Luke, in his stately pose, with the “sling” he is to wear for the next 3 weeks or so and the cooling wrap that hopefully he will be out if in a few days, came thru his shoulder surgery well. He is in no pain right now and they have him supplied with so much pain killer that i will be surprised if he ever hurts too much. The most interesting pain killer is one that feeds directly into the nerve bundle that takes care of his shoulder. It is a pump that actually leads into his skin (which i am to pull out in 3 days). I like the idea of putting the pain killer right where it is needed instead of doping up the whole body… only they dope up the whole body too.
The main repair they had to do was to the tissue where the tendon for his bicep connects at the shoulder. The doctor said it was torn and pulling away when he used the muscle and would have eventually torn loose completely. They put a metal clip into the bone (where it will stay). The clip will hold the tissue in place while it heals and he should be able to use his muscle normally. The second repair was to a bone that had broken on the tip and the little piece that broken had healed crooked so it had a rough edge that irritated the tissue around it. That he sanded down smooth.
The rotator cuff, which we thought had a small tear, was fine, with only minor wear around the edges. No repair was needed there.
There were also some bone spurs which the doctor was to take care of and hopefully did, though i cannot remember him mentioning them when he talked to me. Luke will ask when he goes in for his check-up in a few days.
He had the surgery done at a small surgical clinic/hospital. They seem to only have a dozen or so beds for in-patient – a very small unit. I liked it. They seem to be set up only for certain surgeries and that is all they do. As usual, when a place specializes, the do what they do well.
My condolences on sleeping arrangements. The ‘this arm shall not move’ assembly looks like it probably takes up a fair amount of space. (assuming he has to keep that one 24/7 for a while?)
Suddenly it makes more sense as to why he can’t drive.
Good to hear things are going well so far.
Ah yes, sleeping arrangements….. he does have to wear the whole contraption 24/7. In the photo, incidentally, I caught him when he had the tubes that lead to the cooler of cold water (the blue wrap is a thing that drains and fills with cold water. He is doubtful that it really does much good, the bandage under it being so thick and the wrap around the chest and arm being so hot, but he is using it because they stressed that it was important to keep the shoulder cool).
Anyway he does sleep in it, and in addition, is supposed to sleep on a slant like a recliner, at least the first night or few nights, because it makes breathing easier. (The drugs for surgery affected breathing the first night, and the nerve blocker and one of his pain medications affect breathing to a lesser extent – the doctor said it may seem like he cannot get a deep breath but he will be getting enough air.) Luke does not find the recliner comefortable so he slept on the couch with a pile of pillows. It is good that the room is arranged so he can lie with the braced arm out and watch television.
In 3 days (2 days now) we can take the blue cooler thing off and the bandage and brace and he can take a shower, but after the shower the brace, the “sling,” goes back on. He is to wear that for 3 weeks, except for when he showers. We are all glad that he can take a shower. 🙂
So far he is in no pain… i suppose there must be some, but he says, none. He is taking the oral painkiller, a narcotic (which keeps him from drinking beer – he is pretending to be upset about that), advil because it is an anti-inflammatory (which he has not been taking – we are discussing the need to take that one for reasons other than pain), and the nerve blocker which is local and comes out in another 2 days (before his shower). Also he is to keep it cool to avoid both pain and swelling. Is there any wonder he is not in pain? I guess i am a little amazed at all the pain killers which is why i keep going on about them. They told him when they let him go that if he is still in pain he can come in and they will give him something stronger… that there is no need for him to be in pain.
The nerve blocker is keeping his arm kind-of numb. It is also making it difficult to move his hand. (He can move his fingers a little which is an indication if no damage).
He feels good, actually… This morning he got up early and got on the computer (left handed only) for a while. Then he started walking around picking things up and TALKING to me (it was way too early for conversation). When i was too unresponsive (and probably grouchy) he turned on the television and we spent an hour watching some woman yelling enthusiastically, excited about the food bank. Now we are watching the price is right which, judging from his participation, he is enjoying. 🙂
I find TV much more entertaining when I’m doped up.
