This entry will be quick, I think...
After a few hours in the emergency room and x-rays on my shoulder, the doctors sent me home with my arm in a sling and heavy duty pain pills. I was told to see an orthopedic doctor the following Tuesday (I fell on a Thursday afternoon) I was told my humerus bone was broken...that's it, just broken. Oh and by the way, we don't splint or cast the upper arm. It gets to hang in a sling while it mends, but mine would need surgery...
I was not given the chance to view my x-rays. I asked, but the doctors conveniently forgot about my request. When I finally saw the x-ray, I understood why they did not want to show it to me. I guess they were afraid I would become hysterical when I saw how many pieces of bone was floating in the shoulder joint.
I fell on the last day of March. On April 1st, I started calling friends and family and all thought I was trying to pull an April Fool's joke. Ha Ha! No Joke, folks. This was the real deal!
I had to be propped up on the sofa with lots of pillows and there I stayed for the next 11 days!!! Just to get up and get to the bathroom was a major ordeal. I needed help getting up, getting down, walking (drugged), bathing, etc. With much effort, I was able to take care of personal needs (know what I mean?) but I needed help pulling my pants up. How humbling! Harry finally had me naked in the shower, and he couldn't do anything about it, poor man!
Anyway, surgery day finally arrived. I went under and came out with new hardware in my shoulder, and a long recovery period ahead of me.
Slowly, slowly, over the past several weeks, I am beginning to use my arm in limited ways. To look at me, my arm looks normal just hanging by my side. But, when I start to use it, then the limitations can be seen. I still cannot raise it very high, and the physical therapist is working to improve that range of motion.
I guess long after therapy is over, I will be having to exercise my arm on my own. If I let a day go by without doing any stretching of it, I suffer the next day. Oh well, I am learning to deal with my limitations, day by day.
Oh, and in the midst of all that I have been going through, I have had to down-play just how bad it was so I could keep Mom's world as normal as possible. So while I have been in a sling and basically left handed, I have had to help her with all her physical needs. It's been a rough few months.
But praise the Lord. He is merciful and supplies us with His grace and peace. Each day is another chance to trust in Him, love Him, wait on Him, and speak Him to all we meet. And most times, we do!
