If you haven't caught on yet, there is never a dull moment in my life. Life changes on the drop of a dime. One minute you think you have control and everything planned out. The next minute you quickly realize you really don't have control. This is the story of my life.
As I've said before, my right shoulder has been misbehaving and giving me a lot of trouble. I've done 9 weeks of physical therapy since the initial pop with minimal improvements in range of motion. I've continued to have 2 funky depressions in the front of my shoulder with a lot of sharp pain when I move my arm and it has just been a hard 9 weeks. In March I made arrangements to come out to Colorado to do physical therapy for a week and then be reevaluated by Dr. M the following week. March 28th I had something pop in the front of my right shoulder again. Just when I thought it wasn't possible to lose more motion, I found out it is still possible.
On April 6, 2013 I flew out to Colorado with my mom. We drove up to the hospital the following day to begin therapy on Monday. On April 8th I had my first Colorado physical therapy session. It's not what any of us would consider a successful visit. My therapist is encouraged I have some strength (to the average person it looks like I have no strength. I don't even consider it strength). It's a good thing I have a little strength because it shows me my body is capable of getting stronger; however, neither one of us are happy with the motion I have 5 months out from surgery. After the first pt session, my therapist called my doctor to get me in sooner.
At the second pt appointment in the afternoon my therapist saw the "animal" shoulder I have been dealing with. During the appointment which was cut short to about 30 minutes, my shoulder shifted forward twice. My arm was locked away from my side and I couldn't straighten or bend my elbow. My therapist had to manually manipulate my shoulder back into place. It hurt so bad. That evening I found out my appointment with Dr. M was moved up to the following morning.
April 9, 2013: I had an MRI at 7:00 am and then met with Dr. M at 8:30 am. This is where life changed once again. After Dr. M attempted to examine my right shoulder, it was determined I would have surgery. My MRI is showing there is no problem but there is something obviously wrong. When I asked Dr. M when he was thinking I would have surgery he said, "Tomorrow." Talk about being thrown for a loop. I was not prepared for surgery at all. All of my post-surgery clothes are back home in Illinois.
April 10, 2013: Right now as I am writing this blog my stomach is growling, my heart is racing and my brain is racing in 8,000,000 directions. I have worked on a puzzle and I still have to shower before arriving at the hospital at 1:00. It is hard to mentally prepare for a surgery when you and your doctor do not know what is going to be done until they get in your shoulder. Is it just going to be an arthroscopic procedure or is it going to change into an open incision? What kind of recovery do I have ahead of me? They are all unknown questions.
One thing I have learned over the past 7.5 years is to go with the flow. I don't have control over certain things so I try not to fret. I try to remind myself life is an adventure. It may not change the circumstances but it can help with the way you look at the situation. As soon as I am able to, I will write something to let you all know what happened during surgery.
Thinking of you and praying that today leads to answers, a solution, and a road to long term recovery!
ReplyDeletePraying for you beautiful! Psalm 107:19-20 (NIV)Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
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