7 Weeks Post 2nd Shoulder Surgery

I'm happy to report that my shoulder is getting stronger and I'm progressing pretty well.  We don't need to do measurements to see what degree I am at since I surpassed 'book normal' about 10 days post surgery.  Susan rarely has to stretch me either since I can fully extend into a streamline with my arms above my head and have regained all that flexibility.  I was worried that by 'capping' the tendons and pulling them through the 'button hole' it would shorten them but I haven't had an issue yet.

 I'm now using the Bosu ball for stabilizing and more strengthening.  I'm also using it to do almost full push ups.  I started using the Bosu ball for push ups after my last surgery because I felt it made me use my core more and it forced me to use my back muscles more and those are what I need to keep my shoulder strong.  These two pictures are from last Thursday at six weeks post surgery.  I could do 10 and now I've built up to almost three sets of ten.  I am constantly surprised at how fast I lose strength, the older I get. 

Here I am on the ball and using little tiny 1 pound weights.  Ridiculously easy but it was where I had to start.  I start with my arms in a 90 degree position then use my back muscles to pull them up level with my shoulders and then I 'lift' the weights up higher than my shoulder.  Like in this picture to the right.  The next day I did this at the gym and used 2 pound weights and today I used 3 pounds.  I will probably stick with 3 pounds for a week and then start using 5 pounds. 

I have been able to do lat pull downs at the gym too, starting with 60  pounds last week and then 70 this week.  I hope to be back at 80 pounds next week.  Today Susan had to massage my bicep muscle because it was so tight.  All of these exercises are really working the muscles and it gets surprisingly tired afterwards.  That doesn't take into account every day life at my house.  An 8 year old, a 17 year old lab and now two minor league baseball players living with us for the season.  I tend to do more than I should some days.  But, it's all good and I have been pain free for the most part during this recovery.  Tuesday I got in the pool for the first time in seven weeks.  It felt good (and slow) but I could kick and do one arm freestyle and backstroke.  I am hoping in another two weeks to try my right arm too.  I need to start training again or else the 8 year old is going to get faster than me!

Finally I am also using stretch cords to do additional muscle building of my shoulder and back muscles as well as my arm.  I will post them soon since I am having a heck of a time doing one that looks like I'm throwing a baseball.  I can't seem to do it without wanting to tense up my shoulder and not use my back muscles.  Who would have thought it would be so hard?

 

One Month Post 2nd Surgery...the Recovery Continues

I'm at the one month point and things are much better than the last shoulder surgery, as I have previously stated.  The fact I can, and have been, able to put on a workout sports bra for over two weeks is a good example.  I have been able to dry and curl my hair, put on make up and today I even tried to clap at the Nationals baseball game.  I will take three out of four and am not ready to clap yet, too much vibration up and down my arm.  I will just stick to cheering. 

3 week point, I have almost
full flexibility above
my head.

I have also figured out how to help Myles (17 year old lab) up and get him in and out of the door and down the steps one armed, as well as strip and make beds, shovel snow, take the garbage out and occasionally cook with one arm.  Not always the best form but I can get it done.  I started running last week to train for a 5K and have figured out I can't pump my arms quite yet, so I keep my right arm at my side.  It will get better, I just have to let the actual scar heal and get rid of the scar tissue so it doesn't hurt.  (There will likely be a running blog entry or two in the future since I don't care for running nor do I find it very fun).



Inside and outside rotation with the band.

Here are a few pictures of  what I got to do today.  A special thank you to Susan for always being ready to take a few pictures to show my progress.

 I got to use the bands and start flexing my bicep during physical therapy.  I say in physical therapy because in real life, as mama to an 8 year old you do the best you can but sometimes you just have to be a mama.  That means I have probably flexed it and used it more than I should have already but again, being a mama is first then I can be an athlete.

The second picture is me doing an exercise I totally hate.  Nothing can make you feel more weak and useless than this.  I have to basically be in the downward facing dog yoga position and then try to lift my arm up by engaging my back and shoulder muscles.  If I have a good day I can get it maybe two inches off the ground and a bad day is thinking I am going to do it and then nothing happens.  I always end up feeling so weak and awkward when I do this.  Since it was the first time I held a band and let it pull my arm up, then I had to pull it down.  Again, I can't state enough how much I hate this exercise and yet it is really good for shoulder strength and recovery.


