Shoulder surgery week 2 end

Yesterday marked two weeks since my surgery. I had a Dr appt at 9:30, so we had a test run of getting up, eating, showering, putting on clothes and figuring out how to button and zip pants with one hand. I was seriously considering investing in some elastic waistband maternity pants, but it wasn't altogether impossible, so I didn't.
My Dr has been really great. As I've been seeing him since 2008, I think we're both happy to be a certain distance down the road of making my shoulder better. And now what we've all been waiting so patiently for, the prognosis! According to Dr. Collville, who has been operating on shoulders arthroscopically since the 70s I might add, I was born with incredibly loose shoulders, particularly in the posterior direction. What this means is that when I move it in certain ways it pops out of the socket and gets inflamed and hurts. In addition, he found a tear in my labrum which I believe may have started as a small year when Max ran after a squirrel one day while we were running, and has been getting bigger with each row I hoe in the garden. So the doc showed me all of the images from my "capsulariphy" or "tightening of the shoulder capsule". What looked like industrial strength nautical ropes were tiny threads that he used to gather up extra capsule tissue and cinch it up. For the torn area, he lassoed what looked like a war tattered flag, cinching it up just like the other areas. He did four of these sutures in total.
My main complaint for the doc was not pain, but the inability to sleep. He recommended I take something at night, so I opted for Vicadin 7.5mg, the stronger variety of ocycodone's well known cousin. I guess I thought the ocycodone was a bit heavy to continue taking, but it gets the job done. In hindsight, I should have gone with the stronger drugs, but I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of a strong narcotic as a sleep aid.
Dr. Collville seemed concerned about my lack of range of motion, but not overly surprised. He's sending me back to Helen, with whom I did 6 months of pre-surgery PT. She is amazing. If there is anyone I know can get me back in action, it's her.
Last night Kevin and I enjoyed our very last day off together (he took 2 weeks to take care of me) by watching 2 long movies. One thing Collville mentioned was that it would be very hard to "mess up" the surgery at this point, something that had previously kept me sleeping on the couch in my sling propped up with pillows. He said I could lay down in bed with some pillows to support my left side. Two nights ago I came into the bedroom crying at 7am because I hadn't slept a wink on the couch. The next night I tried sleeping in bed but came back out to the couch because I was so paranoid of turning onto my shoulder that I didn't sleep at all. Seems nothing was working. Last night I put a pillow on my chest and "hugged" it, and I was fairly comfortable. The doc said the pain will stop me from making any false moves. He was right. Just a tiny tweak in my arm sends shooting pains. But I'm learning what I can and can't do, and more importantly how to sleep without my sling and ice machine.
Today I was a complete sloth, reading photography blogs and gathering ideas for an upcoming wedding that my friend Matt from work asked me to shoot with him.
I can't say thank you enough times to everyone who has sent cards, baskets, carepackages, emails, texts and phone calls filled to the brim with love, well wishes and prayers. Getting through this has been much easier with all of your support. And I can't leave out my incredible husband who has anticipate my every need, and ones he didn't, adapted and responded to. His commitment to my recovery and wonderful sense of humor has gotten me through all of the rough bits in one piece.

Shoulder surgery day ?

I've lost track. Being cooped up is starting to wear on me. I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes this afternoon, I just couldn't stand sitting on my butt anymore.
Pain last night was difficult to sleep through but today hasn't been bad. The ice machine has been a really great luxury. Kevin is making guacamole to go with our chimichangas. I can't wait for dinner!

Shoulder surgery day 9

The sun is shining into the living room window between refreshing rain showers, I'm sitting on the couch with my gameready ice machine on and a seed catalog in my lap. It's going to be a good day.

Shoulder surgery week 1 end

Despite my intense digestive issues and having gotten very little sleep comparatively, I feel quite a bit more alive today. Ive been adding in some leg exercises to my PT sessions lying on my back and trying to walk around more. I Received a most wonderful package today that was so thoughtful it put me in tears, and my valentines day gift for Kevin arrived on time! Gourmet culinary salts from around the world. Shhh, dont tell him I'm just settling in now for some much anticipated messaging from Bill Bush.

1am update: just had a long anticipated celebration (with those little tubes you blow into with the rolls of paper that project forward courtesy of Mrs. Davis) of much intestinal relief! Max was not amused and began biting at what he probably thought were projectile snakes.

Shoulder surgery day 6

More of the same today. Not sure when the pain is supposed to lessen. Pills still making me very sleepy. Must have slept most of the day today in between PT. kevin is making chicken caesar salad I can't wait for a big bowl of lettuce. It's been a while. Dr. Ok'd a laxative so hopefully that kicks in soon. Other than that my vision is a bit blurry on these pills which makes looking at my phone or reading less desirable than closing my eyes.

Shoulder surgery day 5

I may have finally managed to follow the worst day yet with the best day yet. No illness, headache fading, I feel alert and somewhat normal. Just munching on some delicious bran prune muffins made by my wonderful chef/husband and chewing on a few dried apricots. I'll let you do the math. :)
Then I got a phone call from the most compassionate 4 year old who was genuinely concerned about the "holes" in my shoulder. What a sweetheart. She says in her bright, loving voice "how are you feeling Nat-a-eee?"

