Great News!

Yesterday I had two very important appointments ~ one with the physical therapist and one with my Orthopedic Surgeon. The first one was to determine my progress thus far and the second one was to let me know if I had progressed far enough along to be able to shed my arm sling and begin to properly use my right arm again.

"We are going to take two measurements today Miss Julie," Kim, my physical therapist said, "I want you to grit your teeth and hold on because we are going to reach as far as we can up and out today."

"Okay," I told her. Gritting my teeth and holding on is something that I have become quite accustomed to doing in physical therapy sessions over the past few weeks.

"Here we go," Kim said, and then she began to stretch my arm up and above and back and to the point that we could both get excited over, "Hooray! We are at 114 degrees! Whoo Hoo! The doctor only wanted us to get to 110, we are doing great!!!"

We both rejoiced over that one.

"Now the side measurement. This is the tough one. This is the one that started at 0 degrees because of your frozen shoulder. Here we go, I know that it going to hurt, but just hang in there."

I did my best to relax while I clenched my teeth and grabbed a hold of the side of the table with my good hand.

"30 degrees! Whoo Hoo!!! This is unbelievable! Dr. Zillmer is going to be so happy!" Kim said so excitedly. "The hard work that you are doing at home with your exercises are paying off."

Kim is always so encouraging.

"You are amazing Kim, and I thank you so much. Without you and my husband I wouldn't stand a chance at getting better."

"I'll write you your note to take to the doctor. She's going to be so happy. Stop by afterwards and let me know what she says."

She gave me the note and I left with a bounce in my step and a glow on my face.

When I got in the car I told my husband about my good report. He was so happy to hear the great news. We had been working so hard . . . and our hard work had paid off. This was such great news.

"What do you think the doctor is going to say when you see her?"

"I'm hoping that she is going to tell me that I can stop using my sling next week and start driving soon. After all, next Tuesday will be four weeks."

"Wow," my husband said, "Can you believe that it has already been four weeks?"

"I'm so encouraged that things are going so well, I'm just so encouraged."

We stopped home so I could change clothes and then we grabbed a bite to eat at Taco Bell before we headed to our next appointment.

"How are you feeling?" the receptionist asked me as soon as I walked into the doctor's office.

"I'm feeling great!" I told her, "Just great."

"That's good," she said, "Just have a seat and the doctor will be with you in a moment.

A moment later the doctor's assistant called me back and got me all situated for my appointment with Dr. Zillmer.

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Zillmer said to me as she walked in the room. I wish every person in America who needs an Orthopedic Surgeon could be a patient of Dr. Zillmer's. She is just such an amazing and efficient doctor.

"I am feeling great!" I told her.

"Your report looks good. Everything is progressing quite nicely. Let's look at your incisions. They are looking great. Let me look at my calendar . . . you had your surgery on April 21st . . . this Tuesday you can come out of your sling. May 19th you can come out of your sling."

"Hooray!" I told her, "Then what can I do? Do I start doing everything again?"

"Oh no," she said, "You will take everything slowly. As a matter of fact, I want you to have your husband take the padding part off of your sling so that you can wear just the sling part during the week when your arm gets too tired. But after that week, put the whole thing away because it will do you more harm than good after that."

"When can I start driving?"

"In a couple of weeks. As soon as your right arm becomes stronger and you feel that you will be safe behind the wheel."

"What about pain medication? Should I keep taking this same stuff?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, let me write you another prescription for it. Cut the tablets in half and only take as needed. You will need them for physical therapy. And by the way, physical therapy will last from 12-20 weeks."

"Wow, that's a long time."

"Yes, it is, but it is necessary for everything to heal. And remember, even though you will be out of your sling, absolutely no lifting, pulling or pushing for the next few months. I can't stress that enough. But you can certainly begin to type, eat, wash and move your arm to do simple things again."

"Okay. Thanks so much for everything."

"And keep up your exercises at home. Show me what you are doing at home."

"Well," I told her, "This is what my husband is doing for my arm, he has been the one moving it during our home sessions."

"It's time you give him a break and start doing them yourself. I'll have the physical therapist go over the form again with you and I want you to do them yourself."

"Sounds great to me!" I told her with a smile that reached from here to eternity.

"You are doing great because you have such a great attitude. Keep it up and everything will continue to progress as it should. I'll see you in three weeks."

So, there we have it. Today I begin to do my home exercises all by myself. Next Tuesday I will be free of this cumbersome sling. In a week or two I will be driving again. And in a few months I will be as good as new . . . thanks to the help of my husband and physical therapist who work so hard to strengthen me, my daughter Sabrina who keeps my house in order, the ladies of my church who bring us meals so that my husband doesn't have to cook and the many wonderful family and friends who have been willing to pray for me regularly.

A great big thank you to all of you! Thanks for helping me get to the point where I am able to hear such great news!

p.s. I stopped by to tell Kim about the great news and she was so happy to hear about it too!