Shoulder Surgery

Many of you know I had some shoulder trouble this spring/summer and in the fall I had surgery on my right one.  It has been a little over four weeks since the procedure, which was September 20th.  According to Dr. Carlini all went as planned and they put in three anchors, one to hold the labrum and two to move the bicep tendon back over where it belongs and keep it there.  In addition to that I had a Stage 3 Impingement and they shaved off bone to make it flat again as opposed to the way it was which was hooked.  (there are 4 stages of impingement, I was at stage 3, there are 4 types of SLAP tears and I had a SLAP 2).  It was a pretty easy surgery, I was out in 45 minutes, and total time at the surgery center was 5 hours start to finish.  The worst part for me, and those of you that know me well are not surprised, was when they put the IV into my hand.  I do what is called Vaguling and when they put the needle in I get really light headed and my blood pressure plummets.  That of course was all I was worried about and with good reason.  Here I am BEFORE surgery in the picture.  All of that equipment just so I don't faint BEFORE the surgery. Brad was really good about taking care of me then and I was happy he was there with me.  I also received a nerve block that made not only Brad happy but me too.  I got lucky and it lasted almost 30 hours so I had a lot of pain pills in me to ward off any pain.

I couldn't drive for three weeks and in the third week my mom came out to take care of me since Brad was traveling.  There are a lot of things I can do post shoulder surgery that are different from knee surgery. After me knee procedures I got back in the pool after 2 weeks and pulled for a month, this time I was back in the gym after a week and doing one armed spin class but no swimming.  I have been doing physical therapy now for 2 1/2 weeks with Susan, and today I got my arm all the way over my head and out to the side just a bit.  Today was a big day for another reason too, I went swimming for the first time since August.

This is the longest I have ever been out of the pool since I was 28! I did a lot of kick and some one armed free, fly and back. It was so nice to be in the pool and not the gym, and easier on my knees.  I admit to being tired but I can't wait to go again on Tuesday.  I have a band I wear that ties around my chest and holds my right arm at my side. I like to think it will really help my breathing to the right side in the end. It is looking like I might get to do a stroke sometime after Christmas between the 12 and 16 week recovery point.   I think I will take some pictures in the coming weeks to chart my progress.  The end goal is now to swim in Omaha, NE in July at Long Course Masters Nationals, so we shall see if I can do that.