Shouldering ahead

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So, that was informative, if not entirely awesome. No burying the lede here: I go in for surgery on Monday, 9/9. My pre-op consult is Friday, 9/6.

The orthopedist outlined three repairs: the bicep tendon relcation off the torn bit of my labrum (affixing it to the top of the humerus), a touchup on the rotator cuff where it's been pinched by the acromium and bone spurs on my clavicle, and shaving down said bones to not do that shit again.

So, I have a pile of paperwork to fill out at the office in case I need to use FMLA (since I am not, technically, supposed to drive for six weeks, while I'm in the sling); my expectation right now is that I'll just end up working from home once I'm feeling up to it.

Rehab is more of a concept than a prescription; basically, I can do some ROM work as the soreness permits during my recovery, and, based on the amount of stiffness and any residual discomfort at my followup evaluations, I may or may not be sent for rehab and whatnot. I spoke with the colleague who is a few weeks post-op for basically the same shit on the other arm, and he said that he's able to do a lot more than they expected because he's been assertive with his routine, and, while he doesn't have nearly a full ROM back yet, he's ahead of the curve in that respect, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

I will, more or less, not be allowed to lift weights with that arm until after the first of the year, and was advised to start light and build back up gradually. Sensible, if frustrating. Cardio is absolutely A-OK.

He had some confused reactions when I described the elbow pop over the weekend. "Sounds like you might have strained or ruptured the distal bicep tendon."
"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt, and, you'll notice, the lower portion of that muscle belly now matches the good arm, where before, it was bound up and lumpy. I'm almost wondering if that was a long-held adhesion finally saying, 'Fuck this, I'm out.'"
"I've heard weirder things."
"Well, you're the expert, so I figured I should let you know everything that's up in that neighborhood."

Comments

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Surgery. Condolences and best wishes.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

It is what it is. All I can do to prepare is make sure I'm strong and healthy and shit. Worrying won't do me any good. Getting pissed off might, insofar as I can put that into my workouts.

[tygenco-x.livejournal.com]

Ouch.

Bone spurs suck. Surgery sucks.

You don't suck.

Do what you need to do to take care of yourself. I'll send good vibes your way--since I can't do much else.

[yelena-r0ssini.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a barrel of laughs.

Here's to a fun and productive pre-op period, and a speedy and full recovery.

[ivy]

Tell me if you're going to have any food or tea restrictions afterwards, so I can factor them into the care package.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I will still hate beets, eggplant, and mint tea. :-)

[etcet.livejournal.com]

My current bubble of optimisim is if that my hunch is correct and I have a successful search and locate quest this week, I can use the enforced long hours at home to try and socialize Tiny's litter of kittens, which are coming up on three weeks old, and, as such, are about to be in prime introduce-to-humans phase for the next couple of weeks, so I can begin that process now, and cement it when I won't be able to do much else.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Having never previously had serious surgery[1], I'm mostly curious with a splash of anxious on top.

[1] Wisdom teeth extraction, for which I was only under local anesthetic; I don't know if this is performed under general or local.