Bored bored bored bored bored

So, my shoulder's feeling better -- a lot better -- so I'm trying to be cautious and wary and not be over-ambitious.

That means that I'm trying to not try to do physically active things on weekends, like woodworking or yardwork, or recording (e.g. playing guitar, re-arranging microphones).  And Monday-through-Friday I've been typing two-handed at work, which does make my shoulder a little sore by the end of the day -- so I really shouldn't do much computer work on the weekend.

And it's physically difficult to hold a book with just one hand -- so that means I can't really sit around reading.

So, that leaves:  watching t.v. and DVDs during the weekend.  Which I can do for a while.  But I'd much rather be doing woodworking or yardwork or music.

So I'm getting kinda bored.

But!  In two weeks I get to go back to the doctor's, and see if I can ditch the sling and start doing physical therapy.  We'll see.


--GG

Bone progress

Ventured out to the mall today: my first non-medical instance of leaving my yard since Friday a week ago.  The Lady drove, of course.

My sister recommended some calcium supplements for the bone healing, and glucosamine + chondroitin for the ligaments -- plus eating more protein.  Picked up vitamin supplements for the first two, and chicken muscle for the protein.

I was unusually wary of having people stand close to me at the mall, especially on my right-hand (bad) side:  I tended to keep my left hand up near my chest, ready to cross-block if anyone seemed like they would bump in to my bad shoulder.

I'm feeling much better, psychologically and emotionally, now that I know exactly what's wrong with my shoulder -- and that it's in the correct alignment and it's OK to start healing and re-building. No pain in some positions; some minor pain in other positions, or if I lift heavy things with my "good" side, which causes me to tense my entire shoulder structure (both sides); gah! So, I have to remember to not lift things.

Otherwise, I was taking the pain meds just out of principle, every four hours -- but I stopped as of last night. (Well -- I woke up with minor pain about 3am, so I popped some pills. But other than that, no meds today -- and it's now about 6:30pm.)

I feel a little guilty, having less pain from a self-inflicted (by way of stupidity) injury, when a friend at work has chronic headaches from no fault of his own.  Not that I want pain.  But it just doesn't seem fair.

I can now at least type with both hands, for brief busts.

Getting better using my left hand: cut up an entire cantaloupe with just my left hand, except for using my "bad" hand (R. hand) to steady the halves when I used my "good" (left) hand to scoop out the seeds. Otherwise, completely one-handed.

Also opened the screwdriver blade on my pocket knife, pried open the staples from a small Daiso purchase, all with my left hand.

But I can't tie my own shoes.  A weird feeling, to be dependant like that.  Haven't had that since I was four.


--GG

Good bone news

VERY good news:  we visited the specialist today, and it turns out that my shoulder was already back in position, and the broken bone was actually more like a greenstick fracture.

The Lady says that the doctor at the ER was not a native speaker of English (some sort of Eastern European accent?) -- which I hadn't noticed, as I was otherwise preoccupied.  So when he told us that "the end of my collarbone had broken off", he was incorrect.

So, no surgery necessary (good; surgery always carries risks, e.g. infection).  However, it turns out that I will always have a lump on my shoulder.  I had resigned myself to a scar, but not to the permanent bone lump and asymmetry that I'll have -- but the doctor said that I'd have the lump regardless of whether I had surgery (with a metal plate) or not.  So it took me a while to adjust to that shift in my body image and body structure.

Anyhow:  no surgery -- which is good, because it's less intrusive (risky), and less costly, and (presumably) a faster recovery time.

Also, it turns out that I could've gone back to work this week, after all.


So, back to work on Monday.

Despite my injury, it was kind of nice having a week away.  I was bored all to heck -- but I took a lot of naps.


--GG

Partway through day two

So, I'm partway through Day 2 of my little adventure.

I've learned that I can unscrew a jug of milk one-handed, make a bowl of cereal, and eat it -- but it's hard to get the last little bits by myself because I can't tilt the bowl and use a spoon at the same time.




When you try to butter toast, the toast skitters around, so you need to borrow a child to hold the toast.

I had to have someone else floss for me:  my right hand no longer reaches that high.

Typing one-handed is a nuisance -- but shockingly, one-handed keyboards cost $550:  a rip.

I've worked out a technique for folding some bits of laundry one-handed -- but haven't tried it on shirts or pants.




Until I see a specialist -- and get the bones pushed back into place -- I'm in limbo.  I don't want to move my right arm, for fear of shifting my pieces further out of alignment.  Ergh.



--GG

That was stupid

Yesterday around 5:30pm I managed to dislocate my shoulder and break off the end of my collarbone.  It was completely avoidable -- I was showing off for some little kids, was in a rush, underestimated the risk, and didn't prepare properly.

Funny how a single moment can put you on a completely different trajectory.   I was going to mow the lawn, then spend the rest of the weekend building things out of wood.  Nope:  you need two arms for that.

I also have to take the week off work -- and not in an interesting way (see above), and won't be able to drive for a while.  And, there goes my weight training for I-don't-know-how-many months.

So, I'm feeling a bit stupid.

But, I guess I've learned... stuff.

Possibly will need surgery -- but won't know until the swelling goes down and an ortho can see me (hopefully mid-week).


On the positive side, I might get a chance to get better at the piano (one-handed, at least).  And catch up on reading my e-mails (the writing of emails is cumbersome, as I'm one-handed).  Maybe record a keyboard-only song?  (Not my primary instrument -- or even with a level of competency, but...)


Going back to work will be awkward, as I'm a touch typist and (kind of) a programmer -- so, frustrating.


Ah well.


--GG

----------------

Addt'l:

I heard a gristle-sounding "crunch" as I drove my shoulder into the ground. 

A stuntman roll, across a distance, but I was too leisurely in my approach, so didn't get enough distance, AND let my arm collapse instead of keeping it in position.  So a confluence of things. 

Basically, accidents (workshop, driving, etc) seem to occur when you're in a hurry and/or not focused or planning properly, and/or take shortcuts from the best approach.  I was several of those.  Sloppy in both the planning AND the execution.  In hindsight, avoidable at several points -- as are most accidents.

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