Status post rotator cuff surgery: one week ago today, to the hour. I told myself I'd find plenty of things to keep busy during the six weeks my RIGHT arm is in a sling, and I'm forbidden to drive. I told myself I wouldn't get depressed and I would find ways to exercise and improve my mind during my confinement.
This morning, after a week, I can say, "My God, what do you mean it's only been a week!!"
Life with my dominant hand in a sling has brought new meaning to the question, "What can I do today?" First it has become a literal question. Never mind lofty goals, I'm talking about the basics: eating, bathing, getting dressed. Man, I can't lift my right shoulder, so like deodorant under either arm is a major task.
And, food, anything that requires using a fork or spoon means a change of clothes afterward. I can stab at small chunks of food with a fork, but I have absolutely no finesse, and soup with a spoon is a drippy affair with little nutrition making it as far as my mouth. Consequently, peas, lettuce, and rice have become finger foods. Unfortunately, potato chips are as easy as ever.
Personal hygiene? I'll spare you. No wonder my husband is sleeping in the spare room and looked happy to be going back to work.
Activities I can do: Reading, yes I have a lot of books. Holding them with one hand is a trick, and it's hard to position them so that I can assist with my right hand. I tend to quit after 30 minutes from physical fatigue.
Hmm, write the great American novel with one hand. Well, I've been venturing out on my computer, and at the rate of production and mistakes I'm making, I'll have to amend that to be write the great American sentence. Read my car manual: Snore. Housework: let's see laundry, make the bed, fold clothes, wipe off the counters - do you have any idea how long this takes with one hand? Not to mention tiring.
I'm kind of exaggerating. Why I've done 10 different things already today, and in only two hours it will be lunch time. Status post rotator cuff repair: among the noticeable side effects: cabin fever. Well, it's only five more weeks..... at last I will have the opportunity to discover what those housewives are so desperate about. Coming to you live from the Rubber Room of a facility near you, I am.
This morning, after a week, I can say, "My God, what do you mean it's only been a week!!"
Life with my dominant hand in a sling has brought new meaning to the question, "What can I do today?" First it has become a literal question. Never mind lofty goals, I'm talking about the basics: eating, bathing, getting dressed. Man, I can't lift my right shoulder, so like deodorant under either arm is a major task.
And, food, anything that requires using a fork or spoon means a change of clothes afterward. I can stab at small chunks of food with a fork, but I have absolutely no finesse, and soup with a spoon is a drippy affair with little nutrition making it as far as my mouth. Consequently, peas, lettuce, and rice have become finger foods. Unfortunately, potato chips are as easy as ever.
Personal hygiene? I'll spare you. No wonder my husband is sleeping in the spare room and looked happy to be going back to work.
Activities I can do: Reading, yes I have a lot of books. Holding them with one hand is a trick, and it's hard to position them so that I can assist with my right hand. I tend to quit after 30 minutes from physical fatigue.
Hmm, write the great American novel with one hand. Well, I've been venturing out on my computer, and at the rate of production and mistakes I'm making, I'll have to amend that to be write the great American sentence. Read my car manual: Snore. Housework: let's see laundry, make the bed, fold clothes, wipe off the counters - do you have any idea how long this takes with one hand? Not to mention tiring.
I'm kind of exaggerating. Why I've done 10 different things already today, and in only two hours it will be lunch time. Status post rotator cuff repair: among the noticeable side effects: cabin fever. Well, it's only five more weeks..... at last I will have the opportunity to discover what those housewives are so desperate about. Coming to you live from the Rubber Room of a facility near you, I am.
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