The one in which my shoulder does not get an A

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So I had the shoulder (arm?) measured for range of movement last week.

The results were a little disappointing.

Forward movement was around the 65 degrees mark (90 degrees is shoulder high). I could get higher if i swung into it but the measurement is based on me lifiting my arm as high as I can and holding it there.

Sideways movement (lifting my arm out to the side) 35 degrees (uh oh).

My right arm also has the strength of a kitten (the heaviest thing i can lift is a can of pepsi max).

My physio tells me my arm (and range of motion) is improving but instead of listening to her, and believing her, I'm just depressing myself by reading about gymnasts who are doing somersaults on a trampoline (whilst wearing a sling) 2 weeks after shoulder surgery.

I guess the key emotion here is frustration - I'm pretty much sling free so i look normal but i can't do 'normal' things at work which is confusing and irritating for customers & staff; and frustrating as all getout for me.

Last week's big achievement was doing up a seatbelt or the first time since July 22nd.

I need to focus on the (albeit small) positives & improvements and deal with the frustrations by(say) tossing birds at pigs.


*

The one in which my shoulder returns to work

So the shoulder has returned to work (albeit part-time and on modified duties).

The work itself is not too bad (or pain inducing) but the preparation for work each morning - that is an ordeal...

Everything takes soooo much longer than it used to.

Having only one usable arm slows everything down. Showering, dressing, breakfasting, etc; (no such thing as a quick shower at the moment.) Not to mention I have to start each day with painkillers to facilitate the getting ready for work process.

Mind you I have reduced my tshirt donning record from 45 minutes down to under 10 minutes (we take our victories where we can, however small)

Once I get to work i'm exhausted (and sore) from the getting ready, the work itself is ok, at this stage it's more about managing the pain, and not overdoing things (and finding out what I can do) rather than anything else.

I'm also finding that the combination of painkillers and 8 weeks off work has meant i currently have the concentration span of a carrot (or a 2 year old).

So baby steps in everything I do.

I have a range of exercises that I do many times every day.

* 3 or 4 variations on the pendulum swinging of the arm (to get the shoulder joint moving),

* a couple of exercises using a cane (think an arthritic fred astaire sans top hat),

* a pulley system (sailing rope and a hook in the neighbour's carport)

Sounds weird I know; hopefully they will help the shoulder regain it's former pristine level of fitness (the exercises along with the determined effort of my physio to rip my arm from its socket twice a week)

we shall see how it all goes...

piccies

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shoulder news week 3.

The week that was:

MONDAY

So back to fracture clinic.

Added an orthopaedic resident to my orthopaedic team.

Turns out my orthopaedic registrar showed my xrays & scan to three orthopaedic surgeons and was outvoted 3-1 in the 'put a royal doulton plate in fiona's shoulder' poll.

Off work for a further 4 weeks.

WEDNESDAY

visited work for return-to-work meeting.

we have a plan for mid september.

it seems so far away.

otherwise it was walk, painkillers, sleep,

fiona's fracture continued

week 2 update.

the good

• have stopped taking the really strong painkillers
• am coping with normal panadol
• have been walking the 50 metres to the letterbox (& back) most days
• don't have to have an operation to insert a plate in arm
• work sent me a huge basket of chocolate to aid in healing
• my sister & my mum are waiting on me hand and foot

the not so good

• still living in my sister's armchair
• arm still bruised & swollen
• missed 7 shows (so far)
• can't do much

the bad

• can't move back to my flat because the layout of the door locks means i couldn't get out in an emergency (i miss my stuff)
• can't dress myself
• very limited in what i can do one handed
• feeling a bit sore and sorry for myself

fiona vs tree - week 1 update

my days have settled into a somewhat predictable routine thanks to last week's "altercation with tree".

wake up
take painkillers
sleep
wake up
take painkillers
sleep
wake up etc etc etc.

i was supposed to fly to sydney today (with my sister) for four days of theatre, markets, coffee festival, & Helpmann Awards.

Didn't happen.

my sister in law went instead of me and mum came down to melbourne to babysit. (which meant lots of home cooked meals)

arm is bruised from shoulder to elbow (looks like i'm wearing a large black armband.)

pain is manageable if i don't move.

otherwise owwww.

my brother & my 2 youngest nephews (aged 5 & 4) drove to pakenham to collect mum & bring her back to melb. my brother took the opportunity to deliver a paternal lecture to the boys on why vandalism is wrong and the law of unintended consequences.

master 4 however missed the moral of the story and announced to me that he was going to kick the vandal. And proudly showed me the shoes he was going to use for the kicking.

sounds like a plan to me.

Vale auntie Nan

Auntie Nan passed away this morning. She was 98 years old.

She was actually my great aunt, my dad's aunt, my grandfather's sister.

Auntie Nan was born Annie Charlotte Malcolm in Portland in 1913.

Latterly she lived in Glen Iris where she kept an eye on the ashburton staff for me.

After her husband george laidlaw died auntie nan decided she wasn't going to sit around & mope, she joined legacy widows, kept up her crafting and wrking for the monash hospital ladies auxilary. ( and many other charities as well)

Going to dinner at auntie nan's also became something of an experience. She was a good cook and would use our visits as an excuse to cook a roast & veges for us. One evening she served us roast beef with 13 (yes 13) veges. I, for one, didn't know there were 13 types of veges! Technically 12 i suppose as one was tomato & that's a fruit...

Anyway until about 3 years ago aunti nan lived in glen iris.

Every thursday morning she would walk the kilometre to ashburton library and return her library books. She would then meet some of her cronies for morning tea at the ashy shops before heading back to ashburton library to borrow her next lot of books.

I would often receive a phone call from her on thursday nights as she told me about the nice boy or girl (staff member) who'd helped her at the library, or filled me in in ashy library gossip. Or ask me if that nice person still worked at ashy cos she hadn't seen her for a while. I used to almost hope to be sent to AB on a thursday so that i could be sure of a decent lunch or dinner.

She was proud of the malcolm family & it's history. She used to love going back to penshurst & digby (and portland) each year to revisit her childhood and family haunts.

She had no desire to reach 100 (or get a telegram from the Queen) rather she wanted lo live a happy & fulfilled life.

When she moved into a nursing home in rosebud she took up watercolour painting because the nursing home ran watercolour classes.

Such was her enthusiasm for life.

She is survived by her three sons, clyde, tony & robin, & heaps of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

We'll miss you auntie nan.