And you ask why would this be the lead? So, I have made the decision to go ahead and have shoulder surgery on October 4th. As a life long tennis player and active in other sports, I have suffered from the chronic injuries that many tennis players have. The shoulder has been a problem for well over 20 years and my ability to function at a high level (as if I ever did) has been curtailed because of the challenge within the shoulder. I have tried a number of interventions from many sessions of physical therapy, PRP (Platelet rich plasma) to month long rests. Nothing has worked. I switched up Sports Medical Doctors earlier this year and from my initial visit with Dr. Ryan Eardley, I sensed that he understood the challenge(s) and maybe I might be on the right path. I love our medical system but because it’s “free” it does have its problems- I assume you know what I mean because the long wait times can be annoying. The doctor scheduled an MRI and after I received the results, I was scheduled to meet the surgeon at Toronto Western Hospital.

I did a google search for Dr Timothy Leroux and lo and behold…..he is quite accomplished which included a fellowship in Chicago as a fellow team physician for the Chicago Bulls and White Sox. The wife came with me to the appointment as they tend to use a number of medical terms and since she is schooled in this language it made sense to do so. Anyways….he was very good. Thoughtful and didn’t beat around the bush. Here is some of what he told me….

It is likely that this is a superior labral tear extending into the posterior labrum and if it does extend superiorly then we may consider a bicep tenodesis in addition to a posterior labral repair. If there is arthritic change then we may just simply do bride. We will also evaluate the rotator cuff and if there is a significant structural problem then we may repair otherwise we will decompress and remove any abnormal tissue. For the shoulder, we discussed risks of the operation including infection, stiffness, persistent pain and weakness, prolonged rehabilitation. As an avid tennis player, he does know that over constrained the shoulder can be an issue with labral surgery and return to play is always a consideration. That is certainly not 100% guaranteed and so there may be challenges in getting back to overhead serving in particular. His timelines for recovery are about 6 to 9 months but before he is competing at a higher level anticipate 1 year.

I assume that’s a lot to decipher. He did catch me off guard initially as he asked me “when you want to have surgery?” I expected to him pick a distant year in the future but they are able to do it in the fall. I must admit I am not 100% sure that I’m doing the right thing. Of course there are risks involved and it comes with a very long, long recovery period. I will be wearing a sling for a few months with no use of my dominent right arm. You can’t drive for about 3 months and from what I’m learning sleep isn’t something that will be easy. I asked the Doctor if I likely will pitch for the Blue Jays again - surprise the answer is no. I am resigned to doing this and optimistic that I will have a good result and back on the tour eventually. (ha).

What else?

The kid and I managed to snag a pair of half price tickets to Hamilton. I think this was my 4th time. Clearly I am a slow learner and best of all, she loved it. Beyond that - not a lot of excitement. I did get up to see the NBO presented by Rogers at Tennis Canada. It’s interesting when your no longer involved in tennis how your email address seems to have been lost. I used to get invited to the Presidents box at Tennis Canada and of course, I had lots of tickets during the week. Having said, that I never would take the tickets nevertheless….my in-box inviting me to the tournament was a bit quiet. I did have a few offers from a friend at Fila but there was a mix-up with the email address and they didn’t arrive. However the effort was very much appreciated. I miss the old days of paper tickets. Such is life.

Ironically, my family Doctor invited me as he had bought a bunch of tickets for the semi-finals and wasn’t able to use all of them. I also took the subway up on the Saturday of the qualifying - as tickets are free. I watched a local player Liam Draxl who we had a close relationship with via our place at Saddlebrook. I hadn’t seen him play for a number of years and although he lost, he managed to put up a good fight.

Close to the castle is a local Mexican institution called El Pocho that we sometimes wander over to. We are pretty typical and usually order the same thing. A few taco’s, some nachos/guac and a margarita or two. As to be expected the drop in’s at Badiali on Dovercourt have continued. Never disappointed except for the usual 30 minute wait. I am looking forward to the opening of Prince Street Pizza NYC which is scheduled to open this year downtown.

I only have about 8 days of work left at Merchant of Tennis because of the upcoming surgery and I guess it remains to be seen what the future will bring. At some point they won’t really need me however the market for employees still seems to be a challenge. The busy season will start to change and they have managed to hire a few new people this summer. If needed, I am assuming it will be around 4-6 months anyways. Time will tell.

Thats it for this blog and see you soon!