Editing The Pen Addict 436/transcript (section)

== Pickleball Injury ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' I guess we should handle this first. So I was playing a game called Pickleball, which I put in my Instagram post and a lot of this comment was, what is pickleball? I've never heard of this. And that's fair, fair questions. It's generally seen as an old person's retirement sport, but it's a little bit more aggressive than that. It's think of it like giant ping pong or miniature tennis, right? You're outdoors on a court that's lined like a tennis court and you have paddles like the size of like a racquetball racquets, you know, and you play with a play with a ball and it's, you know, fast paced. It's literally like ping pong, you know, ping pong can be as slow as you want it or as fast as you want it, right? And so you're running around, you usually play doubles. And it was me and my wife playing, you know, her friend and her husband and, you know, we're just playing a game. And just like, you know, if you were playing tennis, you know, you hit a lob shot over someone's head. So my shot was hit over my wife's head. So I run back to go get it and, you know, chase down the ball, hit the shot back towards the court. Like my body's moving the opposite way from where I hit it, right? So I'm going pretty much full speed, hit the shot back and then just kind of take a tumble. And it's all downhill from there.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And this is one of those really annoying things about human nature. You know, the worst thing to do when you're falling the way that you were is probably to put your arm out. But it's what we do. You know, like professionals, athletes, they're taught to fall in different ways, right? There's like a way that you fall on your back or whatever. Exactly. You wouldn't, if you were thinking logically, you wouldn't put your hand out. You might put your arm out, but not your hand out, right? And like that's the issue, I guess.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Or you try to roll to your back or just land on anything but your wrist. That's how you're going to break your wrist is by bracing your fall. And unfortunately, my wrist didn't even just land on the ground. I stuck it in the fence and it just made it worse. So that's why it became so bad and it wasn't just like this little clean break that we can slap a cast on and be good with it. So it got kind of stuck and your body kept going, huh? Yep. Yep. So it was not pretty. It was not fun. It took me probably like a good 20 or 30 minutes to be able to just like walk because I was in like so much pain just like seeing stars.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I was going to ask if it hurt. I know that seems like a stupid question, but sometimes it takes a while, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It hurt, you know, but there's like a lot of adrenaline, a lot of stress and things like that. So, yeah, like then we went over to the doctor and, you know, went to the emergency room and got the x-rays and they're like, yeah, you want to look at them? I'm like, this doesn't sound good. You want to come see them? And I was like, boy, they really want to show me something, don't they? They weren't like, yeah, it's a break. We'll put a cast on it. You'll be good in four to six weeks. They're like, you want to come take a look at this? And I'm like, damn it. I like that. It's not going to go well.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Am I able to provide something that you can't?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Like, what is the... Like, and they're actually making me get up and I'm already like wobbly. I'm already like, you know, not handling the moving around very well. It's like, could you bring them to me? Like, bring the little thing in here and let me see it. And they're like, no, come look at them. So, that's where we're at. We're recording early this morning. If you see this podcast, go live in your feeds early on Wednesday. It's because I'm heading to get the decision made on the wrist when I'm done with this.

'''Myke Hurley:''' And this is surgery, no surgery is the decision. Yeah. But what you told me, because I asked you some questions before we recorded, because I wanted to make sure you were all good. Is that like the recovery time either way is pretty similar, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, they're looking at six to eight weeks. And like I told Myke, the odds are, at least from the first couple doctors that looked at it, they think no surgery, but they're not the hand doctors. So, they wanted to make sure I got someone to look at it.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I think you're going to have to learn what the real phrase is for that, my friend. Hand doctor. Consider you're probably going to see a few of these, you might want to get that one nailed down a little bit.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, yeah, it sucks. And to be honest, I'm not handling it very well. You know, I've been in a lot of pain, so I've just been taking it easy, but I'm not a very good take it easy person. I rely on, like, my job is my identity kind of thing, right? Which is a weird place to be. And when I feel like I can't do my job, I lose a little bit of myself, right? We've talked about in the past, like, why do I do what I do for a living? And my answer is because I can't not do it, right? I'm good at what I do because I can't not do this. That's how much I care about this. And right now, I can't do it. So, I'm struggling with that. Knowing that it's really only been, like, two days.

