My Surgery Success Story
I believe this is the longest that I have stayed away from “My Stories” in several years. A lot has happened since April 17, 2013.
All of the preparation for the Reverse Shoulder Replacement that took place on April 25th was totally worth it. 
In the seven weeks since I have been amazed almost on a daily basis. Twenty four hours after awaking from the actual surgery Dennis and I were on our way home to St. James and everything I had organized for the both of us back home gave me a sense of quietness. The instructions before being discharged where very simple: “Wear the sling as close to 24/7 as possible and wiggle your fingers as often as possible.” I kidded the surgeon if he had put a bit of Super Glue onto the ends of the screws. He went on to tell Dennis and I that the screws were in fact hollow so they would fill in with my very own tissue to truly become a part of me. Wow! I left the hospital in one of Dennis’ large button shirts with the left arm safely kept tucked into the inside. Once home, for the first several days I was either in the recovery chair (wooden chair made of 2 x 4’s), pacing the floor or lying flat on my back in bed.
One pain pill a day taken before bedtime was sufficient as I am not fond of the “out body feeling” that the drugs allow for. I know I was relying on the bedtime pain pill to help me settle in for the night. The bed had been made up to allow me to sleep with my head on the foot end. My grandmother’s rocker was put close to the bed so when I would rise out of the bed my right arm would be able to seek the wide arm rest and help propel me up and out, keeping the left arm immobile. Two days out and the blessing of having the washer and dryer in the bathroom made it possible for me to take care of our laundry. One arm to literally sling it in the washer and again after the wash cycle to sling the laundry into the dryer. The rocking chair in the bedroom was the gathering spot of the dried clothing and either Dennis folded it or we pulled out what we wanted when we needed it. A pretty laid back routine.
Dennis was doing double duty from the start of my recovery as twice a day he was driving out to son Ken’s farm home to check on Ken’s wife who is on Home Hospice from brain cancer. The importance of Ken keeping his job and the remaining family members all punching into their places of employment, Dennis and his red pickup were enlisted. Dennis made sure before he left home that I gave him an itinerary of my plans and we both were manned with our cellphones. My only edict from Dennis was not to even think about going into the basement.
We never went hungry. I served up quite a few batches of cold cuts and cheese for the noon lunch and Dennis manned the kitchen for supper. Whatever was fixed we enjoyed. Dennis had the job of being dishwasher and he did a fine, smart job, but, his most important job was neatening up my underware and elastic waist slacks as I pulled and tugged to the best of my ability and the rest waited until he could assist. It may have put a whole new slant on wedgies.
I have learned a lot about being patient with myself. Try, try and try again as the weeks went on and I ventured into other activities. 
After the first three weeks I could move the left elbow and below as long as the arm stayed close to the body in the sling. I soon got needles threaded and tackled a few dishtowels. I am not saying it went slick or quick but where was I going? I soon reacquainted myself with hand quilting and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The weather has not been all that great during these last weeks but the patio has offered a place to check out the robins and the nests they have built close by. As the Meow Mix bowl is always set out for any neighboring cats that need a snack I was amazed how many birds helped themselves to the cat food.
After the sixth week the sling is no longer a mandate. I did continue using it during the last several days as I took back my flower gardens from all the wonderful green weeds that offered to take up space. With the sling on it was a great reminder that caution was still needed. I will admit after the sling was no longer a 24/7 item, the arm did feel very heavy as I was able to use it for light duty. Nothing serious, just making sure all the muscles and tendons knew that their vacation was over. The best thing is I can pull up my own pants as often and whenever it is needed. Oh, the little things in life that we all take for granted. The patio is my favorite place for enjoying a cup of coffee and doing some reading in between the fits of gardening
I am so thrilled that I did not accept the palsied condition of the left arm for the rest of my life. As it turned out the rotor cuff had been entirely severed thus causing all the pain. The surgeon made sure during the surgery that he found the exact location of the Axillary nerve that had been damaged in the initial dislocation injury. It was embedded in the muscle with a bit of scar tissue around it. In no way was he going to disturb that nerve and have any portion of my recovery jeopardized. It was only after that nerve had regenerated itself to the point it was prior to April 25th that allowed for the surgery to even be done. I was a bit frightened of the entire procedure as it seemed like something out of science fiction. I do realize that the health of that Axillary nerve at the time of the surgery is what it will be after all my recovery is completed. It was not 100% then and my mobility that depends on that nerve will not be 100% now. It will be interesting to see what the rotor cuff replacement adds to my mobility in the left arm. I do know that the lack of pain stemming from the severed rotor cuff is already evident 100% and so appreciated. That is my update and I deem it a success story. It is important to take stock and know we don’t want to settle when it comes to the quality of our lives.
In life, please give and have no memory of it, or take and remember it always.