Looks & sounds like recovery should progress well. Keep on him about the advil – swelling is bad!
That sling, though …. wonder he can get to sleep at all. Are the cats at all interested in it as a climbing space? Or are they put off by all the weird smells?
See the red thing on his wrist that looks like a ball? It is a ball. As he gets movement back in his hand he is supposed to squeeze the red rubber ball. Last night, while your dad was zonked out on the couch, Zoeie was chasing the red ball thru the house. I don’t know whether it had slipped out of the straps that hold it or she got it out, but she was not put off by the smell.
He is still painless and has more use of his hand.
Funny. Hope she doesn’t start trying to reclaim ‘her’ ball when it’s in place.
I guess you’re staying on top of the pain meds – it’s easy to think that you’re not in any pain, so why take all these drugs? Then, surprise! It was the drugs in the first place 🙂 So I hope you’re still pushing them on him on schedule. Though having to take out the pain pump … that sounds kind of icky. Do you actually have to pull it out of his shoulder?
More use; is that wiggling his fingers, grabbing the ball, using the remote ..? How much use thus far?
Use of hand… Last night he could wiggle all his fingers, not fully, but almost as much as usual. He didn’t have any strength in his grip, though. This morning he is able to move his fingers normally and has strength to grip. I would say his hand is all the way back to normal, but it is hard to tell for sure with his arm confined.
He is good about his meds… he does not want the pain to start up and knows that keeping pain away is easier than getting rid of pain once it’s started.
Chris has car problems and is bringing the car here to repair with Dad talking him thru it. He doesn’t know it, but he is giving his dad purpose. Work and the prospect of work is good for his psyche.
Talked with Beth today; Beth who had her shoulder reconstructed not that long ago.
She said that the pain pump is the reason he’s not feeling pain right now. Sort of an ‘enjoy it while you have it’ perspective. According to Beth, about 48 hours (or so) after they take the pain pump out … well, then you start to feel it.
So you’re in the sweet spot now. Doesn’t that fill you with comfort? :->
I thought about starting a new string for this because this string is getting a little long, but it is still the same subject so i decided not to.
Luke seems to be doing well. He went back to work Tuesday, intending to work a half day but he ended up working a full day and showed no ill effects. I was supposed to drive him (he is not supposed to drive for 3 weeks) but he drove himself.
I have given up on taking care of him and making him follow the doctors orders. He is going to do what he is going to do. I guess the final straw was when he removed the tube into the nerve bundle. They were clear that i was to do that because it would be difficult for him to do with his left hand. He told me it was time to take it out because he did not think there was any more medication in the pump. We were standing, facing each other in the living room. I took a breath… steeling myself to do it… thinking about the importance of doing it right since it led to the nerve bundle. I was reviewing in my mind what they said about removing it and looking at the angle of the tube and the placement of the tape and deciding how to best go about it (they said to remove the tube slowly but i know tape is best ripped off quickly – I was wondering if the tape would make it hard to remove the tube slowly and steadily and thinking i could run a pair of scissors under the tape and slit it – things like that). When he abruptly turned and went to the bathroom it surprised me but then i thought he probably wanted to watch. He always wants to watch. He tried to talk the doctor into letting him watch the surgery.
When i got to the bathroom he was facing the mirror. I tried to get in front of him and beside him so i could get to his front and he could still see. He turned and i saw that he had removed the tube himself. I guess he was impatient with my moment of hesitation.
He bled a little, but not too much. I was concerned because they told me there would be a little black ball on the end of the tube and there wasn’t. They said if the ball was not there i needed to take him to the emergency room and get it removed. There was no little black ball on the end of the tube. I am still worried about that. I said we needed to take him in and get it removed. He pointed out the 2 or 3 little black balls higher up on the tube and said those were probably what they were talking about and he did not want to pay for an emergency room visit when he did not need to.
