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[sikora]

I dislocated my right shoulder.  Again.  Time # 4.  I was walking my dog when I came upon a piece of mail on the ground, apparently dropped by the letter carrier.  The address was right across the street so I walked up the stairs, but the mail in the slot, turned around and promptly slipped down the stairs heels first, butt down.  I tried to stop my fall with my elbow, body went one way, arm the other. I had to walk home with the dog about 3 blocks on very icy snowy streets.  I cried and even yelled.  Actually I yelled a lot, not just in pain but in rage.

My brother took me to the VA, they did the xrays, and the resident on call came in and reduced the dislocation.  Now I'm in a brace again for two weeks.  I can't drive, do my hair, walk my dog, or play the banjo for two weeks.  This means lost wages. It's hard to get from home to work via public transportation, and public transportation would require me to walk some blocks to the train, to a bus, to the campus bus, to the lab.  With an arm braced, balance is an issue and a safety concern with the snow and ice. It is very hard to get my coat on and off. 

Damn.  Just, damn.  Well, thank the good lord and the American tax payers that I have access to good health care.

[barred_owl]

Oh, sikora, I'm so sorry to hear this news!  I know you were concerned about the prior shoulder injuries and being able to help care for your housemate; it sounds like the worst-case scenario has unfolded.  At least you received prompt treatment; I'll hope your recovery is swift.

Is there any way of arranging for someone to drive you to work and back?  Your brother? a co-worker? 

Sending positive, healing thoughts your way...

[oldadjunct]

Am really sorry.  Thank God your legs were not injured, thus impeding your ability to use public transport.  Never should you be embarrassed to accept the willingness of others to help you take your coat off.

That is damned good one handed typing.  Good for you.

[sikora]

Am really sorry.  Thank God your legs were not injured, thus impeding your ability to use public transport.  Never should you be embarrassed to accept the willingness of others to help you take your coat off.

That is damned good one handed typing.  Good for you.

Actually, it's two handed.  I have a netbook, and it is small enough to bring it right up next to my body.  I can keep my elbow right against my body and my arm at about a 30 degree angle. 

I'm having more pain this time than I did the last. 

Would it be safe to put a note up on Craigslist, on the car pool section?

[august_leo]

Can you call a co-worker and explain and ask that person to call/email around to find someone who can carpool with you? Even if 2 people did it every other day (taking turns) that would be something.

[sikora]

Okay, here's a question.  I'm conflicted about the answer, because there are two "good girl" answers. One is, follow doctor's orders.  The other is, don't make use of a (relatively minor?) injury in a way that approaches malingering.

Saturday I dislocated my right shoulder for the 4th time.  Ortho resident puts me in a brace and says to stay in it for two weeks.  No driving (my car has a manual transmission), careful putting on clothes, etc.  However, last night we had a city declared snow emergency, and I had to move my car.  No choice. My housemate is in a cast, there was no way she could do it. Nobody else available.  So I took off the brace, and moved my car.  Had to do it again today.  Both times required un=snowing my car. There was pain and stiffness, but not unbearable.  I was sore later, though. Today the muscle spasms have stopped. and I've been experimenting.  I have nearly all the range of motion I had before, and while there is pain and stiffness, it's not teeth-gritting bad.   

At the same time, I have work to do and I am losing pay, and my boss does want me to get the work project together, but I've not been in the lab.  I've been using this down time to work on  a manuscript that has nothing to do with my job, to read material related to a new project of my own, and to nap.  Frankly, while worried about the money, I've enjoyed the downtime.  Seems my injury is rather convenient.

What do I do?  I think I can drive, my dog needs to be walked, someone's gotta vacuum, I'm going to need groceries, and my injury is not so painful that it will prevent me from doing such things.

So, Good Girl Answer Number One:  Follow doctor's orders.  Even if it is too convenient and feels close to malingering.  Good Girl Answer Number Two:  Do what I am responsible for, work, housework, dog care, etc., because I'm not in that much pain.   And all the other times this has happened, within weeks it's like nothing had ever happened.  No pain, just about 100% of range of motion back.  As one orthopedic resident put it, "you're not suffering."


Bad Girl Answer:  Milk the situation for all it's worth.

I'm leaning towards Good Girl Answer Number Two.  Toss the brace and get back to work.

[elsie]

Are you in danger of re-injuring your shoulder by over-using before it's healed? I've done that before, and it's not fun.

[biomancer]

Sikora, I'm really sorry to see that your shoulder is injured again.  As someone who has had dislocated shoulders before, and has had surgery on two bad joints already, I guess my advice at this point comes in the form of a question:  how soon do you want to have the reconstructive surgery on your shoulder?  If you are not planning to have surgery you need to take it easy to let the connective tissue heal (and that heals really slowly compared to nearly any other bodily tissue).  If you are planning to have the surgery relatively soon (say, this summer) the you may as well use the shoulder as you need to.

If it's coming down to a situation of if you don't work, you don't have enough money to pay the bills, then take off the sling enough to drive to and from work, but try to take it relatively easy on everything else if you can.  However, anything else you do (dogwalking, snow shoveling, etc.) will delay your healing.

[terpsichore]

I'm not a doctor (well, not that kind) but I thought part of the reason to immobilize a dislocated shoulder for so long is to help it heal in such a way as to to reduce the chance of future dislocations. I was told that shoulders that dislocate repeatedly become more likely to do so again because the tendons etc. stretch. So while using it now may not hurt, the immobilization is to help prevent this from happening again. Of course, you should check with your medical doctor and not follow the advice of a doctor of philosophy.

[oldadjunct]

What do I do?  I think I can drive, my dog needs to be walked, someone's gotta vacuum, I'm going to need groceries, and my injury is not so painful that it will prevent me from doing such things.

Bad Girl Answer:  Milk the situation for all it's worth.

I'm leaning towards Good Girl Answer Number Two.  Toss the brace and get back to work.

First bold:  No.  Not at least for sometime to come.
Second bold:  You won't do this.

So, recognize what really, really has to be done and do it.  Everything else slides, doesn't make you a "bad girl".

[sikora]

I'm  a very foolish person. I have made things worse trying to force them better, and I'm out of ibuprofen.

[sikora]

Help me, I feel so guilty.

I'm still at home, but I feel like I ought to be a work.  Because of the snow emergency and new seasonal parking rules, I have had to move my car several times (manual transmission), and I've also had to clean the snow off twice to move it.  I had no choice, there was nobody else who could do it.  I've experimented with using my shoulder.  It doesn't hurt that much to do so, a little pain, a little tightness, some numbness because the axial nerve was so stressed. I've tried, and I have full range of motion.  I'm wearing the sling, but I also need to do things.  MD said brace for two weeks, but is that too much?

I feel guilty because I haven't gone to work.  I feel like I can and should be at work, but because part of me is enjoying the downtime, I am second guessing myself.  Is the injury too convenient?  What about my pay, and my obligations to my boss?  The best way to get to work is to drive.  Public transportation is doable, but it is a long drawn out process and because it is so cold, and so much walking is necessary, I'd have to put on a coat anyway, and if I do that, I might as well drive.  I work with a small number of undergrad kids who are not about to give me a ride even if they had cars. 

The problem is that my shoulder aches like a moderate toothache.  I don't know what that means.  The last time I saw the orthopedist he said that because I healed so well and that I had full range of motion, surgery was unwarranted, and strength training would do it.

Argh.  I don't know what to do.  I'd rather not go to work, and I'd rather not brave the cold and the long walk from my car to the lab.  But is that just laziness?

I will decide by noon whether to drive in or not.