AuburnChick's Adventures

Usually, I like a good countdown.

In fact, I spend a lot of time counting down to things . . . Fridays, visits to see grand babies, retirement.

In the case of post-surgery time, I’m enjoying counting up.

Today marks 5 weeks since my last surgery.

Overall, it’s been a better week than the previous one (if you don’t factor in the long weeding session I had over the weekend in my attempt to clean out my flower bed).

My only bad day was Tuesday. I process all of the mail for my office, and we get a lot from July through September. It seems like Tuesday is the busiest day of the week when the pile of mail is huge.

That makes for a lot of data entry, which, if you’ve had shoulder surgery, results in a lot of post-typing pain.

I ran out of ibuprofen 800, and rather than ask for another round, I decided to give my innards a break by not taking any more.

That worked until Tuesday afternoon. We had purchased over the counter ibuprofen, and I took a couple of them to ease the pain. I took a couple more doses Wednesday since I had PT after work. By then, the anger in my shoulder was down from a screaming banshee to a simmering fire.

We started with one of my favorite exercises – rolling a ball forward, backward, and in small circles – assisted by my “good” arm.

Even though I couldn’t move it far, it was so much easier than having to prop my hand on a table and step backward.

In the middle of my therapy session, a nurse walked through. I didn’t pay much attention until she spoke to me. That’s when I recognized her as my surgeon’s nurse – the one who gave me pre-op instructions for both of my surgeries, returned all of my phone calls before and after surgery, and spent time with me before one of my post-op appointments (after my left shoulder surgery) and encouraged me by telling me that one day, I’d wake up and realize that all of a sudden, things had gotten a lot better.

She is a gem, and it did my heart good to see that she recognized me. This practice sees a lot of patients.

That’s what happens when you have back-to-back surgeries. I’m so thankful for such caring medical professionals. ❤️

After I spoke with the nurse, I continued with my therapy exercises. I got to start a couple of new exercises.

First, I did unassisted bicep curls – without weights (of course). Y’all, I could have sung the entire alphabet song in the time it took me to complete one rep.

Slow and steady wins the race.

My other not-really-new-but-new-since-my-surgery exercise was the pulley station, which I hadn’t visited since May, when I was still rehabbing my left shoulder.

Once again, I was humbled. I could barely move my right arm. I love the pulley, so it was a little frustrating, but I recognize that I’m in a marathon, not a sprint.

I did my other regular exercises, and D, my therapist, stretched out my arm. He commented on how tight my shoulder was. Yep. No surprise there.

You’ve probably seen athletes getting stretched out on the football field, right?

Yep, picture that, but it’s me, inside on a table, with my shoulder being moved this way and that.

The simple act of laying on the table on my back is still extremely uncomfortable. Even with a rolled up towel underneath my right elbow, it hurts.

The back of my right shoulder was the part that had the most damage, which is why laying down hurts so much.

My favorite stretch, after D had warmed up my arm, was when he gently stretched my arm straight down, toward my feet.

Being in the sling almost 24/7 makes my elbow stiff, so my bicep hollered pretty loudly when it’s lengthened out. It’s a bad, yet good feeling, if that makes sense.

Thank goodness for the stem treatment and heating pad that are always waiting for me at the end of these sessions. They are my reward for doing all of the hard work.

I always leave PT feeling better though – both physically and mentally.

Physical therapists are medically trained cheerleaders – always encouraging, building confidence, and listening.

I’ve got my six week follow-up appointment with my surgeon next week. I’m pretty sure he’ll give me the green light to come out of the sling.

It’s something I’m looking forward to with a little bit of trepidation. I remember how sore I was for the first few weeks after I ditched the sling with my left shoulder.

But it will be tangible progress, and for that, I’m so excited.

One of the other physical therapists in the office asked if I was going to have a burn party after I’m out of it. Hmmm. Now there’s an idea. 💡 🤣

It won’t be long before my selfies will be missing one large, bulky accessory.

Filed under: This-n-That |