confessions of a nonlinearmind

I injured my shoulder the other day…

I injured my right shoulder the other day when I fell out of my wheelchair (down a slight grass embankment). I think I tore my deltoid a little bit. I know this because, A. when you have very few muscles working to begin with, and you go through rehab, you learn to know what muscles you have, and B. I destroyed my left shoulder seven years ago in a bicycle crash where I tore my deltoid, shoulder capsule, rotator cuff, bicep tendon and broke a little piece of bone. Crashing hands-first is a good way to hyper-extend and/or dislocate your shoulder. I think I hyper-extended my right shoulder when I fell the other day.

So I’m taking it a little bit easier, not using my right arm as much and not pushing around with the dog as far. Today I began thinking about how a minor shoulder surgery would affect my life today, versus the extensive one seven years ago. Here is how I think the experiences would be different:

Seven years ago - Left shoulder - able-bodied
I had severely dislocated my shoulder, but was able to function every day for four months before I finally had surgery on it. Basically I was limited in what I could do overhead and in physical activities. Otherwise, I was able to lug around video equipment and do my job without limitation. My surgery lasted five hours, and after an hour of observation, I hopped in my mom’s car and she drove me home. Once I was at home, I sat on the couch fighting nausea while mom cooked me meals and watched movies with me. I went back to work the next day and was able to drive and work as a video editor using my right, predominant, hand. After a month, I was able to take my arm out of the sling, and went through three weeks of rehab, followed by another month of home exercises. During that month, my arm was weak, but I was able to work 100%. It took another three months before the shoulder felt good as new.

Hypothetical surgery today - left shoulder - quadriplegic
If I had even a minor dislocation that still needed surgery, I would not be able to push my wheelchair and would have to dust off my old power chair to use instead. Prior to surgery, I would still be able to use my computer with my left hand (which, after my spinal cord injury, is now my predominant hand). I would not be able to do transfers to and from my wheelchair, and would need somebody to help me with that. That also means I would not be able to drive. If I went in for surgery, I probably would spend the day in the hospital, just as a precaution. I would probably be brought home in a medical transport, to avoid the need to get me in and out of the car. Once at home, I would probably spend a week in bed to avoid too much movement. Once out of bed and in my power chair, I would have a hard time doing things with just my right hand. As it stands right now, I don’t use it for much. I would probably be able to use my computer once I get used to it, but I don’t think I would be able to prepare meals and do much without the aid of my left hand. I would definitely have to have an aide on duty all day. After a few weeks, my arm would come out of the sling, and I would go and do rehab. I would need to have someone else drive my van while I rode in the back. It would take a few weeks just to have full range and a moderate amount of strength back in the arm, not to mention the fact that I would be weak in my right arm from being in the power chair and not pushing around. After a few weeks of rehab, it would probably take months and months of strengthening and pushing my chair, and relearning how to transfer before I was back to 100%.

So, as I was walking my dog today, and feeling the sting in my shoulder, I thought of this scenario, and then thought “maybe I should take it easy for a couple of days”.