Troy had a very rough 2013 swim season. It all began with tendonitis where his bicep tendon attaches at the shoulder. 4 months of physical therapy helped and he was able to have one good swim meet to end the season. After some time off during the summer, all seemed to be going well. Until October 17th that is.
He called me from the pool in agony and couldn't lift his left arm. He had felt something pop as he was swimming backstroke. Back to the doctor and after an MRI and a referral to a doctor at the University of Washington (one of the Seahawks team docs even and a great doctor!), Troy was diagnosed with scapular dyskinesias. It basically means that his shoulder blades hyper extend and they caused a deep ligament pull inside the joint. More physical therapy and time off didn't seem to help though, and after 2 months Troy was still in a lot of pain, couldn't lift his arm very high, or carry anything.
Our dear friend, Milt Thomas, referred us to a doctor in Phoenix who also specializes in acupuncture. Kent had given Troy a couple of blessings already and had felt strongly prompted to say that he would heal completely and resume the activities that he loved. We felt like we should follow Milt's advice and that maybe the Lord was guiding us to a solution for Troy's pain.
He called me from the pool in agony and couldn't lift his left arm. He had felt something pop as he was swimming backstroke. Back to the doctor and after an MRI and a referral to a doctor at the University of Washington (one of the Seahawks team docs even and a great doctor!), Troy was diagnosed with scapular dyskinesias. It basically means that his shoulder blades hyper extend and they caused a deep ligament pull inside the joint. More physical therapy and time off didn't seem to help though, and after 2 months Troy was still in a lot of pain, couldn't lift his arm very high, or carry anything.
Our dear friend, Milt Thomas, referred us to a doctor in Phoenix who also specializes in acupuncture. Kent had given Troy a couple of blessings already and had felt strongly prompted to say that he would heal completely and resume the activities that he loved. We felt like we should follow Milt's advice and that maybe the Lord was guiding us to a solution for Troy's pain.
That's all it took! 24 hours after the first visit, there was a huge reduction in his pain level. He could stretch his arm up and I even asked him to carry a big box to see how he handled it. We went back for the second visit and the doctor expanded the treatment area as you can see above. He told us that we didn't need to come back unless Troy experienced trouble again. That was 5 weeks ago!
Two days after this appointment, Troy was in the pool having a test run with a new swim team. The kids were very welcoming and the coach immediately understood when we told him about Troy's biomechanics. He said there were lots of things he could do to adjust Troy's strokes to minimize future problems. We really felt good about the coach and the team, and so did Troy. Only one problem...
They are called the Arizona Swimming Gauchos. I'm having a particularly difficult time with Troy being on a team named after some pants I wore back in the 70s. Petty, I know.
Two days after this appointment, Troy was in the pool having a test run with a new swim team. The kids were very welcoming and the coach immediately understood when we told him about Troy's biomechanics. He said there were lots of things he could do to adjust Troy's strokes to minimize future problems. We really felt good about the coach and the team, and so did Troy. Only one problem...
They are called the Arizona Swimming Gauchos. I'm having a particularly difficult time with Troy being on a team named after some pants I wore back in the 70s. Petty, I know.
Seriously, though, his coach Charlie Cunningham is a legend here in Phoenix and coached many a fast swimmer. Regardless of the name, it is going extremely well so far and Troy competed in his first meet in 8 long months this weekend. Just 2 events, though. Can't really throw him into the deep end after only swimming for about a month! His best race was the 100 fly and he even took 2 seconds off and broke the one minute barrier, going 58.64 seconds!
Click here for the video!
How grateful we are that prayers have been answered and Troy is healthy again! He has learned a lot and we are proud of his perseverance during this long and difficult trial. We are so excited to see what he will accomplish in the pool this year!
Click here for the video!
How grateful we are that prayers have been answered and Troy is healthy again! He has learned a lot and we are proud of his perseverance during this long and difficult trial. We are so excited to see what he will accomplish in the pool this year!