Finally, I got to try a little balancing on the table. I lift one arm up and slightly rotate and then I go to the other side and back and forth maybe 20 times total.  I liked it and it means I am only a week or so away from getting to work on the bosu ball and really rebuilding my arm muscles.  I also got to do little table push ups going down maybe two to three inches then back up.  It is crazy how exciting it is to be allowed to do a push up and really crazy how shaky my arms felt after just doing ten.  At my age it takes so long to build up the muscle and so fast to lose it and then so long again to build it back up, hate that! 

Shoulder Surgery Take 2

MRI December 26
 

It would seem, 18 months after my first shoulder repari,  I needed to have shoulder surgery again. Dr. Carlini knew exactly what was wrong in December after seeing this on the MRI. My bicep tendon was tearing away from the anchor that had been inserted in September 2011.  The anchor was holding in the bone great but the tendon, it was degenerating.  I love that my doctor calls me semi pro athlete and world class masters swimmer.  But what I really love is that technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in the past 10 years and even more so in the past year.  What I had done in September 2011 was a standard SLAP repair, but now the recommendation is for athletes like myself over 35 to have the Button Bicep Tenodesis by Arthrex Technique.  
 


What looks like white fraying at the top
of the picture is my tendon torn off.
 

Even though I met with Dr. Carlini on January 2, due to a planned trip to Las Vegas in February and Brad's work travel I wasn't able to schedule the surgery until Friday, March 1.  (See a future post for Adventures in Vegas with Brad's high school friends).  During that time I was having weird twangs down my arm and sometimes little pains.  Occasionally it would get tired and just ache but mostly it was the twangs that were disturbing.  I swam a little bit but the free style arm stroke hurt so it was easier to just kick or hit the gym.  By the time I had surgery two of the three tendons had pulled away from the anchors and one had torn in half. It's amazing what two more months will do to make it worse, and I really backed off on pretty much everything.  I think this had gradually been happening over the course of 3 months before it really started hurting in Hawaii over Thanksgiving. 
 
Surgery day arrived and I was not even nervous about this one.  The day before I had subbed half a day at St. B's school, then played (and won) Bunco that night with my girlfriends.  We dropped McB at school and went to the surgery center.  I will swear part of my loosey goosey attitude was the 2nd grade praying for me and a lot of others associated with St. B's.  I figured if they had my back I could just go in and get it done.  (Much like the 200 free at Masters Nationals, ha ha).  I walked in at 8:30 and was in the wheel chair heading home at 12:20 with a nerve block that lasted 21 hours.  Always make friends with your Anesthesiologist, they keep the pain away. 
 
If you look up my procedure this is what it says: The Bio-Tenodesis Screw System was designed specifically for the reattachment of soft tissue, both ligament and tendon, to bone. The Bio-Tenodesis Driver facilitates accurate graft tensioning into a bony socket in a simple “push-in” method. The interference fit provided by the Tenodesis Screw and FiberWire virtually eliminates graft separation from the bone. Because of the strength of the repair achieved with the system, patients are generally allowed to begin postoperative rehab earlier than previously permitted. The Bio-Tenodesis Screws are composed of PLLA and are available in numerous sizes to fit all applications. There are also titanium and PEEK Tenodesis Screws available for use with the system, if desired. The system is ideal for the reattachment of soft tissue to bone in proximal/distal biceps tenodesis.


Four weeks, March 28.

First day the bandages came
off, Thursday March 7.

What my doctor said is that not only would I come back faster,  but also stronger than last time.  For me, and what kind of progress we are seeing already in physical therapy, is everything is taking half the time. 

The picture on the right is my scar one week post surgery when the bandage came off.  This one on the left is what it looked like at four weeks post surgery on Friday, March 28.

 


 

First PT appointment on March
 8.  I could do the pulley already.



More important is this picture below, from day 13-post surgery; my arm is over my head.  My movement and flexibility at that point would be considered 'book normal' by most and it's fantastic for anyone, especially less than two weeks after a major joint surgery.  My flexibility and movement is a bit more than that so I'm almost there now but to have my arm move above my head so soon, it was just amazing. I also think it is really fortunate, to be able to work with a really smart and fantastic physical therapist who stays current on new exercises and techniques. 


Day 13 and my arm is above
my head.

But what really sets Susan apart from the rest is she's known me for over six years now.  With that knowledge of how my muscles and bones work, and also how I think, she knows when and how to push me to get me back to my old form.  

Stay tuned for the next entry which will document my continued therapy and recovery. 


Kanani Goes to Hawaii

 

Arriving with Piper and grandparents.

Descending into Honolulu
airport.
 

