As I am writing this, it is late January and we are secured in our slip in the Rodney Bay Marina in St. Lucia, West Indies. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay in St. Lucia, and we had thought we would be headed northbound by now, working our way back towards Florida. Unfortunately, the only member of the Pilots’ Discretion crew to get back to Florida was her Captain, and that was to see his favorite orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Daniel P. Moynihan.
Dr. Daniel P. Moynihan
My left shoulder had been bothering me since we were in Grenada but I considered it mainly a nuisance and intended to have it addressed when we got the boat back to Florida. This month, I went back to Florida to attend to some of our business issues and thought I would stop by Dr. Moynihan’s office to make sure he concurred with my assessment that I could defer action on my shoulder until the conclusion of our Caribbean trip. Initially, he was quite encouraging, telling me that he had seen the pictures on our blog of our Caribbean adventures and was fairly comfortable telling me that if the shoulder were seriously injured, I would not likely have been so enthusiastic with my outdoor activities.
He did however tell me that the only way to know for certain would be to do an MRI. Two days later, MRI in hand, the good Dr. gave me the news that the MRI looked very good except for that troublesome torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder. He outlined the specific issues as he highlighted the relevant areas of the MRI. Unfortunately, his conclusion was that any significant deferral of the surgery could make a full recovery more difficult. The good news is that Dr. Moynihan is a can do type of guy and a good problem solver. He told me he was confident that he could do the surgery on a Friday and have me back in St. Lucia the following Tuesday to begin my rehab assignment in the tropics.
Anyone that has gone through a rotator cuff repair can tell you that it is approximately as much fun as two root canals followed by a nice nap in a bed of fire ants.
That said, it sucks for me that I will be forced to do my approximately 3 month rehab in the shadow of St. Lucia’s fabled Pitons, being cooled by the trade winds of the Caribbean.
Cruising Past the Pitons, St. Lucia
The practical implications of all of this gets us to the Plan B mentioned in the title of this post. Given that the surgery is now scheduled for early February and accounting for the length of the required rehabilitation program, we will be unable to safely move the Pilots’ Discretion before the beginning of the 2017 Caribbean hurricane season. Plan B has now come sufficiently into view for us to conclude that we will likely be enjoying the St. Lucian beauty and hospitality until the end of next summer. We will of course keep you apprised via our blog as we suffer through the execution of our Plan B.
pilotsdiscretiondotcom 
Judy and I had already concluded that you would not be returning to the US for quite some time. Did not know your excuse. Good look with shoulder.
John
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Why don’t you guys untie that marina queen of yours and head south to meet up with us. We have a whole bunch of places picked out that we could get thrown out of together!
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So very sorry for you and the suffering, pain and misery you will have to undergo during your rehab period. Just try to think of happier things like blizzard conditions in the northern US. Hang in there this too shall pass.
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Sorry about the “age related” issues. I hope the surgery turns out well. We will be taking our boat further north of Comox, BC, Canada to the Broughtons this summer up by Telegraph Cove. I’ll be thinking of you in the warm climes as I dine on my dungeness crab’
Todd
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And I will be thinking of you my “old friend” whilst my St. Lucian attendants shield my aging eyes from the tropical sun with palm leaves as they refill my St. Lucian rum punch.
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Touche!!
Todd Sudick
“Knot Flyin”
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Am amazed by all of this. Life has a way of surprising us from time to time! Will look forward to talking to you, Theresa and the boys tomorrow.
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Randy – enjoyed your post. You’re just a few days from traveling back. Your doc looks like a “things are under control” kind of guy, so I feel good about that – and, more importantly – I’m sure you do too.
Don’t forget your duct tape and “THIS SHOULDER” sign.
I wish you well, my friend.
John
On Thu, Jan 26, 2017 at 2:25 PM, pilotsdiscretiondotcom wrote:
> Randy posted: “As I am writing this, it is late January and we are secured > in our slip in the Rodney Bay Marina in St. Lucia, West Indies. We have > thoroughly enjoyed our stay in St. Lucia, andwe had thought we would be > headed northbound by now, working our way back towa” >
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Thanks John, if after all of this, my doc operates on the wrong shoulder, I want you to come down on him as if he we were a direct descendant of the esteemed Mr. Wolf.
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Tough way to spend your summer. While you are rehabbing in St. Lucia we will be in our boat gunk holing the Discovery and Broughton Islands in B.C. Canada this summer. Will be thinking of you–speedy recovery
Todd Sudick
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Thanks Todd, we would like to cruise in your neighborhood one of these days
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