Good Lord, this is taking forever. That’s what I tell myself everyday (and anyone else who will listen). I currently work in the Operating room at a local hospital and on September 28th of 2015  I injured my shoulder while positioning a patient. When it first happened I thought “oh no biggie it just sore, it’ll be fine in a few days and we’ll move on”. I had no idea. After four months of conservative treatments and physical therapy, I finally had to have surgery to repair my aching shoulder on February 2. It was a torn labrum and had continued to slide and crack and pop to the point that surgery was the only option. I knew surgery was gonna be hard, but the thought of my arm popping out again was harder (very uncomfortable).To say it’s been difficult is putting it mildly. I really really had No Idea. I came home the day of surgery with a dead arm (well I had a nerve block so it felt dead) so that was nice because I thought “this isn’t so bad”. But holy crap when the feeling came back… I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced such pain, and I have had to expel many (more than I’d like to count) kidney stones (the largest was 5mm). I only missed a couple weeks of work, and in many ways that was a good thing because, let’s face it workers comp pay isn’t all that great and there are only so many episodes of Andy Griffith one can watch. But in other ways a couple more weeks of rest would have been nice, because those first two weeks back were miserable. I never dreamed just walking around and doing a simple task would be so painful. But it has gotten easier as my wounds have healed. I still don’t sleep very much because it hurts like hell to lay down flat on my back, I’m either in a recliner or propped up in a bed on tons of pillows. This whole process has taught me many things. First and foremost, it has taught me to be grateful for the people in my life, those folks that are willing to help you get dressed and help you eat. It also has taught me to appreciate my limbs. People, I’m right handed and this was my right shoulder, so now simple things like the ability to tie one’s shoes or wipe one’s backside have been most difficult and sorely missed. I’ve also had to evaluate my strengths and limitations and make necessary changes to protect my long-term health (you only have one life). Today, I had my follow-up with my surgeon and will start Physical therapy this week. Here’s hoping for the best.

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