Last year when I made my decision to have my left shoulder operated on, I assumed that it would go pretty much like my right shoulder surgery. I knew that it would be hard, but I assumed that, just like I go through it with the last surgery, so I’ll get through this one as well.
Today, I asked Jason (my therapist) to give me an estimate of where we are as far as getting to the finish line. I told him that I have another appointment next week with my surgeon, and I wanted to know what he would tell my surgeon if he asked for a percent of completion of recovery. Jason told me that he would estimate that I am 50% of the way.
I then asked him to compare this surgery with my last one (in 2012). He said that at this time with my last surgery, I would have been about 75% of the way toward full recovery.
He also told me that he fully expected my surgeon to order another MRI to see if my rotator cuff got re-torn after surgery. He said regardless of the report he sends to my surgeon, he believed that I would have to have another MRI to see if something happened to the repair.
At this time, I am remembering something a physical therapist told me back in the year 2000, when it was thought that therapy could possibly help my shoulder problem without surgery. This is always the first thing to try unless one knows for sure if their rotator cuff is torn.
I first asked the therapist when one knows when it’s time for surgery. She answered that it was time for surgery when you cannot bear the pain any longer. I then asked her whether she knew of any patients who were worse off after surgery. She responded by first looking both ways, and then looking me straight in the eye and telling “Oh yes, and if you tell anybody I told you that, I’ll tell them you were lying.”
My hope and prayer is that this is just taking longer to heal than my last shoulder surgery. It was a larger tear and it was an “L” shaped tear, which is a little more tricky to repair. It took two hours, instead of the one hour for which it was scheduled. I did not anticipate any complications in this surgery, but I have learned that you can’t assume anything. I will get through this, and God will give me grace to persevere. At this point, I am planning for the worst, and hoping for the best.
Rotator Cuff Arthroscopic Surgery 