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I had surgery on my right shoulder today. Nothing serious, although it did turn out to have more things wrong in there than anticipated. At the last minute I had thoughts of putting it off for a better time. But there really is no good time when it comes to things like elective surgery. One can always think of some reason why now is a bad time to have it done. So I got up early, showered with pink antibacterial soap, had my husband write “yes” on my right shoulder, and “no !!!!” on my left shoulder, and off we went, where I was scrubbed some more, given an attractive “one size fits all large people” gown to wear, and bonked into oblivion with multiple kinds of modern-day anesthesia. All this, and back home in time for lunch.
Surgery has certainly evolved from the good old days when I first studied nursing. Over thirty years ago this surgery would have been done with a big open incision, and a several-day hospital stay. Or more likely it would not have been done at all, as a male surgeon would have said to me “you’re a middle-aged woman with ‘a little arthritis’ – just live with it.” Of course, it turned out be more than just ‘a little arthritis.’ It was arthritis, calcific tendonitis, a small rotator cuff tear, bursitis and a labral tear, in case you wanted to know.
But meanwhile I’m having a dickens of a time typing this, and just a tiny bit worried that I might be accidentally saying something goofy so soon out of anesthesia, so I’ll stop here. Maybe I’ll post some pictures later in the week, so I’ll warn the squeamish readers now, just in case. Meanwhile, I have even greater respect for blogger buddy Mark, of The Idiot Speaketh, who is bed-bound recovering from foot surgery. My gig sounds like a piece of cake in comparison. Good recovery Mark, and at least now you have someone with whom to commiserate.
Related posts from Huffygirl:
https://huffygirl.wordpress.com/2011/05/21/the-rotator-cuff/
https://huffygirl.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/more-on-the-rotator-cuff-part-ii/
Huffygirl's Blog 
Very brave Huffy girl take care not to use your right arm too much too soon!
Good warning Gilly – I am the kind of person who would do exactly that. thanks.
Jeez, I hate anything that starts out with “Don’t worry – everything’s fine,” or, in your case, more literary: “Do not be alarmed – I’m okay!” My heart sank, since I hadn’t known there was anything wrong with you, other than occasionally an overdose of zaniness. It certainly got me to read your post, but then I usually do.
I’m very glad you are okay, and commiserate with your finding out there was more wrong than you thought. Considering what they found, it’s a good thing you had your surgery done when you did. Rotator cuff tears, for one, are not easy to fix and are very painful in the more advanced stage. Listen to me, giving medical information to a nurse. Pshaw!! I think I am still in shock.
Okay, I’ll stop babbling now. For goodness sakes, rest for a couple of days and quit climbing stone walls and swinging yourself over golly-knows-what by a rope.
*a hundred hugs*
“an occasional dose of zaniness…” Me? 🙂 Thanks for the hugs and sage advice Sandra. You can “babble” here any time. No wall climbing for awhile – I’ll behave, I promise. (at least for a week any way…)
Hope you feel better soon–and thanks for the “squeamish” warning for future posts on this topic.
Thanks. I think it will start to feel better now.
Don’t be impatient – do what they tell you and get better. You’ll be back on the bike by spring.
“Dont’ be impatient…” Perhaps you know me better than I thought! I think biking may feel a little better this year, thanks for this surgery. No more leaning in the handlebar pain I hope.
Ooooooh, feel better soon. This does not sound like fun. Hopefully you’ll be back better than ever and enjoying a full, active life sans pain.
{{{Hugs}}}
Thanks for the hugs Cecelia. I think in a couple days I’ll no longer be wishing that I had not had this done.
I can’t believe you’re trying to type after shoulder surgery. But I’m glad you’re doing well. Take it easy there, Aunt Huffy!
I will Judy. Typing and writing are one of the “allowed” activities, so I thought I’d try it out. It’s going a little better today than it did last night. Plus, I’m under the influence of fewer drugs today!
Feel better soon! You.need that typing arm! Glad you are ok and in the post stage rather than pre. Happy New Year,
Suzanne
Thanks Suzanne. Happy new year to you too. I’m looking forward to your next installment.
Wow! glad you are ok. So am guessing you were having some PAIN in the shoulder. I hope this surgery will delete that once you are healed from the surgery 🙂
Take care Donna.
Yes, it should improve once the recovery is done. All of the offending parts have been repaired as best they could be, for a middle-aged women who bikes hard 🙂
Wishing you a speedy recovery. I found the part about your husband writing “yes” and “no” on your body amusing. I could see that coming in handy for me in other situations as well 😉
Well, you’ll have to let me know how that works out. Or maybe better not. Thanks for dropping in Lisa.
A good friend of mine just had the same thing done…..she says recovery has been much harder than she thought. Be patient and get well!
Thanks Winsome. So far it’s not feeling too bad, but I’m not really doing anything with it yet. It will be interesting to see how it goes when I start doing things like trying to get dressed!
Wow, so sorry to hear. And weren’t you worrying that they would just tell you to exercise more and stop whining. I guess you were taken seriously and you should be in top top shape soon. You can’t play ‘red rover, red rover, let huffygirl come over’ for a while though. 🙂
Thanks Techy. You are right – no red rover for me, or wall climbing, or biking for awhile. Yes, I was really expecting someone to just pat me on the hand and tell me to get a hobby. Now, I’ve got photographic evidence.
These are the type of posts my daughter likes! She is a nurse, and loves medical stories. Me, not so much – but I love your x-ray picture. I find them fascinating!
Thanks Margie. The x-ray is actually not mine, but does look a lot like mine.
Just read this and the post that comes after this one. You poor soul. Milk it for all it’s worth! Seriously, I hope you have a quick recovery and the surgery has done the trick. Thanks for keeping up with the blogging in spite of the discomfort and lack of mobility.
Thanks for your kind words Susan. Today it’s been 9 days since the surgery, and the first day that I feel like my shoulder could actually be normal again some day, so that’s progress.
My Mom just had surgery on one knee and will have to go back under in a few months to get the other knee replaced. So sorry to hear about your pain and discomfort huffygirl. Hope your pain quickly subsides and your recovery is swift.
Thanks Theresa. I’m already feeling better, but still a one-armed bandit at the moment.
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