Since I was 8 years old, I have played tennis, love the sport, and played it my entire life. Moreover, for over 20 years I have had subscription tickets to the entire US Open tennis tournament in New York, and go every year as if it is my summer vacation, which it has become. As I was gaining weight, I was still playing tennis, but from around 2001 until 2008 (when my girlfriend passed away from cancer), I had stopped playing regularly, although I continued going to the Open.

As I started to lose weight, starting in 2010, I began playing tennis again, and slowly got in great condition, and raised my game back to a competitive level. I joined a tennis club, and have since been playing at least twice a week, for a total of around 3 ½ hours of tennis a week. And in 2012, I went to tennis camp in Florida, where I played tennis for a full week – something I had not done since college. And when I went to 2012 Formula 1 Race in Monaco, I made a point to play tennis at the Monte Carlo Country Club — see the above photo — which was blast.

This all brings me to the present, when around 3 weeks ago, when I was playing tennis, my shoulder started hurting, and it got to the point where I could no longer raise or move my arm without tremendous pain.  As it turns out, I tore my rotator cuff, which I later learned is common in active men my age. I now face surgery, and the prospect that my right arm will be in a sling for months. Certainly my rehabilitation will have an impact on my workout routine, which has been a key component to maintaining my weight loss, and I am more  concerned about maintaining my weight loss during my rehabilitation, than I am of the risks and pain of the surgery.

I have already reached out to my doctor inquiring how quickly I can resume my exercise routine, and what can be done to help me work through any impediments that might restrict the amount, and rigorousness, of my exercise routine. Another thing that I am drawing on, in facing this challenge, is the strength I witnessed when my girlfriend battled cancer. She was, and still is, the bravest and strongest person I know, and she faced illness with a tenacious fight that inspires me to this day. If she could battle cancer, I can certainly overcome my injury, and she also inspired me in finding my inner drive to eventually address my weight issue. Her life and passing puts everything in perspective for me, and that is a good thing.