Last year for Christmas Piper got an American Girl doll and it happened to also be the girl of the year, Kanani.  This doll was the one that looked closest to her, which is why she got that one and not a just me that you can name.  For Thanksgiving this year we went to Hawaii with my folks, and of course Kanani had to come, it is her 'native' home, as the 7 year old puts it.  So, without further adu here is a look at our trip through Kanani's pictures and actions.

She was very excited to arrive and as we descended Kanani wanted to see all the beautiful beaches, blue water and even Diamond Head, an inactive volcano that we'd planned to climb one morning before breakfast.

  

Once we arrived at our hotel, we decided to hang out and then get a bite to eat while our rooms were being prepared.  Kanani took 'hanging out' to a whole new level!

That Kanani!

She enjoyed sitting at the pool, going out to dinner every night and just going along with whatever plans we had. 


Turns out she loved hanging at the pool, wasn't much of a beach gal (didn't like the sand in her swimsuit) and has this great skin that doesn't need sun screen! She claims to love surfing but turned out to be more of a Barbie Uno card player and she also said she loves shaved ice but the only thing I saw her indulging in that was a 'cool' beverage were the Mai Tai's!

 Kanani was a good sport about shopping
when she got tired either Brad or myself carried her in our backpacks.  Kanani is a light packer but turns out her swim suit, all day pajama's and two dresses were all she needed.  Plus, even though we all bought new croc flipflops and Piper got two new pairs of tennis shoes, Kanani survived on one pair of sandals! She is quite a gal.

When we were at the pool Kanani made up a funny game of her own.  She put the umbrella's from her drinks in her hair.  One day she had a rainbow all the way across her head!

 On my birthday we hiked up Diamond Head. Kanani was quite excited, and I wish I could show you all the pictures, here are just  a few.

After we hiked up and back down Diamond Head we wanted to get a reward, Kanani was all for that, and suggested we go we to Leonard's for their Island famous Malasadas! Those were delicious, after we all got our sugary warm doughy treats we looked over at Kanani and this is what we saw...Kanani had her head in the box and got the left over cinnamon sugar!

That Kanani!!

Sitting with Grandpa in the car

 As you can see she was quite a character! The next day we did some sightseeing.  Kanani rode in front with Brad and Grandpa Bill.  We toured Queen Emma's summer palace (where she was a quiet and polite little lady, thank goodness because the tour was over an hour and the summer palace was only about 500 square feet).
   We went to the Punchbowl, which is the largest military cemetery in the Pacific.  It has these beautiful breath taking views and is very peaceful.  We saw a funeral in the distance and stopped to listen to taps being played.  While we were there, Piper took Kanani to the fountain at the top of the steps and they threw pennies in and made wishes together. 

Another fun event we went to was Penguin class at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the hotel next to ours.  Turns out there are only two kinds of Penguin that are cold water breeds and all the rest are warm water.  There was a Penquin at class named Icky who was 25 years old and we all got to pet him.  Kanani was a little dressed up that day so she decided not to, but had a good time and raised her hand when she wanted to ask questions. 

Kanani had a great time visiting her birthplace of Hawaii.  She went a little wild and crazy but all in all we'd take her on a trip there again someday.  She was especially good at all the dinners we went to, here she is on Thanksgiving night with Piper and the grandparents.




Until next time we have a fun and crazy adventure with Kanani, or Samantha and Spencer, the bitty babies, Kanai will say Aloha! 

This was one of her favorite spots, sitting in the Barefoot Bar on the edge of the beach watching the sunset and enjoying live music.
 

Shoulder Surgery, 14 Months Post-Op

I am constantly reminded that only a year ago there were so many things I couldn't yet do with my newly repaired shoulder.  When I lay in bed on it these days it feels normal and when I reach up to grab something there is no pain, things that I couldn't do prior to surgery and I didn't have the flexibility at this time last year.

 In the swimming pool I feel pretty much normal, my fly is getting stronger and I can do my backstroke just as slowly as I did before, ha ha. My freestyle, as always, is a work in progress and I think as I start to not just swim but train for swimming more over the next few months it will work itself out.  I am going off the starting blocks and it doesn't seem to bother my shoulder so we will just see how it goes with each and every start both in practice and competition.

Speaking of competition, I swam in my first post surgery meet October 28 at the annual Patriot Masters Sprint Classic at George Mason University.  I won the 100 free, took 2nd in the 50 fly and 3rd in the 50 free.  My times were about where I thought they would be and I know I have a lot of work ahead of me in the gym and the pool. 

