Today I got the results of a shoulder MRI. Yikes! Arthritis in pectoral muscle extending into collar bone and shoulder, large partial tear in rotator cuff, and bursitis. Phew, anything else?? I haven't talked to the orthopedic doc yet, but, if at all possible, I will put anything off until fall. Then, I don't know what I will do. This is my dominant arm and I won't even be able to drive initially and dh isn't allowed to drive. About to get real interesting around here.
Thanks, Coco. I'll just have to put my faith in the Father above, He will provide -- always does. Glad, though, I have friends like you all that I can at least whine a bit to :-)).
shoulder pain is very tiresome and yes you will need to have that done mothert. so sorry for the news. hopefully you have time to work out the logistics of how to manage DH and what the surgery entails before it happens. divvi
I had shoulder surgery a year ago - dominant arm. My rotator cuff was shredded (literally), and I had a long, deep bicep tear. My shoulder is better now than it ever was, thanks to a genius surgeon and great physical therapy.
Shoulders are tricky - make sure you find a specialist in shoulders. If you live in Florida, I have the one for you. If not, do lots of research, and listen to word of mouth about the surgeon before you let him operate on you. The surgeon my insurance approved in my area had a terrible reputation - I heard from 3 people whose shoulders he messed up so badly that they had to go to the specialist 45 miles from here. I went straight to that specialist (approved by my ins. co.), and I followed his and my therapist's post-op instructions to the letter. Total success!
Don't put it off longer than you absolutely have to - you don't want it to be so bad that it can't be fixed. Having it done in the fall gives you 3 months to plan for your dh AND YOU. You'll need someone to take care of you.
I shared my unfortunate news with the leader of our Support Grp at the senior center. She said not to worry that we could work it out. She's a wonderful,caring woman who takes it upon herself to take care of each and every one of her caregiver chicks. I'm very fortunate. Both daughters have full time jobs, so they will be of limited help in this situation. My 2 best friends will probably be the ones who help us the most. It just dawned on me this morning that I do need to get this accomplished by the end of the year because that MRI just ate up my deductible and I will have to cough up another if I wait until 2013. So, I will get on this as soon as possible. However, I WILL go on my planned trip at the end of July first - might be my only real excursion for a long, long time.
This damned disease is wearing us all out in one way or another with new aches and pains, some of which we ignore because.." who is going to help with DH/DW" when so many family members and friends just seem to vanish.
But with an injury such as yours, find the best surgeon you can and do this sooner rather than later. It will benefit the healing process. My DH waited almost too long for hip replacement no 1 and the rehab was much harder than the second replacement procedure.
I had my shoulder replaced in January. I was only in the hospital a couple of days, so only had to hire someone for that short time. Once I came home, I got help with getting her up in the morning and to bed at night. My wife went to day care 6 days a week, so that helped. Nights were no problem since she sleeps through from 8 PM to 8 AM. My biggest problem was driving which I couldn't do until I got out of the sling after 5 weeks. Now the shoulder is pain free and works fine.
T, I also had to have complete shoulder reconstructive surgery. I put mine off due to caring for Lynn as well. It got to the point it would dislocate just by turning the steering wheel. Don't wait too long or the surgery will be even harder on you. I am glad to hear your support group leader is going to be working with you to figure something out. I will pray for a smooth surgery and a speedy recovery ((hugs))