Y’all, how has it been eight full weeks since my shoulder surgery?
The first few days after shoulder surgery d-r-a-g-g-e-d by. Fighting pain and simply doing life were exhausting and took a heavy toll on me.
Last week, I had myself a little pity party when I wrote an update on my shoulder. I apologize for that indulgence, but I needed a safe place to vent – somewhere to hold the memories – because I knew that in a few months, the day-to-day reality of what I’m currently facing will be replaced by joy. I think it’s important to mark milestones without, hopefully, dwelling too long in the valleys.
And so I push on . . .
With that said, I’ll start with some wins for the week.
Beginning my day with a heating pad is helping a lot. I’m thankful for my knowledgeable physical therapy who suggested this. The heat is the perfect way to start each day because it loosens my stiff shoulder and bicep.
In fact, I discovered that I can, with a bit of finagling, get my hand in my pocket.
This was something I couldn’t do this early on after my left shoulder surgery.
I was able to put on a T-shirt Sunday after church.
This is one of my favorite shirts. I got it from my favorite, local coffee shop/bookstore in town.
The material is akin to a soft jersey, so it has a lot of give to it and drapes comfortably over my body.
I was a happy girl.
I ordered another pair of the yoga pants I recently discovered. I’m wearing them in the first and last photos in this post.
I’ve already got them in khaki and navy blue. They are easy to put on and take off, and they are light enough to wear during the blistering summer months.
I was able to do most of the juicing by myself last weekend when I made another bottle of my turmeric juice. I kept my right elbow close to my body and stood on my tiptoes to feed the produce into my juicer.
During yesterday’s physical therapy session, I started doing strength exercises. I did rows and lat pulldowns with a set of bands. Both of my shoulders and biceps were sore by the time I’d showered at home last night, and I had to ice them down.
Now for the not-wins.
My left bicep (i.e. the “good” arm) has been hurting more this week and actually popped one day, which slightly freaked me out. Fortunately, I didn’t have any pain when it popped, but after all I’ve been through since last September, I didn’t enjoy the sensation.
When I told my physical therapist about it yesterday, he said that he doesn’t think I did any damage structurally, but we will keep an eye on it.
Fun times, y’all.
I also asked my PT about the pain I’m having in the muscle that runs alongside my right (i.e. the “bad” one) forearm. He said that it’s part of the bicep muscle, and it is taking on the brunt of the lifting since my upper bicep can’t do much. It’s also aggravated by the pressure of being bent in a typing position constantly (hello busy time of the year).
He gave me some stretches to help with the discomfort and added a couple of pads to the muscle when we put the TENS unit on at the end of my therapy session yesterday.
Overall, this week has been a lot better than last week. That’s the biggest win of all.
I’m eager to see what improvements I make next week!
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