Rachel Manke plays the ukulele
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The Injury Blog, part 1

7/25/2018

5 Comments

 
The deal:  For over a year now I have been dealing with a crippling injury that has affected my playing and my everyday life.  It's drained me mentally and financially.  Thankfully, I am very much on the mend and on the road to being "normal" again.  A dear ukulele colleague suggested that I share my experience with injury and rehab in a blog so that others might relate or gain knowledge from my experience.  What follows is the story, in installments.


I woke up one morning, a year ago around Valentine's day.  I'd woken up with a sore neck before.  It's why I'd bought myself a memory foam cervical pillow.  Which seemed to help for years.  This time felt different.  My neck hurt.  And it didn't sort itself out after a day of stretching and standing.  I couldn't catch a minute of relief.  So odd.  And so, I bought my first tube of Ben Gay.  It helped, I could relax.

A month later, I woke up and my thumbs were sore.  Both of them.  Odd, I thought.  Why were my thumbs sore? What did I do?

Fast forward to Memorial Day that same year...I was in Maine for a ukulele festival.  My neck was sore again.  I woke up the morning that I was flying to Bangor, and my left forefinger and thumb were a bit numb.  Odd, I thought.  Late that night, after being so wonderfully welcomed by the crew of the ukulele club running the festival, I was in the guest room of my host.  And as I lay down, I couldn't feel my ear lobe.  I had numbness in odd places stemming from the left side of my neck. I could not sleep, I could not get comfortable, I was scared.

I dozed, off and on, wrapped in a blanket on the couch in the guest room.  I was terrified.  I had to play and teach the next day and my hand...was not working right.

I persevered.  I told my host and his gal friend about my issue.  They offered ointments, rubs and beer.  I tried to relax...work through my set and figure out what I could do in case...I couldn't play.  My Smeck pieces were shelved.  My singing, my jokes; I'd have to rely on that.  It seemed to me that I was dealing with a pinched nerve.  So I shared that in the workshops.  I wanted people to know why I might not be my best.  Someone kindly said, if that's you with a pinched nerve, I'm impressed.  

I got through my set.  We had a great time.  We are our own greatest critic, are we not?  This concert proved the value of entertainment and connecting with a crowd....but things were not okay.

There was an osteopath in the crowd who took a look at my neck and my shoulder and could see that things were not okay.  She suggested that I go to the co-op and buy a tube of "ahh-ni-kah".  Being Maine, I asked her to spell that, "arnica", a homeopathic pain reliever.  We'll get back to that later.

At any rate.  Kind people, shared ointments, an Epsom salt bath, and a flight home later:  I felt, as I had many times before, the kindness and love of the ukulele world.  I also felt, like I had a major problem brewing.  And I had a full summer of ukulele commitments.  

In my next installment of this story, I go and visit my primary doctor.
5 Comments
Terry Turner
7/26/2018 03:47:26 am

Thanks for sharing; I’ve always enjoyed your workshops & music.

Reply
Steven Strauss link
7/26/2018 05:25:53 am

I was not prepared to learn about this. Kudos to your poker face. I'm rooting for you.

Reply
Narciso Lobo link
7/26/2018 06:18:48 am

So glad you are on the upswing, girl!

Reply
John Carey
7/26/2018 07:12:30 am

Rachel : thank you for sharing your story - I am interested in so many way: first ; just caring about you as a person. Then in not any particular order: the Role/power of community in healing; intersection of aging bodies and new possibilities; healthy ukulele playing; And of course supporting my favorite group of people: ELCA Female Ordained Clergy Playing Ukuleles (EFOCPU!)

Reply
Beth O'Leary
7/27/2018 05:41:25 am

I'm glad you are doing this. I'm so thankful you are on the other side of this!

Reply



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    Rachel Manke

    When I have concerts, workshops or other appearances I'll post it here!

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