PT, Problems and Pricleless Pals :-)

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

Well I had my first post op shoulder PT today, and I have to confess

I was dreading it! Thankfully though it went pretty well as I got my

old therapist who knows my condition better than most. She is very

pleased with the amount of mobility I have straight out of my splint

period and especially taking into account the amount of tightening

I've had done. Some of my movements are actually still beyond

the " normal " ranges would you believe!! lol

The really lax and problematic areas that Mac has tightened the most

though are going to take a lot of work, especially my external

rotation which is very difficult and limited to 5 degrees at

present. My PTist doesn't expect I'll ever regain proper function of

that because of the extent of work that has been done internally. I

actually got rather a shock when she told me that Mac has had to

remove, shorten and reattached one of my muscles at the front of the

joint....that would explain why it hurt so much afterwards!! Anyway,

I have a very long and complex physio regime now to gently increase

the movement in my joint hopefully without setting off the

instability again. It's rather like walking a tightrope at present,

knowing that one slip or push too far could land me in a heap back

at the start again. It's certainly going to be challenging, nerve-

racking and painful but I know I will get through it. I guess it's

all down to time now really, all I can do is work hard and pray it's

worthwhile....but so far, so good.

Sadly it's not all such good news though as my PT has picked up on

an issue that has us both rather concerned. It appears that my

scapula is sitting completely out of position, being winged and

rotated. She said that basically my entire shoulder joint is just

mechanically wrong. I have often suspected a problem with my

shoulder blade as I have lots of pain and frequent subluxations and

dislocations, so I'm guessing this is either the reason or outcome.

The scapula angle is quite pronounced and can actually be seen

through my clothes as a bulge and I have to physically push and hold

it in position before I can do some of my exercises. We're obviously

adding extra strengthening exercises into my routine for this, but

the severity of it has us worried that I may need the muscles

tightening to set it back into position, similar to what has just

been done to my humerus. Not exactly high up on my wish list!

Here's hoping that I can avoid going under Mac's knife yet

again...either for my scapula or wrist! I am back at the hospital in

the morning to get my wrist assessed again and I'm hoping they will

remove the cast, although I have a sneaky feeling it will be staying

in place until I see Mac on the 30th. I'll let you know how things

go....

Thankfully at present I have lots of nicer things to focus on though

as I am still on cloud nine from my wonderful experience at the

concert last week, largely because of the immense kindness and

friendship of some amazing people. Would you believe that every day

this week I have received emails and messages from the band members

and even the management about how great it was finally getting to

meet up?! They were all thanking me for making the concert and can't

wait to get together again!! Unbelievable, that in spite of being

flat out touring and having a million and one other commitments they

cared enough to write to me in the little free time they have - I am

just completely overwhelmed and have cried more tears of joy that I

thought possible. These wonderful people have all but saved my

sanity this past 6 months with either music and support. And

alongside all of my family here, they have provided the spur I

needed to get through the dark days and reach a level of happiness

and determination I didn't think I'd ever find again following my

prognosis. I think maybe this is rehab for the soul rather than the

body!! :-)

Well I should stop waffling on or you will all need therapy for

boredom! Thanks for listening and caring - you guys are the best and

I really would be lost without you all. I realised yesterday that in

spite of losing an awful lot of precious things from my life, I have

also been very lucky in gaining many more too. I'm never going to be

who I was again, but with the love, support and encouragement of

some very special people I can do darn good job of being who I am

now and who I can still become.

Love and hugs always.....Jo

xxx