Call me Lefty

On April 13, I had rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder. So now I'm temporarily left-handed. Why surgery? I had a large tear in front, one in the back, a ratty-looking bicep tendon and a bone spur on my shoulder. It was getting difficult and painful to do anything. Could barely do that shrug thing like when you put on a coat. And worst of all, it cut my ski season short! Bad, bad, bad! No, I never had an injury. But, I'm getting tired of hearing this phrase that's explaining stuff, "As we get older . . ."  


If you're around my age, if you can remember back that far, you probably watched "The Fugitive". The tv one, not the movie. Remember the one-armed man thing? Well, unless his one arm was his dominant arm, or unless he had lots of practice, how could he knock off Richard Kimble's wife? It's pretty tricky doing some of the simplest things!


Op & Post-Op:
When I came to, I was still in anesthesia land. The world was going round and round like a ferris wheel. Couldn't look left & right w/o feeling woozy. Here's a link to a Fresh Air podcast about anesthesia: You Won't Feel a Thing: Your Brain on Anesthesia 


I had a little catheter in my shoulder that dispensed pain-killer into my surgery site, I was wearing a lovely sling, still am. It's now affectionately known as "Slingy". I also had "blanket" underneath my sling that I could hook up to a machine that circulated cold water around my shoulder. 

Stuff I didn't need so much of:
Pain-killers, hardly used 'em.
Giant mens' shirts--thought I'd need them to wear over Slingy. I've only used 2 of 'em, back to Goodwill!


Stuff that's great:
Jeff! Well I guess he's really not "stuff"
iPad--saved my sanity while I was hooked up to the water machine (had to do 30 mins. on, 30 mins. off, the more you do it the better). It's also great for taking a picture of notes in my Italian class.

iPhone
V-neck tshirts--easy to get on
Luc's old t-shirts, not many v-necks, but the perfect size, great graphics
Elastic-waist pants
Spork
Jeff!

Stuff I can't do:
Raise my arm or move it laterally
Sweep & mop--oh boo hoo
Prep for cooking, shoot! I like to cook!
Knit, sew, you know, craft thingys, very no good
Lift anything heavier than a coffee cup right-handed


Stuff that's tricky:
Try all of these using your non-dominant hand:
Fastening a seat belt
Driving
Pouring (use a rubber glove to hold stuff)
Eating
Leg shaving, yikes, glad I don't have to shave my face!
Putting on  a bra, socks, coats, hats, headphones
Folding sheets
Opening doors, jars, pretty, much anything
Using a credit card slider with the slot on the right
Writing
Using a mouse
Typing one-handed


Stuff I've noticed:
Lots of people have had shoulder problems and they tell you about it
People help a lot, opening doors, getting your coat on. It's weird, when I was on crutches a few years ago, you could stand by a door all day until someone opened it for you. Shoulder vs leg, just different.


In any case, if you see someone on crutches or in a sling, always ask if they'd like some help.

Post-Op Exam 1, Apr. 21:
The good news:
Surgery went well! The doc said I had big tears, but he got good repairs. Said I could start using the elliptical machine, treadmill, and stationary bike. Yippy!


The so-so news:
In the sling for up to 12 weeks. Maybe. Ugh.


The "You want me to do what?" news:
My exercise for now is to do "pendulum swings". So, out of the sling, you bend at the waist, let your arm hang, then rotate it outward then inward 4-5 times 2 times a day. When I first had my arm out of Slingy, it felt so heavy! And it was really uncomfortable. So when my doc said he wanted me start doing this, and my goal was to get to hubcap size, in my head I'm quoting John McEnroe, "You cannot be serious!" But, as of today, I'm up to a nice dinner plate size.


Started back at the gym, did my first post-op Spin class and have been walking every day since surgery. Getting ready to walk the Bolder Boulder on May 31. Gotta get my speed up!


Guilty! Woke up at 5 a.m. this past Friday, watched part of Will and Kate's excellent adventure. Pip pip cheerio!


More next week. Thrilling, no?