Topic: I have a frozen shoulder

[Cobra951]

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I took a nasty spill on the ice late February, and I got an injury to my right shoulder, which I didn't even know for about a month.  I thought it was my left elbow which took the brunt of it.  I got a knot in my elbow joint which prevented me from bringing my hand all the way to my chest, for example.  I stretched that out over weeks, and got all my mobility back.  That's all a physical therapist would have done anyway.  In the meantime, the more severe injury to my right shoulder got ignored, until one day I realized I could not lift my right arm past horizontal.  Even that took some pain.  The possible diagnoses were frozen shoulder (bad) and torn rotator cuff (worse).  So I got an MRI.  I guess the news today was as good as I could have hoped.  Instead of requiring full-blown surgery (for the rotator cuff) all I need is to be knocked out while the doctor forces my arm back to its full range of motion, then injects some cortisone to keep down the swelling.  After that, all should be well, or so he says.  I won't need to be injecting steroid crap in there forever, only during healing (or so he says).

I tend to be a wimp sometimes, but I gotta tell you, life has thrown some nasty curve balls at me since about the turn of the century.  My life was cake beforehand.  I guess we all need to have our cross dumped on our shoulders (shoulder?) sooner or later.  It's my turn.  Woop-de-fricking-do.

[Pugnate]

No wonder you've given us the cold shoulder.

[Cobra951]

Cold shoulder?  Not intentionally.  This community is one of the few things left to maintain my sanity.

As I said before, I tend to be a wimp sometimes.  Easy living for so many years does that to someone.  I have this theory that you can be a happy child or a happy adult, but to be both is unusual.  When things come easy, having to fight for them later is a missing skill.  I have lost everything that defines who I am--job, employability within my chosen field, home, family, certainly self-respect.  And now, I've lost my strength, physical structural integrity--whatever the hell it should be called.  I've been physically blessed all my life, never a broken bone, always in shape even when I don't try--my BP was 124/72 just 2 weeks ago.  All that I can no longer take for granted either.  A fall which would have meant soreness for days at one time now means hospitals, doctors' bills, and maybe some loss of functionality.

I hate to cry on people's shoulders.  I'm wary of my tendency to whine, so I bottle up.  This may be the perceived cold shoulder.  This year so far has been hell on Earth for me, the worst period yet.  The games are my escape.  I've never taken to a game as I have to TDU.  I think that's because it's the perfect needed escape.  It requires little physical fitness, and transports me to sunny Oahu.  It lets me do whatever I want whenever I want, as long as it's in a car.  So instead of drinking myself into an early grave, I'm dodging reality with a physically harmless drug.  I'm dodging it just the same.

I'm glad to be a part of this great group of guys (and gal).  Please don't ever think otherwise.

[Ghandi]

Well, we are here for you Cobra

Have you had the surgery yet? If not, I hope everything goes well. Sounds fairly minor based on your description. I'm glad it wasn't the rotator cuff- that's a nasty injury.

[idolminds]

Cobara...pug was making a joke since the thread is titled "frozen shoulder".

[Pugnate]

I couldn't resist making a bad pun. I just read your second post and now feel horrible. I haven't in the least found your behavior to be any different from normal, and the cold shoulder was just a dumb pun of the frozen shoulder.

I actually sent you a pm immediately after posting the joke to let you know I was kidding.

I don't think you whine or anything at all. The thought never crossed my mind and I don't think you lean on this community any more than the rest of us... or that you've been cold.

Anyway I am really glad the surgery isn't complex and that the doctors are optimistic.

I'm glad to be a part of this great group of guys (and gal).  Please don't ever think otherwise.

You mean gals. You forgot Keebler.

[sirean_syan]

Some venting is more justified than others.

So, do you get to some extra free time out of the deal at least?

[scottws]

Yeah I remember you talking about hurting your elbow this winter.  Sorry to hear it was such a severe injury.  Hope everything goes well.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I remember hearing about that as well.  Really sucks, I know how hard a physical injury can knock you back.  I've messed up my shoulders and back a few times in the last couple years, and while the consequences haven't been horrendous, they've been enough to really kink up my plans at times.  I can only imagine what a more severe injury would do.

And yeah, like everybody said, I don't think you whine much at all, so you've no need to worry.  Besides, that's what we're here for, sometimes.  Not that you should use that as an excuse to pity yourself too much... but if you ever need to get something off your chest, you can count on us to be a good outlet.

I hear you on the games, at any rate.  Lately I've been turning to them more than I should.  That and poetry.  I'm just happy that the latter of the two is actually helping throw me at a goal.

[Cobra951]

Oh, Jesus Christ.  I just now realized the double meaning of "frozen", even though coldness is probably the first meaning.  Fuck me.  Sorry, Pug.  I should have known it was a joke from the very outset.  My mind was elsewhere, and the term just meant physical suckage to me.

Thanks for the good thoughts, guys.  I feel better about this now that I know what it is (and what it isn't).

[Pugnate]