My Left Pec

I had been hoping to do a substantial post on the marvelous Jackson Pollock exhibit at the Guggenheim, but in keeping with the general indignity of being forty-two I blew out my pec on the bench press yesterday—meaning I severely tore the pectoral muscle and probably something in my shoulder too. Right now I have a massive, inflamed, Schwarzenegger-sized left pec, along with a huge purple bruise covering much of the left side of my chest and part of my arm (which I can only use to a very limited extent—tho I can type if get positioned just right). Actually I look like I’ve undergone a Pamela Anderson-style chestal implant but just on one side. So far, I’ve spent about five hours at Yale Urgent Care--three hours Thursday after the injury (it was two hours before I could get anything for the rather excruciating pain), and another two yesterday after I start getting numbness in my arm because the inflammation was putting pressure on the nerves. I’m on painkillers and anti-spasm meds, will be having an MRI scheduled sometime this weekend, and will see an orthopedic surgeon on Monday. Yep, it looks like I’m headed for surgery…not quite the way I was hoping to wind up the summer. Today I sat under a tree and read Coleridge's "This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison."