I awoke with hardly any pain in my shoulder today, and that was a very nice surprise. I was even able to vacuum the rig with my regular push vacuum. Yes, I have purchased a Roomba robot vacuum, but I’m reserving my opinion on that item for another week or so.
This afternoon was my appointment with the orthopedic doctor to find out the results of the MRI I had last Friday. As I suspected, I have a tear in my rotator cuff, and a few other little age and use related problems. At this point, I have two options. One is surgery. The other is physical therapy. The surgery would involve several laparoscopic incisions, and a long recovery period that includes six weeks of my arm in a sling. Full recovery would take a year (just like my hip). That would be a definite challenge for me in my lifestyle considering I travel solo and have a stick shift car.
As with my hip problems last year, the malady is not life threatening. It’s a matter of quality of life. My hip got to the stage where I was desperate for relief, and a return to a more normal life. The shoulder has not reached that level of pain or incapacitation yet, so I’ve opted for trying physical therapy for at least a month to see if I can strengthen my arm and shoulder to the point where I can live with it.
As the doctor said, “Surgery is what I do, but it’s up to you in this case to decide when it is necessary. Physical therapy will either help or not, I’ve seen both. It won’t cure the tear, but it may make your life more livable.” Those weren’t exactly his words, but that’s what I took away from the discussion. He definitely wasn’t pressuring me to go under the knife. Isn’t growing old fun? I’ve got my fingers crossed the PT will help me maintain the lack of pain I had today. If it doesn’t, I’ll have to scramble to make other plans.
Several readers requested more Ole and Lena jokes, so here goes. Perhaps the rest of us will just groan??
Doctor (on the phone): Ole, I have to tell you…your check came back.
Ole: Vell, let me tell YOU sumting. So did my arthritis!
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
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