Looking back, it was an awesome time: [WayBack] It’s a wonderful day waking up the morning after the World Music Contests are over while still a bit amazed you won with your Marching Band +Adest Music… – Jeroen Wiert Pluimers – Google+
Too bad that the hypermobility of my joints forced me to first stop performing parades with the marching band, and in a few months time will lead to my last show performance in the field.
The pain and recovery times have increased too much to bear with them.
Furthermore, care taking tasks also have been fluctuating very much, with an ever gradually increasing base-line.
Hopefully that will change later in the year, by finding new people that can assist me with that.
For now it means I have to balance work and care taking, leading to no conference performances for the second half of the year.
The work I do has changed for the better. Where last two calendar years were centered around an energy sucking environment, the current one gives me energy.
That helps me in my balancing act, especially since sitting and playing percussion is OK enough for now.
One year ago:
It’s a wonderful day waking up the morning after the World Music Contests are over while still a bit amazed you won with your Marching Band +Adest Musica World 2nd on the Show, World 4th on the March and the finale day public prise.
What makes this extra special for me is that I had the opportunity – after skipping the WMC 2005 edition because of care-taking reasons, and performing in the drum pit during the 2009 and 2013 editions – to perform the show in the field one more time.
The field performance will also be my last time at WMC, as I need to see a rheumatologist because of gout and joint problems. Likely the outcome will be somewhere between having a rheumatic disease, or too much abuse of the joints. Which means to step down a bit. Approaching 50, I have no problem with finding another role within the marching band as I’d love celebrating my 40th band membership in 2020.
Thanks everyone at +Adest Musica for allowing to do this performance in the field one more time and giving me enough opportunity to take care for my brother next to it.
See you all again at the end of August to prepare for autumn gig season.
The link is to a tweet of the mayor of Teylingen, the municipality encompassing Sassenheim where +Adest Musica is based. She attended the finale day and is very proud (:
Carla Breuer⚘ on TwitterCongratulations! As an old marching band hand myself, I know about the efforts needed to succeed. Well done!
Sorry to learn of your joint issues. I’m struggling with a bad shoulder myself, and still awaiting a diagnosis. Hopefully, it is treatable.
8 months ago
+Lars Fosdal the outcome isn’t rheumatic, but a combination of a few things:
- without any dietary reason (hardly read wine or red meat) the uric acid concentrations in my blood are high giving an increased chance of gout
- the aftermath of the handful of gout incidents over the last 5 years have permanently damaged the joint that connects the big toe to my right foot
- I’ve had hypermobility all my life without consciously realising it; some people get problems with that I’m one of those
- the preparations of the WMC caused to much strain on my hands
For now, I’ve been playing a lot less with lighter cymbals. That’s sort of OK and getting better.
A combination of medicines should make the uric acid lower. I’ll know in about a month.
Tweaking the shoe inserts that already alleviated part of the pain should help a bit more, but not much more.
Prolonged static positions (standing) or repeating movements (walking) are definitely out.
Which means that concerts and small gigs are OK, but parades are over.
–jeroen
I think it’s Jan Wildeboer that referred me to the 
The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff 