The Agony & The Ecstacy...

For a while my life has revolved around PT for my shoulder. My dear friend asked how I was feeling. My answer was "The Agony & The Ecstasy". I had five PT sessions. These were necessary before the insurance would approve and MRI. These sessions were each about 1 1/2 hours and we done March 11, 14, 19, 22 and 26. Every day I had exercises to do at home during the morning and again in the evening. I tried to be diligent about doing these exercises. If I had PT in the morning, I didn't do the morning exercises. I had a Friday that I thought they would kill me. Other than exercises that day, I sat and held my arm and read books and experienced the Agony. The next day I only did exercises at home once. Bottom line for me was that I could feel some strength in my arm. However, when I hold my arm our straight in front of me and try to life it, there is nothing there that lifts. Just sharp running pains. If I hold my right arm straight out and lift it, the same reaction. There are other ways I turn it and experience this pain. None of that lessened with therapy. But the other muscles in my are were gaining some strength. I found that I could left my right arm with my left arm in the shower and keep it up to shampoo my hair. But I had to use my left arm to lower my right arm. If it falls, I would call out with pain. I knew therapy was doing some good but not any to the actual rotator cuff tear. 

At the session on the 26th, I requested they take measurements to compare with the measurements from my first session on March 11th. Tina would make a report and send it to Dr. Lyon. I had an appointment with Dr. Lyon on Thursday,March 28th. My hope was this report would allow him to request an MRI.  

Dr. Lyon asked me to hold my right arm out straight and lift it. It just won't lift and it hurts like heck to do that. Then he had me hold my right arm to the right and try to lift it. Same issues. He had believed all along it is a tear and the tear is probably bad enough I will have to have surgery. He was frustrated with having to wait to get this MRI. He mentioned something this visit about two tears. Not good. He did give me places to check for an MRI. He said to find the one that costs the least and use it. 

That afternoon I searched to find shoulder MRI's in Georgetown and Lexington. I made a list of six, three of which were recommended by Dr. Lyon. I called the first one. It was the Georgetown Hospital. They assured me that Medicare patients would have to pay nothing for the MRI. They needed a doctor's order to schedule. I called and left a message at Dr. Anchor's off that afternoon requesting and order be sent to Georgetown Hospital. 

Friday, March 29th, I called Dr. Lyon's office again in the afternoon. I explained that I wanted to be sure they received my voice message and ask what steps I should take next. They had received the message and sent the order to Georgetown Hospital on Thursday. Hallelujah.

I then called Georgetown Hospital. Yes, they had the order. They had to wait for authorization from the insurance company before they could schedule. I asked what insurance they were checking on. They were going to contact GEHA. I assured them Medicare was my Primary Insurance and they should be contacted first. GEHA is only to pick up the difference. When I said Medicare, she assured me thar should be an issue. She asked me to hold so she could do the authorization while I was on the phone. The request was authorized. We could then schedule the MRI. I asked for first available. She said the first available was Friday, April 5th in the afternoon. I was so grateful. I have been hearing other talk of waiting for a month or more to get it. This would only be one more week. 

So, I am set for my MRI. Dr. Lyon has recommended a surgeon who he says is excellent. Dr. Lyon has not steered me wrong yet. I trust his judgement. Once the MRI results are in, I will schedule an appointment with the surgeon to review the results. Then we determine if this will heal with only PT or if I need surgery. I feel like we are moving along now. 

My shoulder hurts a lot. Most of the time it is a dull ache. Often that ache feels like when they put the tourniquet on to draw blood and you have pressure in your hand. I have learned how to move and not move to avoid the sharp pains. Occasionally I don't get that right. I am learning to do things with my left arm to compensate. All is good. We'll get there.

My world has seemed to center around my shoulder. But other things have happened. I was able to complete putting buttons on the tops of the Christmas tree ornaments I made out of granny squares. These 50 ornaments are now all bagged and waiting to be given to the Relief Society sisters as Christmas gifts this December. These were finished Monday, March 25th. I could only do so many at a time before my arm was tired. Felt good to accomplish something.

Bailey and Patrick attended her Junior Prom. They are a cute couple. The prom was Saturday, March 23rd. Pictures were taken at Patrick's home and outside the hotel where the Prom was held. The one picture is Michael, Bailey and Andie. 

