So, a little back story on the shoulder situation. Last spring I partially tore my rotator cuff. I was sitting in our glider trying to get Mason to sleep, and I reached my right arm back to grab something from the pocket of the chair. It was an instant searing pain and my shoulder felt really unstable and wobbly. It was SO painful I dropped Mason off my lap onto the floor. I had no idea what had happened, and it was extremely sore for weeks afterwards. I eventually went to outpatients and was told by the on call doctor that I had torn or partially tore my rotator cuff. The only way to tell if something like that happens is by doing an MRI, which they wont do unless its absolutely necessary.
So months go by. I never went to physio because I was told it would eventually heal on its own. Once in a while if I moved it a certain way, it would quickly pop out and pop back in, which is painful, but it always happened really fast.
3 days ago was like any typical morning at our house. Mitch was in the tub, and Mason and I were in the bathroom also, getting ready for the day. Mason was standing by the tub and I was by the sink. I stretched my arms out, like everyone does in the morning, and my shoulder completely slipped out of the socket and was pushed forward. I can honestly say I finally found something that hurts worse than labor pains. It was honestly the worst pain of my life. It felt completely unstable and I could feel the shoulder grinding around, my arm was completely numb from my elbow up and I couldn't move my shoulder in any direction without extreme pain. It was a complete shock and I just started screaming. Mitch had no idea what was going on and though that I had a charlie horse (I'm prone to them). He was like "What do I do??!?", so I told him I needed to go to the hospital.
He got Mason ready to go and we headed to the ER. Any movement at all was extremely painful, so I kept my arm close to my body while we drove up. On the way there we went over a bump and I felt my shoulder slip back into place. We still continued to the hospital because even though it was back in place, it still hurt a lot and I wanted to get it checked out.
The on call doctor ordered an X-ray of it and came back saying my shoulder bone looked "pristine" and that there was no sign of damage. Again, you cant see muscle damage without an MRI, which they wont do unless you need surgery. He said that my rotator cuff and shoulder muscles are probably still weak from the original injury back in April, and that it can easily slip out of place again if I don't strengthen them. I was given a sling and a "prescription" for physio. He also told me ways I can pop it back into place if it happens again- basically telling me it will probably happen again and I don't need to go to the ER each time- awesome...It's been a few days, and I'm not wearing the sling anymore. It was impossible to do anything with it on, and just annoying in general. I'm taking this as a serious wake up call on my health and strength. My body is clearly trying to tell me something, and I need to listen to it.
So now, I sit here before work writing this, drinking a protein shake instead of an iced cap with serious intentions of finally kicking all of my unhealthy habits and following my own advice that I've been telling people based on what I'm learning in school.
This thanksgiving weekend I'm thankful for life, and for all of the changes to come.
