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Wainwright went from bum elbow to green thumb during rehab

JUPITER, Fla. • With a whole year off to recover from Tommy John elbow surgery in 2011, Adam Wainwright went to Home Depot and wandered the aisles, shopping for a hobby.

He found a mission.

“I was trying to figure out what am I going to do?” Wainwright said. “I started thinking I’m going to take up woodworking. I always wanted to do carpentry. I started thinking about how hard that would be with one arm. Realized that wasn’t very good. I passed the row of seeds and some planter boxes and thought, ‘Maybe I’ll get some pots.