Rotator Cuff Surgery
Back in August I had rotator cuff surgery, entering a period and journey of pain, rehab, recovery and fear unknown prior to in my 54 years. To fix a range of motion issue and slight tear that was restricting a bit of range of motion, most telling when trying to throw a baseball, and that type of dynamic shoulder movement.
The shoulder - you don't really think about it that much - but it's an amazing piece of machinery. Move in all directions - not sure anything else on the body has that type of dexterity of movement. And then you have these little thin muscles that weave in and around the clavicle that can get damaged over time through use or injury - and while the group of 4 muscles that make up the rotator cuff may be small, any attempt to repair them if they tear in a minor or major way - is fraught with a recovery process that ranks in the top 10 of most arduous.
I think my only other surgery before my rotator cuff surgery last August was when I had my nose reconstructed when I was about 12 after foul-tipping a fastball off my bat straight to my nose during the New Era Midget Championship game of 1980+/-, which we won. Knocked me out cold. Went to the hospital just for a bit before bee-lining over to Pizza Hut for the after game pizza party. Seeing me and my nose with gauze stuffed up in it, and my duel black eyes might have diminished an appetite or two.
As I was typing that up, I started thinking about how that was all done without texts or phones with minute to minute updates like ‘we’re here’, or “i’m on my way’. I don’t know how life was conducted back then.
My point is I had another surgery, one that because the ‘injury’ was sort of innocuous and caused discomfort only when doing specific things, and the surgery itself was only a few hours long, and it was same day type of thing, I really didn’t think much of it. But I should have, because it lead to maybe the craziest 6 months of my life in terms of injury, surgery and healing.
Little did I know I was about to enter one of the most intense post-surgical rehab, recovery and physical therapy exercises out there. I’m 6 months into it, post-surgery, and I’m still not back to full shoulder strength, and if someone was to tell my life was going to be turned upside down in order to regain 10% range of motion and be able to throw a baseball again, I’m not sure I would have went down this path.
And the pain - wow - as my arm hung lifeless beside my body like a stroke victim, wow, I can say I’ve never felt pain like that before - day in, day out, and then the PT where nothing came free and each and every since ½” of range of motion had to be earned through not just pain, but a completely unfamiliar level and feeling - just a different style of pain. Not cool, not fun, pretty scary, and definitely should have watched youtubes about it before the surgery, not while I’m on the couch 24 hours after.
And I learned some unexpected lessons - which always happens since I'm a sponge for inputs and information regardless of the situation I'm in - I learned the hard way that a highly credentialed NYC best in class doctor on retainer isn't necessarily the end all be all since I really feel I went into this surgery asking the right questions but not getting the right answers. What I needed was a good old fashioned down to earth country family practitioner to give me some real down to earth perspective, not a referral to the best orthopedic surgeon in NYC who works on Olympic athletes. One route is surely impressive, the other one much more valuable. Sure my NYC doc is a lot freer with the prescription pad for my occasional Xanax and more frequent Viagara, and has access to world class doctors and facilities at a snap of his finger, but really, that's so NYC - flash over substance. Access over effectiveness.
Same is true with attorneys. Give me a slow talking common-sense lawyer who mows his own lawn over a paper-pusher 'strategist' any day of the week. I knew this, but everyone can be blinded by the flash at times.
And 6 weeks in a sling like this dude, without the smile.
