Week 4..Almost 5...

Sorry to be slacking on my pimpin'...but I can only blog from my laptop.  With the sling on it is very uncomfortable.  I have reached that point where I go from ok, to angry and frustrated in 10 seconds.  I am counting the moments until I get to take the sling off.... February 12th at 8am (my follow up appointment).  

Physical therapy went well so far this week, I go again today.  Ed, my physical therapist, said I am doing well..and picking up the pace.  Meaning, I am catching up to where I need to be. 

I drove....it literally takes about 8 minutes of concentration just to get the seat belt on.  I am grateful the Suburban has a steering column shift lever instead of a center console...or I would not get to drive at all.  I turn on the truck with my left hand, and reach through the steering wheel to shift into reverse, drive or park.  Lee has me still restricted to only necessary driving...doctor and pt and work (more about that in a minute)...but today I get to take the truck in for an oil change..woohoo!

Ok....so I single handedly got a job...not really...Susan helped, that just sounded fun to write..get it... "single handed"...hahahaha!.  She works for an accounting firm, and told me to submit my resume for tax season help.  I submitted it long before I even thought I may need shoulder surgery, back in October.  I met with them the day after Christmas...and it went really well.  I will only be there for about 10 weeks, during the tax season craziness.  I am helping with the mundane tasks, so others can focus on their positions.  I helped a little on Monday...and even though the phone scares me a little, I think it will be fun.  They are totally fine with me being one handed.  Now, I just gotta get myself and the guys especially...back into the "mom works full time" mode, my first real day is Monday.  I think it will be fine since they have been so helpful the last few weeks.

And Happy Super Bowl weekend!!!  I guess we will be cheering on the 49er's...by default.  I am kind of excited about the game this year...and not just because of the commercials and halftime show.  Enjoy the game!

Week 3.....and some pics...

 I hung out with Susan and Emily on Saturday evening.  We had sandwiches at the Marina, and I took a couple pictures.  This is the Fisherman's Memorial, at Woodley Island Marina.

 Crab season got off to a late start, the Marina parking lot was full, but the docks were pretty vacant due to the boats being out looking for crab...the bright light in the center is a boat offloading its catch.

The Carson Mansion...in my opinion...it is much creepier than the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.  It is creepy even in the day time.

Ugh...I have survived three weeks in this god forsaken sling!!  I think my patience has left the building.  I whisper to my self "just keep swimming", but I am pretty sure I am not listening any more.

I did not get to go to "my" regular physical therapy guy, Ed, last week due to my surgeon's assistant not completing my referral.  I only went to the physical therapy they had chosen for me  (I am kinda double dipping in the PT department...you will see why), I do not like this PT place at all.  The girl seems nice, but very detached from her patients.  She runs me through the exercises I do every day...and then kinda puts me in the corner so to speak for the last 15 minutes...one week I walked on the treadmill while she worked on paperwork, the next I sat with an un-needed ice bag while she talked to coworkers.  I think I hate it due to the way it is done at my preferred place.  When I go see Ed, I feel like I am being rewarded for following through on my exercises during the week.  I get my shoulder massaged, he can tell my range of motion without using a weird ruler thing, and then I get electrostimulation...   which sounds weird, but actually relieves a lot of pain.  My referral came through yesterday, so I get to go see Ed today...yippee!

My frustration is peaking....I hate that I cannot do things on my own.  It is starting to piss me off a little.  Monday, I decided to take a shower all by my self....it probably looked like I was in a wrestling match with my bra..but I got it on...and promptly took an extra Celebrex for pain.  Later, when I was getting ready for bed, and changing into my pajamas (no sling on)...I had an itch on my right hip....and I instinctively itched it with my right hand....HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL...ok that was the PG version of what I said.   So, I have had more pain than usual, and I am back on the ice bags  on my shoulder twice a day.  My biggest fear is that I messed something that was repaired up...but Lee (and Susan) have assured me, that it had three weeks to heal, and I probably just strained it a little.

I hopped in to the drivers seat of the truck, I cannot reach the lever to shift into gear...but I can reach over to do it with my left hand.  We are gonna go out this weekend and see how I do.  I miss driving and being able to just run out and get what we need.  

I want to help around the house, I want to sleep in any position except on my left side...and be able to pull my own covers over me at night....ugh, I know I have just done a whole blog about feeling sorry about myself...but hopefully tomorrow will be another (and better) day...and each day gets me closer to getting this sling out of my life.

The Shoulder Chronicles...week 2

No pretty pictures of the bruise on my hand this week...although it is still there...ugh.  

Let's recap the last week...I got my stitches out a week ago.  I had a reaction to some of the bandaids we used, and they created a sunburn like feeling around 2 incision sites...which now are dry and kinda peeling and itchy.  

The day I got my stitches out was also Lee's birthday...and we went out to breakfast...the waitress came up and said "you are right handed huh?"...I said yeah, eating with my left hand is not easy if I have to use a fork or spoon.  I sort of look like a toddler.  