Shoulder surgery day 4

Could this possibly only be day 4? I think last night definitely counts as the worst yet. After some delicious tacos and two episodes of Reilly, Ace of Spies I was rudely awaken by serious nausea. Managed to throw up on my My Little Pony tray table but I was still hooked up to my ice machine so I couldn't run to the bathroom. This continued until I had thrown up a total of 6 times. It is at that point I decided no more meds until I felt stable. By noon I could keep some yogurt down so I took 5mg of oxycodone after taking nothing for 12 hours. Caffeine was also making me nauseous so I've been fighting a mean caffeine withdrawal headache.
Once I was able to keep some food in my stomach, I took a ciesta for the afternoon. Woke up, did more pt, more ice. Then I looked outside to see my best friend Claire dropping something off at the door. What a sweetie, a care package. She must have read my mind because in my shape im not much for conversation. But now I've got this little guy to keep me company. Thanks Beagles! Thank you everyone for your texts, love and prayers!

Shoulder surgery day 3

Couldn't sleep this morning from 4-6am. Tried to have some coffee with breakfast around noon but it made me nauseous. I've been soooo groggy all day I just keep falling asleep after everything I do. Guess its all catching up with me after all.
Kevin fashioned a hairtie clipped to a safety pin as a means of keeping track of my right sleeve. Nothing worse than waking up with your sleeve tightly wrapped around your bicep and no physical way of freeing it. I also feels bit silly wearing a cotton glove on my left hand but I need it ok. Hand Keeps losing circulation in the sling.
I'm learning to just be today. If I'm drinking tea, I can't read a book too. If I'm blogging, I can't eat or pet the dog. I just have to do one thing at a time. For anyone who knows me, you will understand how terrifying a notion it really is. I miss using a pen, weird as that is. I've been dreaming up new dresses and outfits to make but I can't draw so they're stuck in my brain for the time being.
Kevin had to go get more ice again. He picked up a Real Simple for me. I think I'll read it tomorrow when he takes Max for a bath. That should be an adventure.
Yes, in fact that is a leopard print blanket from Tijuana, what about it?

Shoulder surgery day 2

I woke up around 12:30 am to the ice maker again. Kev ran out last night to buy ice since our fridge ice maker is slow, but we forgot to turn it off. Slept till 3:45, lots of pain, then pills at 4 and turned on the gameready. Dog bothered me until I got kevin up to feed him. Please set an alarm tomorrow. Up again at 8, slept through till noon, nice! Took my first shower around 2:30. I only have 4 x shaped stitches which don't look too bad. More painful PT after and then resting while Kevin ran to the pharmacy again. Now I'm just browsing etsy for vintage buttons for one of my sweaters. Dog is asleep next to me. Husband is heating up some homemade pizza from our party last week. It's going to be a good night, I have a good feeling. I think we're both settling into our new roles. It's hard yo do nothing, but the pain is quite enough to discourage any unnecessary moving around.

Shoulder surgery day 1

The first official day after surgery started with a significant amount of pain at 4am. My pill schedule is 4-8-12 so we stayed up until midnight and try to sleep till 8. Max is used to being fed when my alarm goes off so He was significantly disappointed when I took my pills and went back to sleep. After realizing I only had enough pain meds to last through Sunday, I spent a while trying to get a refill and Kevin had to drive to the nearest office to pick it up in person. My first home PT was so painful I cried. I think that surprised me, though it shouldn't have.

Shoulder surgery D-day

I got up at 8:30 to finish some work and try to (partially successfully) set auto replies on my work webmail. I needed to be at the surgery center by 11:30, so we showered and left by 10:45. I brought with me the "gunslinger" sling and my mountain of paperwork. I was surprised at how quickly they called me in to undress and cozy up in my hospital bed. Soon after my nurse inserted the IV into my right hand, she called int husband to wait with me. That was about noon. Soon after another nurse came in to do a first wash on my arm. She even warmed the solution but it was still weird to have someone essentially exfoliating your skin and underarm. Then the rep from genesis gave us a rundown of the game ready ice machine we rented. After he left the anesthesiologist asked some questions and went over the procedures. He was really sincere and compassionate. I knew I was in good hands. Dr Colville showed up at about 1 to mark my arm with an x and explain the general procedure again. Once I was wheeled into the OR I movedyself onto the operating table, had a short conversation about my purple hair and don't remember anything until I woke u in the recovery room with my arm in the sling and the ice machine on. I was really groggy and could barely see anything. The nurse asked about my
Pain level and gave me 5 mg of oxycodone, then shortly after devouring some applesauce another 5. When asked about my pain again (it hadn't gone down at all) she gave me delaudid. Pain dropped to a tolerable level almost immediately but when the Dr tried to debrief me on the surgery I couldn't keep my eyes open. He understood and explained everything to my husband. About 20 minutes later after they knew I was stable they let me get dressed and wheeled me out to the parking garage. The delaudid was essential for getting home. Every you bump would have been miserable otherwise. I was surprised at the level of pain despite many warnings by the nurses and docs, and needed to take 10mg oxycodone every 4 hours. The nurses also recommend eating something bland the first night after anesthesia. We had Kevins delicious potato soup with kale.
So everyone in the hospital will tell you it's best to sleep in a recliner. What if you don't have one? We used pillows. 10-15 is probably the number. I can't see them but I know they are there. It's really only comfortable to sleep upright partially because you lose feeling in your fingers if your hand is tilted up at night....and partially because it just hurts to move period. Laying upright on the couch really limits your options for moving around.

Shoulder surgery day -1

Trying to wrap things up at work and with post - ASCE conference obligations was more work than I thought it would be. At the end of the day, though, you have to just hand things over and pick it back up when you return. I plan to be off for about a month, longer than I've ever missed work.
Evening came, not without a bit of tension. I think for all I tried to stay calm, my husband and I both felt a knot of anxiety about the unknowns. We realized what was at play quickly and were back on the same team. He made a big meal (can't eat or drink after midnight) and polished it off with some Pinot grigio and 2 episodes of Lost.