Shoulder surgery today
I haven’t posted about the accident much, but it’s effected my life greatly and the shoulder injury has not healed up despite time, physical therapy and steroid injections. So, as a last resort, I am undergoing outpatient surgery on it tomorrow.
The doctor said the choice of when to have it done was up to me. I could get it over with, but not be able to do much of anything for the rest of the summer, or I could wait and have it done in the fall and be laid up for the holidays. The way I see it, I’ve not been able to weed or do much of anything without ending up in a lot of pain that night, so why not just get it over with? Anyway, I won’t be able to drive for about 6 weeks, so I’d rather be able to get outside and read or go for walks while recovering, not be stuck inside the house on ever-darkening fall days.
Not only that, but the 2008 Dave’s Garden Kentucky roundup is coming up in September, and this year we’re planning on staying a whole week, tent camping. By having the surgery now, I should be recovered enough by mid-September to go on the trip as long as I don’t lift anything. That’s the plan, anyway.
We’ll have to play it by ear and see if I will be able to lie down on the air mattress to sleep, though. If I’m not, we may do something crazy like drive the van instead of the Jetta and bring the recliner with us! Look out, Beverly Hillbillies!
More realistically, we might have to rent a cabin and shorten our visit since the cabins are so much more expensive than camping. Either way, the important thing is we’ll get to see our good friends.
The last week has been pretty stressful as I’ve gone through pre-admissions testing and prepared myself for what’s to come. An abnormal EKG last week was proven to be a false alarm when, on Tuesday my stress test came back normal. One issue we discovered was that my blood pressure is high. That has been remedied with a beta blocker, and readings have been good as long as I am taking it. It’s an inconvenience having to take it twice daily, but the alternative’s unacceptable.
The good news is, my cholesterol and triglycerides are great.
Boy, do I sound old here, talking about cholesterol. Zzzzzzz.
Howie and I bought a comfy used recliner from someone who advertised some furniture on Craig’s List. It was suggested by the doctor that a recliner would be a good thing since I won’t be comfortable lying down for some time. Howie got the chair in the house on Sunday and I gave it a test run that afternoon, taking a nice long nap in it. It passed the test with flying colors.
If cholesterol makes me sound old, waxing on about a recliner must make me sound positively ancient!
Hey, I’m also ready from a geek standpoint. I should be okay to use my laptop since the doctor said I can move my right arm from the elbow down, as long as I keep my upper arm close to my side. Photography-wise, I am covered too. While I love my DSLR-A300K
Howie’s been wanting a point-and-shoot camera and I’d been wanting a little camera I could just keep in my purse. With the surgery happening, that size-factor became even more important. We bought, but returned, a Fuji FinePix F50fd
Not to worry, we returned it in exchange for a little camera that fits the bill: Sony Cybershot DSC-W150
Mary at Scrappers Gallery was kind enough to let me turn in two layouts this week for the design team; that covers me through August 31. Hopefully by the beginning of September I’ll be able to scrapbook a bit here and there, long enough to do my layout that’s due September 15. That’s also the deadline for a newsletter article, but that won’t be an issue since I use a laptop.
I’m rambling…I don’t want to go to bed, because I want to sleep in a bit in the morning. My surgery’s not scheduled to start until after Noon, and I don’ want to get up too early and spend a thirsty, hungry morning, craving a cup of strong coffee and just waiting to head over there.
I guess that about sums it up! I hope to be blogging, albeit shorter entries, in a few days. Anything will be short compared to this entry. Sheesh!
At any rate, I will be reading e-mails either way, so feel free to write! 
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I am so sorry to hear that your shoulder has to be operated on. I will be praying for your shoulder and for you to have a fast recovery. I think you are doing the right thing by having it before the holidays. Just think of all that Christmas scrapbooking!
I’m glad you blogged about it and I hope you or Howie keeps us updated
I just want to say that I will be praying for a full and speedy recovery. Living in pain is sometimes unavoidable but if the surgery can improve your quality of life it would be silly to keep putting it off. Hugs and best wishes!
Much luck on the surgery. I hope you find great relief. I’m saying a prayer for you.
As for the camping, if you can’t do it, don’t even try. Your health is much more important and there’s always next year.
Hugs!