I can feel a bump under one incision, and I am hoping it is the anchor they screwed into my bone.  I am gonna ask my physical therapist this week and see how if it is the right spot for the, if not...I need to call the surgeon's office and figure it out.  It is not painful at all...just feels like there is something the size of a pea under my skin.

Physical therapy went well last week...I am seeing the PT guy I had before and the one the surgeon wanted me to see.  I just like my guy better...I keep up my required exercises at home and get rewarded with massage and electrical stimulation (sounds weird, but it is amazing for pain control).  The other place, I just do my exercises for a little bit and walk on the treadmill the rest of the time while she does something else...errr!  Both do say my range of motion at this point is really good, especially this early in the game.

I slept last night with out the help of "extra" pain meds.  I am a little paranoid about strong pain relievers...so I was pretty happy to make it through the night.  I have to sleep on my side...which makes my left hip and shoulder kinda sore....sometimes I catch myself rolling onto my back...which feels weird because I can feel where the incision scar is on the back of my shoulder.

I am hanging in there....I can tell you I cherish every moment I am not in the house, Susan took me to the mall on Saturday evening....and I felt like a human again.  Lee and Elliott escorted me grocery shopping last night.  I asked Lee when he would let me drive again....he said when I can shift the truck from park into a gear....yeah, that is not happening, especially with this dumb sling.  Ugh!!!

Elliott went back to classes yesterday.  So, I am all alone during the day.  We have a routine down...I start a load of laundry in the morning and he finishes it when he gets home. I really miss the routine of chores...I sneak some in when I can.  I vacuum with my left hand, and wipe down counters and the bathroom, take out garbage...but I seriously have to make sure no one is looking.

I am hanging in there...Lee said this weekend we may stroll around old town Eureka, or even take a walk on the beach.  Yay!!!

More soon,
J

Week #1....The Shoulder Chronicles

Typing is not easy with only one hand able to reach the keyboard, so blog entries may be kinda short.

Week one....I survived it.  Let me tell you, I would not even wish this on someone I don't like.  The pain was more intense than I thought it would be...and the pain med they gave me is strong (it is one of the ones they gave my mom when she was dying..so, I think that is where my fear of it comes from)...anyways, it knocks me out so well that while napping on the couch, I did not even wake up when Lee had his guitar amp turned up really loud. Yikes!!  I have to wear my sling all day and night for 6 weeks..it is only removed for showers and physical therapy.  I already hate it.

The guys have been great...they only problems we have usually come from me...sometimes I let it get to me that I feel like I cannot take care of myself.   Technically, with one hand I can only wash  one half of my body...I don't like needing help.  Lee helps me dress...I have been in my jammies a lot...because I can get the bottoms up and down by myself to use the bathroom...if I wear jeans, after I am done I need Lee's help with the button and zipper.  I found a tshirt to wear yesterday, that was easy to get on...due to it being one size too large for me...wearing jeans and a tee made me feel human again.  The only thing I wish I would have prepared more for was teaching these guys to do something with my hair...they both suck at it.  They do get an "A" for effort though.

All in all, I am hanging in there...telling myself to just keep swimming!!!  Tomorrow morning I have a doctor appointment...I am eager to hear what he says about my surgery.

 My hand, is so ugly...it took a couple attempts to get the IV in...so it is all bruised up..with a gross shade of green.

My couch fort, where I spend much of the day...with a tray of goodies on the left...remotes, pain meds, peppermints for nausea, my phone, and usually a water bottle.  The blue backrest is Elliott's, I lean against it and it keeps my arm/sling at a comfortable angle.  You have to watch the cats..as soon as I get up they steal my "warm" spot.

Warnings are never enough.....

Warning....below is a picture of my shoulder, with three of the four incision points.   It is a beauty.  I keep apologizing for my cussing....a simple movement brings on a long string of expletives. This is some painful shit...I would rather birth some huge babies.  We read the surgery report yesterday, and I admit that I feel less guilty about the cussing....here are a few things they did....they removed the calcification, I had two large areas and they repaired the damage to that tendon , they removed a bone spur that shredded a different tendon, and they fixed that tendon...one of my tendons is repaired with implants, which are actually screws drilled into my bone, and lastly they debrided (a nice term for shaving, resurfacing, grinding away...aaack!!!) a large portion of bone around my rotator cuff.  There is more they did, but I cannot remember it...and Lee has the report.  I think he took it to work to illustrate..."look what they did to my wife"...and explain why I am not allowed to drive.

Blogging with one hand is tough, so this will be short.  I can say that I have been blessed with an amazing family.  I did not think I could love Lee more than I already did...but he has been exceptional at caring for me and keeping my spirits up.  It is going to be a long road to recovery, and I am happy he is my co-pilot.

So pretty...NOT!!!