Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Brief update on the shoulder business

I’ve tried to be good & only mention my recuperating shoulder in passing, but before I post another gem from my past (not a poem this time – an essay) I decided to slip this in here. I started my physical therapy last week. I’ve had three sessions now. Last week I learned from my therapist that what I had is a SLAP tear (an injury to the Glenoid labrum, whatever that is). Apparently this type of injury has to be corrected with (arthroscopic) surgery most of the time. So I guess this was all necessary – which is good since I already had the surgery! I’m not supposed to lift my arm over my head for the first six weeks (so the little biodegradable pin they put in doesn’t come loose – eww!). Four down, two to go. And you know, not looking forward to physicial therapy after that sixth week. Ouch! Last night I had a substitute therapist & I thought she would kill me. Really! She looked nice & we had a lovely conversation about books on tape, and all the while I was thinking can’t she tell I’m dying here? I’ve been told by many kind & thoughtful friends that it’s only going to get worse.

 
I’ve never been a “no pain no gain” kind of gal, but I have a goal here & I plan to slog through until I reach it. I’ve already mentioned this goal to you guys and to my boss’s wife. I told my therapist that was my goal & he was not the least bit surprised or dismayed. He said that he’d had another client with the same goal. Apparently she had multinational underarms (American on one side & European on the other). So, although I’ll continue to keep the whining at a minimum, I will probably be posting on my progress to my goal. Maybe I should have one of those counters on my blog – maybe a butterfly on a ruler that moves closer to the goal each week…

10 comments:

  1. American and European underarms? What is this for a strange thing you are telling us here, Bug? I am looking at my German underarms. Hmmm.
    I do hope your boss`s wife is still speaking to you and will heal much faster than anybody expects. Be brave and patient, and for Christmas you`ll have forgotten all your pain!

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  2. Multinational underarms! Now that's a new one. Thanks for the chuckles and hope you have American underarms soon!

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  3. bwah hahaha! I love it, multinational underarms! I can't wait to tell my hairdresser (who has had shoulder surgery).

    Keep at it, gal pal, you're doing great!

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  4. Angela - I can shave under one arm (sort of, in a hunchback way using my "bad" arm), but I'm unable to lift the "bad" arm high enough to shave (I can just barely squish some deoderant under there), so it's getting pretty shaggy. In the US it's a stereotype that European women (& feminists, ha!) don't shave under their arms.

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  5. "I’ve been told by many kind & thoughtful friends that it’s only going to get worse."

    Probably not exactly what you want to hear.

    Hang in there.

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  6. Ouch! Good luck. I had shoulder surgury myself; recovery is no fun.

    Don't worry. This time next year you'll be doing pull-ups!

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  7. Sometimes a little bitchin' does a body good, Bug. Hang in there, OK?

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  8. Good luck, the Bug, and please do post about your progress. PT is sort of a mixed bag. It's uncomfortable, and repetitive but it is also incredibly helpful. I was in PT for about a year following a car accident.

    Unfortunately almost everything in PT has some level of discomfort associated with it. It is about pushing a limit, and thereby expanding it.

    If it helps at all to know, mine was fifteen years ago, and the things I learned in PT have really helped throughout all that time. My injury was permanent, but thankfully, the pain wasn't!

    Keep plugging along, and soon this will be a closed chapter in your life. I wish bald underarms.

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  9. Forgot a word:

    I wish YOU bald underarms ;-)

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  10. Hang in there, I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end. I tend to go european most of the time but break out the razer for improtant occasions. Feel silly about this as I think if God put hair there, it's for a reason.

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