Instead of rambling today, here is a wrap up of where I am at the end of September 2014, a little more than fourteen months after breaking my right shoulder and three and a half months post reverse total shoulder replacement arthropathy, rTSA.
Dr. Kai, orthopod, has cleared me to do most usual activity within reason. That doesn't mean I can actually do everything, but I can try.
I still need help with some household tasks: making a bed, vacuuming particularly. I'm getting better at ironing but don't do a very good job of it. Cooking is pretty much back to normal. I'm still avoiding really heavy cookware like Le Creuset cast iron pots and going with the lightweight stainless steel.
I continue physical therapy at home but don't have to go for formal PT.
My hair is still falling out. See July PODay 42 "Hair Today Gone Tomorrow" Telogen Effluviam. Good thing I had thick hair to start with! I do still look normal, hair wise, but there is always a hair falling on my ipad as I type or tickling down my bare arm, feeling like a bug is on me. The other day one of my hairs was in my salad! Yuck!
I feel like I am recovered from the pneumothorax (collapsed lung) See July Surgery plus 10 days. I don't even notice myself breathing through my mouth much any more.
I'll have some blood work for a different doctor this month and will find out if I am still anemic. I feel okay and imagine things are back to normal again. Hope so. Ditto: July Surgery plus 10 Days.
I still don't sleep well but that is probably only partially due to my arm. It's not really a problem as it is a great time to work on one's blog!
I'm better at dressing and undressing but it remains the one activity when I am most aware of my arm limitations. It's not harder than, say, driving but it's just that it is usually so automatic to pull up a pair of pants or zip up a dress. I hope it will become more second nature. But I still had to get help pulling my tee shirt off today.😞 (frownie face courrtesy of iOS 8.0 upgrade)
I did some work in the garden today. Weeding and raking. I'm considering the activity my physical therapy for the day. It's the first really physical work I've done in over three months. I must be feeling better!
All in all, I can't complain. Well, I can, I just shouldn't.
http://youtu.be/S9nSgMwtkK0
Archive timeline: 2014: May and June - preparing for surgery, July - surgery and post op problems, August - recovery and physical therapy, September
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