I cannot go back to one-handed hunting and pecking, and even using a mouse left-handed means abandoning muscle memory set over decades. This morning’s challenge: Dish washing. Should be exciting. And by exciting, I mean painful.
Yesterday I swallowed my pride and took my laundry over to S&L’s; they have a washing machine and L has actually been after me to bring her my laundry since she moved in fulltime. Landlady and Ian were up this weekend, and I actually asked him to come over and help me sort out my drinking water: I’ve been drinking up my reserve water, which is stored in 5-gallon jugs which are too heavy for daily use, so I pour half into an empty 3-gallon jug which is a two-handed operation. Gad, what a pain.
Must say, though, that I’m beginning to believe it’s nothing all that serious. The mobility of the shoulder is improving daily without jabs of really serious pain, and if I’m a good boy about that damned sling I may get through this in measurable time. But there are some things – like typing, you just can’t do wearing a sling.
Anyway, that’s the big news in this old hermit’s life right now, but I’ll try not to make it the only blogging topic.
“I’ll try not to make it the only blogging topic.” Well I suppose that’s a good thing, but don’t forget to keep us updated!
Hopefully your shoulder range of motion will come back by itself. But if it doesn’t, don’t be afraid to gently-yet-persistently force the issue. Since you have been told that you have no physical damage, any movement that is possible on your left side should be safe and eventually possible on your injured side.
I once had a shoulder start to freeze up for no apparent reason. The simple act of reaching back to a rear pocket hurt bad enough to nearly bring me to my knees! My Dr. sent me to a physical therapist, but only for two visits. My instructions were to have the PT give me the appropriate exercises and then I was to do them at home. So I did, and I did! It took about three months of exercising just a few minutes three times each day to fix the shoulder like new. Yes, it hurt a bit at first, but there is no need to force the joint much beyond the point of pain as long as you are persistent in testing your limits.
When I was 12 years old, I put my right hand into a lawn mower, scraping up the cuttings on the ground near there. Nowadays, mowers turn off when you let go of the handle. Not so in 1968.
My hand was in a glove for six weeks.
Shortly thereafter, my little brother rode his bicycle down a very steep hill, and broke his shoulder.
His right arm was taped to his body for six weeks.
My father called us “single wing and the glove.”
We could do just about everything, write (badly), eat, get dressed, but tying shoelaces is not possible with just one hand. Fortunately, between us we had two hands, and two opposing left hands can tie one shoelace.
As an independent, do it myself, kind of gal, I appreciate how hard it is to ask for and accept help. So, I’m real proud of you, Joel, that you allowed yourself that healing measure. I’m sure that the people who did a little something for you were delighted to be able to “pay back” all you’ve done for them over the years. Keep up the good work, and healing and a return to normal is just around the corner.
It is a fine line you are walking right now. You need to work the muscles but at the same time not over do things. (I know, good luck with that) You may want to think about doing some stretches before working those tired old muscles. Just don’t go too crazy on the exertion, you will end up prolonging the pain.
I have had my issues too (sucks to get older) so I hope you are better at this than I have been in the past.
Think of it as gaining muscle memory rather than losing what you have. I learned to use a mouse left-handed, Now either hand is fine. I don’t rearrange mouse buttons either.
If you can shoot weak-handed, you can mouse weak handed.
I broke my collarbone about a year ago, learned to truly hate wearing a sling.
So glad to hear about the help, and I definitely echo the PT comments. Your concern may be more one of over-doing it than being slothful, I’d think. Glad to hear things are getting organized to accommodate this temporary condition. Sounds as though you are already healing. A little extra protein will help to rebuild the tissues.
Stay well hydrated, too.
ff