Back to Work

After twelve days of medical leave and holidays, I’m headed back to work this week. I’ve been able to keyboard some and the nagging pain is subsiding (of course the shoulder doc says that may change once we start therapy this week!).

I’d hoped to get some of the no brainer stuff caught up over my time off … at least do some reading. I discovered once more how much one part of the body can effect the others.  Along with not being able to move my arm, I was uncomfortable in just about any position after just a few minutes; and I found myself falling asleep after reading as little as 10 minutes … that may have been from pain meds … or lack of long, deep times of sleep.

I’m sure I’ll find a couple of things to be true as I return:

• I’ll be pleased with how much our team does without me.
• I’ll probably expect to get far more done than I will.
• I’ll push it too hard right off.
• I’ll enjoy being back with my friends.

I’m hoping to keep in mind how much pain others go through every day with injuries greater than mine … inside and out … especially those for whom the pain is chronic and not that of recovery. Lord help me!

Why I Haven’t Posted

This one is the basics…

Note the bone cuts at the end of this one … I got that too. Plus a third cut and repair on my collarbone.

It’s actually fairly common. Mostly done outpatient. Hurts like the dickens to move. And limits my typing … at least for now … therefore, a lack of posting. I did Tweet a bit though.

Distraction

Some time ago something kind of “popped” in my left shoulder. Six months ago my long-time doctor recommended physical therapy since I seemed to be fairly flexible even with some pain. After a few months of PT nothing was better so the doc recommended an MRI which exposed a fairly severe tear in the rotator cuff and a subsequent visit to a orthopedic surgeon and a scheduled procedure to repair my errant tendon this coming Tuesday.

So, I’ve been a bit distracted lately. Doctors don’t want to be too specific so I’ve been given the worst case scenario for downtime and I’ve been trying to prepare for that. I’ve had to complete some work around the house before my wing becomes unusable. The same with some tasks at work. I’m working on re-doing my life to add in the required therapy and extra doctor appointments. And, never having had any surgery, I’ve been researching what to expect. (I’ve even found a couple of folks at church who have had similar surgery – and their stories are helpful.) Fortunately, my job is not intensely physical.

Anyway, the distraction keeps me from staying up on some lesser priority tasks … like adding blog posts. At least Twitter can be done on the run!

If you’ve had shoulder surgery, tell me your story!

Random Sites

Without Word Spy we’d never know the meaning of new “words” like adorkable or carcooning. I can’t believe I haven’t found this site before (it has been around since 2001!). I guess I’m just 404.

Says-It.com explains a lot of the really “surprising” things encountered on the net. I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen the same church sign on several websites – each with different “amazing” sayings – each one purporting to be real – probably created here.

Shameless Plug

JJ in Scotland (aka my daughter) has put some of her photography online at RedBubble.com. I think you’ll agree they are creative and nice. This one is one of my favorites, but only because it at the exit from a church cemetery in Luss, Scotland. I think I want to visit this place in Austria.