Sigh…..
He is apparently fine… he is not having any numbness or anything like that… he has no trouble moving his arm. As a matter of fact he is taking his sling off and moving his arm more than i think he should. He also took off the part that kept the sling in one position (arm across chest). He said that the purpose of the sling was to take the weight off his shoulder, not to keep him from moving his arm. I asked if he had been told that or if he assumed that and he said he didn’t know.
It is frustrating. I feel like i should be making him behave but i can’t. On the other hand, he seems fine. He has one bruise (bruising seems normal after surgery). He has no pain. A couple of times he has forgotten to take his pain pills and the pain starts up, but when he takes a pill it goes away quickly. He has no trouble moving his arm or using his hand.
He has an appointment Monday.
I don’t believe i did this. I tattled. 🙂 I called the doctor (which i should have done before now).
The nerve bundle thing is fine. They said that the black ball caution is not accurate, often mis-instructed, but that the arm movement thing is not fine. They told me what movement and use is allowed and why.
One of the women who worked with him at the hospital laughed and said she figured he was a hand-full and hard to make behave at home. I will tell him that (it should please him) and then i am going to tell him what they said are the dangers of pushing the limits. They said that if he tears it now, he will not feel it. I know he thinks he would feel a warning pain or pull if he pushes it too far.
So… I am going to lecture him tonight and they are going to lecture him Monday.
Tattle-tale! 🙂
Very good. I’m glad you called them.
I’m also glad you stayed in the post, I’ve been scrolling down to check & see if there were updates and it was nice to be rewarded.
And we all knew he wouldn’t heed the drs instructions for .. well, at all. Can’t believe he drove himself in. Suppose he’s very pleased with himself. It’s an attitude that I just can’t wrap my brain around, but if I even try to make reason out of it I get Very Very Displeased so I just ignore it.
Which is easier when I’m not living with it. 😀 Good luck…
it is hard to live with it when it involves something like this. I care, and when i try to stop him he reacts like it is a game – a challenge to do more or like i am a worry wart, borrowing trouble. Sometimes i wonder if i were more forceful if he would behave but i have a feeling he would just get mad and go on doing as he does.
I am hoping that when i tell him that they said he would not feel it if he was tearing tissue right now, he will take it seriously. I doubt seriously if he wants to pay for another surgery or to have this surgery be for nothing.
Of course, it may be too late already.
Chris and Christina… Christina said you 2 were worried that you were encouraging him to do more than he should when you came down with your ac problem. Don’t. After talking to the doctor’s assistant I know that he probably did more than he should have that weekend (and before the weekend and after the weekend). I was not there for the full instruction that they probably gave him about not lifting, reaching, or raising his arm but i am sure they did deliver that lecture and he knew what he was an was not supposed to do and if you had not been here he would have found another reason to do more than he should have… like driving before the first week is out. Nobody is encouraging him to do that. Nobody around here is even impressed that he is doing that. (I have decided not to tell him that they thought he was a handful, by the way – that would encourage him.) Actually i was glad that you gave a very restless man purpose. When you called, his mood lifted so and he stopped driving me crazy in the house doing things that i should have been doing or that did not need doing at all. Of course, i also thought he would like having a reason to talk Chris thru the work like he said he was going to do. I thought he would look at this as a teaching opportunity and see to it that Chris did absolutely everything.
Talked to Luke… he says that he has been careful about moving his arm in the ways he should not and lifting what he should not and he did seem to know all of what i was saying already.
It seems to me he has been doing more but maybe he has been more careful than it seems about certain movements. He certainly thinks he has been.
Good to hear updates.
… and I cheat: I have the comments on an RSS feed, so I get any new comments made on any topic.
lol RSS feed… one of the perks of being the main man?
RSS feed -> look at the bottom of any page. Very last line.
cool…. never noticed that