Claude and I have neither been able to work in our yard. We have neighbors who had cut their grass twice. Mulching has been done. We haven't been able to cut the grass, weed the flower beds, trim back plants, mulch or anything outside. Finally, Monday, March 25th, we decided it was warm and not windy and we would get the front flower bed cleaned out. Not anything else. Just that flower bed. I didn't take any pictures. Can you believe that? This bed has that very tall decorative grass. It mut be cut back to about a foot off the ground. Claude set to doing that and picking up the grass. I took the step stool out to sit on and cut back my liriope to the new green growth on it. I also pulled a few weeds. This is all very interesting with only my left hand. We were exhausted but that flower bed looks great. We now need to pick out something to be planted under the front window. The three bushes that were there died from the ice we had and were removed before last winter. Our lawn guy suggested we not plant until the spring. Little did we know we would be lame in the spring. 

Wednesday, March 27th, I was scanning 70+ pages of church history for the Lexington North Stake. This is Claude's calling at Church. He compiles it and I scan it. Then he creates a single document and sends that to Salt Lake City. As I was scanning for him, again using my left arm, I heard a faint sound of a lawn mower. I thought it was in another yard. Then I looked up and saw my honey go past my Sandiland window pushing a lawn mower. Bless his heart and his ankle. We had agreed the front yard would be the one that needed to be done. That is the one others see. Back yard is totally fenced in and only we see it. Claude cut that front and side yards and edged those areas. Then he came in and rested. I assured him the back could wait till another day. He couldn't leave it alone. After resting he went out and cut and edged the back yard. The back yard is the hardest to cut as it has the little hill. This was murder on his ankle. We have agreed it doesn't need to be done for a couple of weeks. Not sure how this happened. When we moved in all the yard was in poor shape. But front had mixed kinds of grasses and some I really didn't want out there. The back had been worn down by big dogs and no care and was practically non-existent with regard to grass. Now, the back yard has the best and thickest grass and the front is so much better. The front is still not as thick as we would like but it gets a little better each year. I still need to weed flower beds and we have peonies to move to another location. But that will come after our Easter visitors leave.

I am reading "The Grapes of Wrath" in preparation for our Route 66 trip this fall. It has been an eye-opening experience. As we chose the Route 66 trip, it seemed like so much fun, huge statues, interesting cafes, a few museums, Cadillac Ranch, side trips to the Grand Canyon and Solvang, California. It all seems cheerful and fun. Then I started to read "The Grapes of Wrath". I knew Route 66 was an exodus highway. I have seen documentaries of Hooverville's in the country. As I read, I became keenly aware of how horrible all of that bit of history really is. People run off their farms as the banks took them over. Good people who were willing to work a plot of ground and make a living for themselves and their families. People who were always willing to share what little they had with those who needed something. Now they had NOTHING except a car that was made over to haul them and their lives to California in hopes of a new start. They wanted to work and make their own way. Upon arrival, they found people in California didn't want that influx of people. They didn't have all the jobs that were advertized. They lived in ramshackle communities called Hooverville. These were often burned down to get the people to move on. Because the people were poor and not clean from all their struggle to get to California, they were looked on an unintelligent and worthless. Ugh!! I have more to read, but my view of Route 66 and its purpose will be a bit more realistic this fall. Glad I am reading this account. It is crude in language, but I am sure it is accurate for the time. 

My father tells of his family loading everything into a truck and making their way west from Louisiana. He always thought they were headed to the temple in Mesa, Arizona. I am now not so sure but that they were part of this migration toward California to find work. The stories he told fit this storyline to the T. 

Tuesday morning, March 26th, I went to take my shower before going to PT. When I got out, I told Claude the water didn't ever get really hot. Usually, I turn the water up as hot as it will go. Once it heats up, I have to turn it down a bit cooler before getting in. This time it never got that hot. I always like that hot water running over my sore shoulder. Claude took his shower a little later and the water only was lukewarm. Hmmmm...

Claude tried all the water on Wednesday, March 27th and we had NO hot water. Time to call for help. We had used a plumber when we first moved in. Claude called them and they said they could come Friday afternoon. We had a funeral Friday morning and really wanted a nice warm shower before going to the funeral. What to do? How to handle this? I used my points and got us a hotel room for one night. I then got us tickets to see the new Ghostbusters movie. We left our home and had dinner at Culver's, saw the Ghostbusters movie, and went to a nice hotel room for the night. That shower the next morning was great!!

Well, our hot water heater is fixed, then didn't quite heat up the water, the owner of the company came out and got us working this morning, Saturday, March 30th.

Friday, March 29th, we attended the funeral of Carolyn Noe. She was the youngest of 16 children!! Imagine that! We know three of her children, Adam and his wife Marissa, Suzanne Reeves and her hubby Drew, and Nora Collett and her hubby, Doug. It was a very sweet funeral. It is always nice to support families during these times. 

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. We anticipate company and a full house for a few days. More on those adventures with my next Blog.