'''Myke Hurley:''' There is a lot of yes and, or yes and no, I think, to this.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Because, all right, right now, today, you can't use a pen, right? We know this.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Potentially, at some point during the six-week period, you might be able to start a little bit, right? Like, we don't know. You have to wait and see how it feels. But let's be real, though, Brad. Like, just product reviewing. If a toy could take that part to begin. It's not just how it writes. Right. It really isn't, right? Like, there's a lot more to it. And you can still do all of that. Yes. That is, like, you know, a big part of what you do. And there are, I'm sure, lots of ancillary products that would be nice to review, but you don't really do use them. And you can focus on those. Like, more desk products, stationary products that are not pens, right? Mm-hmm. Like, that you can still review and provide your thoughts and feelings on. Stuff that you might not necessarily cover because pens take precedent. You know, and it's not like, as well, the company doesn't shut down because you have a team of people that you work with that can still produce the reviews. I understand why this is harmful to your self-image. Like, how you feel about yourself. Mm-hmm. Because you can't do it in the way, do everything in the way that you want to. But, like, the realistic part of it is, like, the machine can keep moving. I mean, look, the other thing is, come on, you're going to have to learn how to write left-handed. That's your goal, right? And I will tell you right now, I thought of it immediately. Many people did, I'm sure, and I'm sure you have. A diary of you trying to make that happen over the next couple of months on the blog would just be so good. Yeah. So, I will put a request out to our listeners. If anyone has ever tried to do this, we would like to know your experiences and what resources you may have used, if any. But, you know, look, you could come out of this, Brad, and you could be able to review two pens at once. Right? Yeah. Jewel-wilding.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I am looking at the positive. And, look, like, I don't have a pad. You know, like, it's going to be fine. I'm just in my own head, you know, down in the... I'm woe is me-ing myself too much. This is the first day I've opened the laptop since it happened, like, to get onto this podcast. Like, I was even sending... Like, I normally write the show doc. I'm sending Myke the links just in Slack. It's like, I can't do it. Just here. This is the things we should talk about. It's like, I just can't do it. Like, I'm not motivated. I guess after today, today's a good turning point when I get to see the doctor and be done. And then maybe, you know, I haven't even tried... I'm planning on trying to learn to write left-handed. Like, I have to. Like, it makes complete sense. I want to do it because I want to use my pens and want to try to figure these things out. But I haven't even picked up a single pen since that day because when I... I want to sit down and do it and be in the right headspace to do it. I don't want to say, okay, let's try to write left-handed and just be frustrated because it's going to suck.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Because you're going to get upset, frustrated, right? Like, and you want to make... You want to approach it a little more with a better, like, state of mind.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I had to get Tyler to put on my headphones today to podcast.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. You know, that's where I'm at. But I guess it's because right now, what are you, bandaged up?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah, and it's a over-the-elbow splint, right? So my arm's in, like, an L shape. Yeah. So... And I can't really move a lot. So I'm hoping to get, like, a smaller, more mobile cast.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah, that's it, right? Like, at the moment, you're not in the semi-permanent, like, solution. You're in something that I'm sure is going to cause you pain. Where a cast will provide you with a little bit more support. And will make some stuff, I'm sure, a lot easier. I guess you're going to have to get into the old dictation.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I don't know if I can do that. Maybe I'll try that. But, like, you know, like, my writing style, you know, that goes from my head to the pen to the paper or to the computer screen is... I don't... I guess it's dictatable, but...

'''Myke Hurley:''' It's very much your voice.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And I don't know how frustrated I would get going back and forth and editing that. Like, I might just... I'm okay just typing that with one hand. I've really been using my phone a lot. Yeah. Like, I typed part of an... No, but I'm okay just typing with my left thumb and... Have you tried swipe typing? Part of an article. Mm-mm.