One year ago today I slipped on the ice, broke the shoulder joint off the top of my arm and generally mangled up my right shoulder. I had a long operation to put the pieces back in place, and some metallic assistance to ensure they stay in place. Following almost four weeks off work, and perhaps six or seven on 'short time' (arrive late, go early), then about 12 weeks of physiotherapy I have arrived at the point where my right arm is OK for most day-to-day usage. I still have some notable exceptions. Lifting my arm above my head is difficult, it doesn't go very far. It doesn't go at all with even light loads. There are times when simple twists are painful. There are strange clicks - even when I think I'm being still. There are times when the arm is uncomfortable, and the joint slow to move. I am still treating it gently and I'm still compensating by using my left hand to do things - its capability and accuracy have improved considerably. I have been told that it takes 18 months to get to the point where further improvement is unlikely, so there is still some hope for improvement.
Many of the possibly bad consequences have not occurred. For example, I had been in a new job for six months. I could easily have lost the job - I didn't. I could have been asked to use my holiday entitlement to cover my sickness time off - I wasn't. They could have stopped my pay after the first five days - they didn't.
To read the full story, follow this link, scroll to the bottom and read the posts in reverse order (sorry I don't know if its possible to display them ascending chronologically.
I'm still looking forward to further improvements, and possibly a healing.
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