Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Gear Review - GearRuk chest harness

http://atmosphereadventuregear.com/




I first saw this chest harness in The Sportsman's Guide. I've been wanting some sort of chest harness for a while now--and this one is a steal of a deal at $36 for the non-member price. I can wear this one with my Glock 21 when I go out to check the game camera at the far corner of my property and not get tangled up in the brush if I were to have it on my hip. I've got the game camera smack-dab in the middle of coyote country. They are becoming less scared of people and we have heard that the neighbors have seen cougar in the area as well. And to top that off--we now have a wolf pack moving south into our area. Those are something I really don't want to tangle with.

The great thing is the universal aspect of it. If your holster has a belt loop, you're good to go. Remove the screws, take off the holster you don't want on there, and then put on the one you do. I can switch from the Glock to the Taurus .44 holster in about two minutes tops. I'm going to give it a try mountain biking with my Glock 26 under a light fleece jacket. I doubt it will print at all.

These pictures are from the factory website. I will try to take some the next time I'm out checking my game camera. I've had the pleasure of talking to the owner of the company through Facebook (you can follow them) and he is a very nice guy. Check it out. For the price I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Post-Surgery Update! Don't stop doing PT!!

Sorry for the long break between posts.

I will try to do better.

My shoulder surgery went fine. The surgeon said that the only thing holding my shoulder in place was my bicep tendon. He was actually surprised that I could use my right arm at all.

They give you a cool DVD to watch of your surgery and I waited a few weeks before I watched it. It was amazing. At first I thought I was watching an underwater video on the Discovery Channel. I could see lush beds of kelp and fish swimming by. Then I realized the kelp was shredded cartilage and the fish were just debris that shouldn't be there. Woosh! In come the tools! They started mowing the kelp and vacuuming it up. Then came in files and polishers to work on the bones. Then the drills came in and put in nine titanium bolts that had pre-attached Dacron thread on them. He then started pulling things into position and sewing it all together.

Amazing stuff, I have to say.

The healing process was long. They didn't want me doing anything with my right arm for five weeks other than squeezing a rubber ball to keep circulation going. Eventually I came out of the arm sling and then was able to start doing small things like empty-handed curls. It was almost three months later that he let me start going to physical therapy.

I have an awesome physical therapist. She is a walking encyclopedia of the human body. She got the movement back into my shoulder and then started to build up the strength. I saw her for almost three months. Got signed off from her to my primary care doc and I was free!

Then I quit doing my exercises.

Then the issues started up about six months ago.

I type for a living. (Exciting stuff, I know.) I have bad posture, and I do bad repetitive movements all day long. I went to grab the mouse with my right hand (like always) and my shoulder made a noise that sounded like an old door closing in a horror movie. I kid you not. There was no real pain involved, but it freaked me out.

So...back to the doctor I went. X-rays and examinations later they determined that I have arthritis and need to go back to PT.

Long story short...if a physical therapist tells you to do your exercises....do them. Don't stop.

I'm back in PT, with the same doc, and I have a new set of exercises that I can do every day...for the rest of my life.