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Sunday, March 22, 2015

sore shoulder...PO Day 279

I have a better understanding of why reverse total shoulder replacement surgery is for older people. The bionic arm or, should I say the new hardware, does not like hard work.

You know how one projects begets another, even before you have finishsed the first? Frustrated with the curtain progress, I looked at the family photos on the wall. There has been a photo of les deux belle filles (2 step-daughters) hanging there that isn't good of either of them. Time for it to come down. Replace one frame and the whole grouping is disturbed. More hole patch and touch up paint is needed.  There was minimal hammering involved. Just little picture hangers into dry wall but it taught me that roofing was not a career choice for post TSRA patients.

The only admonition my surgeon had was "don't fall."  But I have read that hammering is really tough on replaced shoulder joints. I can see it. The jarring motion, a forceful blow sudddenly stopped, distributes all that energy within the joint.

It does still amaze me how basically physical many jobs are. I guess I imagine there is a robot or a machine to do anything. But drive by a construction site, from a new house to a high bridge, and you will see workers climbing scaffolding, digging ditches, or scurrying up ladders to heights I would not consider safe. And more and more often, the worker is female. The other day, while stopped at a red light, there was a worker down on knees removing the form boards from a new cement sidewalk pour. "She" was struggling to get  a board loose and, as I watched her, the thought quickly passed through my mind that, while I admired her for doing such physical work, a guy would not be having such a difficult time. As the light changed, the girl stood up and turned around. It was a guy! His full, curly, long pony tail had fooled me. I had to laugh at myself.

Anyway, rTSA is not for young people, people who do strenuous jobs, or older folks who hope to continue playing singles tennis. I think you can get away with hanging a picture or two. Maybe even repotting some plants. But don't expect to dig up the "north forty" anytime soon.

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