OUCH! YOU’RE HAVING ROTATOR CUFF SURGERY - BLOG #1

I am moving through this “fun” process and want to share things I’ve learned along the way. I hope you find some of it helpful.

Important Note: I’m not a doctor nor a medical professional, and I recommend that you work with one you trust. They have all kinds of tips, information, and assistance to provide for the many patients who have gone through this process before you. Remember, they are the experts, but you know you.

My little posts are just tips and things that I’ve discovered or lessons I’ve learned as I travel down this detour before getting my life back… with a full range of motion! I’m going to break these down into small blogs, but they will follow the flow of the short list below:

• Pre-surgery. Yep, planning ahead is a Type-A thing.

• Surgery day. Wait. Get lots of help. Sleep.

• The first six weeks. The sling!

• Early physical therapy. Working on your range of motion

• More physical therapy. Get your strength back.

Consider this surgery just a little dent in your life plans. You can survive it with a little bit of planning, a good support network, and a lot of patience. Go to social media and do searches on planning for rotator cuff surgery and recovery. (No, I don’t recommend watching an actual surgery.) Ask friends, family, and others who have gone through the surgery before to share their favorite tips.

Life’s journeys are not the same for every person, so by asking lots of questions, you’ll discover all kinds of useful information, some of which will fit you. From there, you’ll craft your own version of how to get through the process.

TIP: The goal is to stay engaged to help make the time pass quickly. Just don’t sit at home and feel like you can’t do anything, it’s the worst thing you can do. Explore other parts of life and develop ways to stay involved.

Pull out some puzzles and ask people to stop by and spend a few minutes helping with them. You might be out of puzzles, so that goes on the pre-surgery to-do list. Maybe you always wanted to take up painting. Try it as a way to develop your other hand. Make sure you pick up some books you’ve wanted to read but never found the time. Use those for some quiet, restful time fillers. Did you always want to write a book? Open up a Word document, use dictation, and go to town.

Plan to play things like backgammon or dominoes with friends and family. Read books with younger grandchildren. Have a potluck where friends and family come over, bring a dish, and you all sit around and watch a favorite movie or chick flick. You just provide the movie, the place to be, and maybe the Popcorn!

The key is to plan ahead to have fun.