So if the first surgery set things in motion, this one derailed the train. The surgeon for one thing did not believe anything was seriously wrong at first. The MRI showed nothing, yet my shoulder was still dislocating at an alarming rate. I am probably partly to blame because I did not go to the hospital every single time to have the arm reduced. I was friends with the surgeon's ortho tech and he taught me how to pop it back in when it comes out. It was so lax at that point that I could sneeze and the damn thing would come out. I got good at it and the dislocations were a nuisance but they weren't particularly painful anymore. But he agreed to take a look-see with his good ol' arthroscopy device and tighten things up "if they needed it".
Yup. Woke up with a big ol scar down my shoulder again and once again the promised arthroscopy got converted to an open procedure. Things were a bit looser in there then he realized. Gee it helps to listen to your patients once in awhile. I know I *sound* bat shit crazy sometimes but really I got a good handle on this shoulder. So anyway back to PT after surgery, some extended time off from work this time because the surgery involved the joint capsule and I was getting ready to head back to the States anyway. So other than the super typhoon destroying half of Guam when it went over, stopped and pulled a U-turn and hit us again, the last few months on Guam were fairly uneventful. I missed Rex's company, he had gone on shortly before my second surgery, but things weren't really serious with us. I was in a lot of pain but I hadn't had a surgery really to rival this one before so I expected things were normal. That would change but I was oblivious to that so far. I left Guam and a few short weeks later, Chara left Guam too. I was home! Natick Labs was only 2 hours away from home and although I kept up a barracks room for appearances I was pretty much living back at home. Which after being on my own took some adjusting..
No comments:
Post a Comment