2020 Year-End Review/Health Update

Well, it’s happened. The year 2020 has FINALLY ended. This has been an unprecedented year, at least in my eyes. The world was, and still is, in the midst of the worst global pandemic in over 100 years. While my family and friends have been, as far as I know, been mostly spared by COVID-19, so many countless others have not. (EDIT, Feb 7, 2021) I recently found out that my friend Shanti's husband nearly died from a severe case of COVID-19. I was shaken at the utter chaos that ensued when they tried to get any kind of medication or treatment. The politicization of the healthcare system in a time of urgent need, as described by Shanti, made me so angry. With all of that in mind, the context of my year in review is going to focus on what has happened in my little piece of the world, and not the world at large.

I’ve Gotta Hand it to You
It has been a little more than one year since my shop accident, and I’m very happy to say that I’ve gotten nearly all of the grip strength back in my left hand. It is still awkward for me to pick up small objects with that finger, most notably screws and things of that nature. Sometimes I will get frustrated when trying to pick up a pile of nuts or screws with my middle finger and thumb, so I just resort to doing it with my index and ring fingers and thumb most of the time. I’ll get the hang of it, eventually.

Along with the improvement in my hand, I’ve gotten the opportunity to use the jointer on a number of occasions and I haven’t had any issues with that tool. My first time was on the Air Force Seal Picture Frame. For each pass of material through the jointer, I made sure to take my time and focus on where my fingers were placed. With Picture Frames Galore and the Garden Hose Box, I used the jointer a ton and there was zero apprehension on my part the entire time. Again, I just made sure to be extra careful with the placement of my fingers.

This will be the last bit about shop injuries, so please indulge me just a bit more. Only a couple of weeks ago, near the end of December, a fellow woodworker I follow on Instagram, Jonathan Katz-Moses, posted a story with him in the hospital and his right thumb all bandaged up. He explained that he had an accident in his shop involving the jointer. He later posted a video on YouTube about what exactly happened and I was amazed at the similarities in the causes of both of our injuries. It just goes to prove that accidents can happen to anyone, and they are largely due to lacks of concentration. Anyway, enough about that stuff, surely there had to be SOMETHING else that happened in 2020.

Job Satisfaction
Overall, when it comes to projects in the workshop in 2020, the majority stemmed around upgrading and improving the workshop itself. Of all of the things I did to the workshop last year, I’d have to say the best thing was the installation of the new shop lighting. Everything else that I did pales in comparison. Flipping the light switch and having bright, crisp lights in the entire shop is such a wonderful thing.

Of all of the actual woodworking projects I did throughout the year, I think my favorites were the COG puzzles that I made as Christmas gifts for Lisa’s cousin’s boys and my friend Shanti’s girls. They were small pieces, but they still kicked my butt, especially those hickory ones. However, it was really satisfying to make something for someone else. I‘ve already got gifts in mind for friends and family for next Christmas (it’s never to early to plan for those types of things).

The Dreaded ‘C’ Word (not THOSE words...get your mind out of the gutter, right now)
As far as the pandemic is concerned, all of the stay-at-home orders and quarantining did not really have much of an impact on our lives as it did for so many others. Lisa has been working from home for a number of years now, and I work in my garage workshop most of the time. I only occasionally needed to go out to get supplies, and when I did, I simply made sure to bring a mask with me (it’s really not too much of a burden).

Overall, my health is still running pretty steady. My yearly physical with my primary care provider showed I’m in overall good health and on the right track. The latest numbers for my most recent JCV test came back and they were 0.25 (on the extreme low end of the INDETERMINATE part of the results spectrum) , so everything is looking good on that front. I also just met with my neurologist (actually his ARNP) and it appears we’re moving forward with my current course of treatment (Tysabri) as normal. I have to schedule another MRI in the coming days as it’s been a little over a year since my last one.

I did have questions regarding the recent COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved by the FDA, specifically if there is any known data in regards to the effects of the vaccine on those with relapsing MS and/or people taking Tysabri. At this time, it’s still way too early to have any kind of concrete data, so it’s just going to be a waiting game on that front for a while.

Since it has been nearly a year since the virus first appeared in the U.S., I also asked if there was any known complications, stemming from the virus, for those with MS and other neurological conditions. Again, there just isn’t enough hard data and research to substantiate any real conclusions.

Back to the Future→
As a whole, I’d have to say that 2020 was a step in the right direction for me with my woodworking. I made improvements in some areas and made plenty of mistakes in others, which I will (hopefully) learn from and implement on future projects. The biggest milestone for me was, by far, starting this blog. I never envisioned that I would create and design my own website and share aspects of my life with others in this fashion. I’ve always enjoyed writing (typing really). It’s always allowed me to express my thoughts much more clearly and eloquently than any other way of communication.

My blog hasn’t been active for very long, so it hasn’t reached a very large audience yet, but I’m hoping that will be one area of improvement over this new year. I’ve got a bunch of projects I’ve been working on in Sketchup, many of which were drawn up a number of years ago. While I certainly won’t be getting all of them completed this year, the ones I’m really focused on are for my office makeover. It’s a group of five projects to completely overhaul the look and feel of my office.

I’ve also got plans on making more changes to the workshop in 2021 as well. I know I recently made another layout change, but that’s not really what I’ll be doing this time around. My plan is to replace three of the largest workshop projects I’ve created in the past, the miter saw station, workbench/assembly table and table saw & router cabinet. While all three are quite functional and have served me well since I’ve had them, there are some things I’m not happy with (most woodworkers are never fully happy with a finished project).

Something else I want to do throughout the year moving forward is post articles that aren’t necessarily woodworking or MS-related in nature. Some will be anecdotes about things that have happened to me in the past, others will highlight people that have made an impact on my life. I’ll still continue to provide updates on my health as they happen (hopefully only good news). Here’s to a brighter future for all in the year 2021!!!