So here is where we are today, I swam three times this week and this morning my shoulder and arm felt really fatigued and starting hurting while I was doing fly and back.  I backed off on those and did some kicking and freestyle instead.  I wore fins for the "Rumble in the Jungle" women vs. men relays, in part to keep my fly together and then of course to make sure we won.  We took them two out of three relays because my water ballet leg of the last relay had a lot more style and showmanship than my race partner Paul.

This week we are off to spend Thanksgiving in Hawaii, it will give me a chance to work with McB on her swimming strokes and to maybe give my arm a little rest.

Piper's First USS Meet

Ready to go in her
Potomac Marlins gear!

It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I love to swim and have always hoped to pass this passion onto Piper.  Today was a big day for me (I don't think she realized it or thought it was quite that monumental but no matter) as Piper swam in her first USS swim meet.  Not only that but she acted like she had been going off the starting blocks all along instead of just once over the summer at Aqua Club in Seattle. 

I could tell by the time we got to the pool that she was nervous and a bit excited.  I was too, thank goodness Brad was calm and steady and carrying on, just like a good Sherpa should. 

waiting to swim and making
friends.

We got her all set and left her on deck with a coach she had just met, teammates that all train at different pools and went up to the balcony to sit and watch.  Then Brad suggested I go see about timing, probably for his peace, my peace of mind (since I could see and talk to her on deck) and to reassure Piper we were around.  I love that she is still young enough to want that, I know my time will come, sooner than I want, where she won't want me within eye sight, just calling distance!

Piper did great for her first meet, she took 6th in the 25 breast, 14th in the 50 free and 26th in the 25 back.  It's funny because I think her backstroke is good but she hasn't raced it much this year and needs to work on a few fundamentals that my good friend and technique expert, Beth O'Connor Baker, has instructed her to do.   Next weekend she will compete in an intersquad meet and the next day I will swim in my first masters meet post shoulder surgery.  Lots of pool time for Brad these days!

Diving in for 50 free



 

A New 'hood For Us

We spent 4 months looking at houses on side by side iPad's, then another year looking at A LOT of houses in literally a 2 mile square.  Finally, we made an offer on a house off of Telegraph Rd.  the neighborhood was beautiful and the house sat on a little over .5 acre but as we did it I said to Brad, "if this offer isn't accepted, let's start looking up Valley View Drive again."  The next day the update email from our realtor came and there it was, the house we were meant to own.  It had just about everything we were looking for a few bonus items too.  (A deck that only had 3 steps to the grassy yard, a beautiful fence we didn't have to replace any time soon).  So we did what any sane house hunters would do after just putting down an offer on another house 24 hours ago, we called our realtor and said we had to see this new house up Valley View.

Signing the papers in August

Two days later we walked around with the 7 year old for 45 minutes and said we want this one, pull the other offer.  A week later they accepted our offer and we were all of a sudden, after talking about it for so long, buying a house and moving from our beloved Manchester Crossings neighborhood and the -friends we had made there.  Granted it was only 2.2 miles away and we still see them, talk to them and plan to hang with them for the annual get togethers, but we don't see them every day while walking Myles anymore.  Piper doesn't seem Kamryn on a daily basis and I don't get to see Jeannine or Christine, Betsy or Carrie every day just because I am outside with Myles or Piper.  On the other hand, I don't see Matt at 6 am while in my PJ's and coffee cup in hand standing on the front stoop with Myles either. 

Brad 'carrying' us over the
threshold!

We've been here now for about 6 weeks and hosted our first party the other night.  It was to celebrate Brad's birthday and a little house warming too.  I am hosting Bunco next week and am so excited, I will finally have the room to host my friends and at the same time the rest of my family won't be inconvenienced .  After spending the past 11 years in a two bedroom townhouse moving to this single family home is such a treat.  We loved our little townhouse and miss it every day, we made the most of every bit of space and I had such a great set up in my kitchen. Now I sometimes feel like we are starting over with somethings and yet I know that they are little and can be changed in time.  I guess this entry will be ongoing as we go about making those changes.  The only major one so far was updating the hardwood floors and staircase. 

Now, everyone is happy, even Myles.  He has a ramp he can use to go down to the grass (proving that even old dogs can learn new tricks), he has made some new friends with the three Weimaraner dogs next door.  He even goes out front whenever, Max the other black lab in the neighborhood wanders up to our front door. 

Last time at our little
townhouse in the old 'hood.