has a much higher success rate, less down time and a faster rehab than the traditional reattachment of the muscles. Doctor said he could do it in 3 weeks. That all sounded good, especially considering the prospect that come 2026, my health insurance and cost to have the procedure done could (will) cost exponentially more.
So on December 3rd I had inverted shoulder replacement surgery done. The ball and socket joint in our shoulders is really amazing. It’s also suspect to breakdowns. Dr. Mansini screwed a prosthetic ’ball’ into my shoulder and placed a short rod on top of it to create the socket. I had my first two physical therapy sessions last week and so far all is well, I think. My ability to raise my arm forward and up is severely restricted. I’m just starting rehab and I need to be patient. More healing and learning what my arm can and can’t do moving forward is where I’m at. Speaking of learning, I’ve learned that I don’t bounce back up like I use to, so I NEED TO STOP FALLING!!
As a kid I loved going into fun houses at fairs and amusement parks. All those crazy lopsided, leaning, distorted rooms to pass through. I think the wacky curved mirror room was my fav. Looking into those mirrors and seeing a twisted, surreal reality in their reflection was fun. It was fun because you knew you were going to navigate through those rooms and walk through a door back into normal reality. Is it just me or does real life seem to be resembling a fun house lately? Reality seems to be warping. Up is down, black is white. If you don’t think and feel like I do then you’re my enemy. Climate change is a myth. This is our best economy ever and affordability has never been so affordable. Ummmm, where’s the exit door?
I can hear, I can see, I can feel and I can reason. I don’t need people to tell me how it really is. It’s my reality! At this point in time we (humans) are failing. That’s my perceived reality and many of you disagree. That’s fine and we don’t have to think less of one another because of it. Am I being negative? No, that would be saying we’re doomed to fail. I’m a hardcore realist but I haven’t relinquished that sliver of hope inside of me. It’s just dormant right now.
The earth is our mother. Our wellbeing is directly related to her health. To me, collectively as a species, everything we choose and ultimately do must be based on the simplest elemental principle: does this choice and action benefit earth and nature? Every human depends on a healthy sustainable earth. It’s simple to me but abstract or inconvenient to most. I don’t think less of others that don’t see it that way. I wish they did but were all human and thus victims. We’re victims of flawed thinking and reasoning bestowed upon us over generations of family, cultural and national beliefs (often based in fear). Prejudice isn’t hereditary, it’s learned. Learned through prejudicial parents who were taught by prejudicial parents. We’re all victims of vicious cycles, the question is to what degree and can we find the inspiration and courage to confront and overcome our flawed belief systems? We are all victims. We are all brothers. We are all sisters. We all have the same mother. Our Mother needs us to start acting accordingly.
Alrighty then, I should probably write more frequently and not let all that stuff build up. I try to be thankful and positive but 2025 sucked for the most part. I started it with my jaw wired shut and I’m ending it rehabbing my broken shoulder. The daunting prospect of moving the shop has hung over us most of the year. Thankfully the diving was good locally and we got a tropical weather reprieve. Business was off though. International tourism was sad. We had 3 guys from Sweden dive with us over the summer and that’s it. Zero Canadian divers. There would be no highs without lows though and I’m excited about 2026! Thankfully, we’re past the winter solstice. There’s something about the days growing longer that gives me a sense of peace inside.
Scuba Marco will have a new home in February. There’s an awesome new dive site off Marco waiting to be explored and mapped out. I’m thankful for all of my brothers and sisters reading this. I’m grateful for all the patrons and friends that have enabled me to live out my dream of having a dive shop for nearly 28 years. They say to dream big, but I chose to dream deep.
Wishing us all peaceful and fulfilling holidays. Let’s all get our fix in 2026!!
Until then, Live Love Dive —Jeff
0 comments