I last told you about my shoulder on November 24th. I had said that my shoulder was good…and it was until shortly after Christmas and this little dog wanted to jump into my bed.
You might remember that I told you she used to jump into my bed all the time and now doesn’t. So I got out of bed and decided to lift her into bed. I got a hold of her and started lifting. She suddenly squirmed and I though I was going to drop her….then something went wrong in my arm.
Just like that…my arm pain was back! My arm wasn’t happy. I toughed it out for a couple days and finally remembered how hard it was to get in to see her. I figured I might as well call, make the appointment with my doctor and if for some reason it was better by the time the appointment came around I’d cancel the appointment.
It turns out I called and they asked if I could be there at 12:45pm. SURE! I started scrambling as I had to figure out what to do with the childcare kids. It would be over nap time that I was gone so Karl could manage the kids….and he did.
Kelli was in town so she met me at the doctor’s office and went with me. Well, we learned nothing. I couldn’t get another round of cortisone. There really wasn’t anything they could do for me. I asked to be referred on to the specialist in Lacrossse and she was fine with that…
I was so disappointed. I thought there was hope for my arm. The first available appointment in Lacrosse was February 20th. At the time, that was SIX weeks away. Oh my. I didn’t know how I was going to deal with that.
The doctor I saw said my best hope would be if that bicep tendon would snap and release….She said I would be pain free and all okay if it did. In fact, if the surgeon saw me he would probably recommend cutting that tnedon and would be done surgically.
I whizzed back to childcare. The kids were just waking so I started in on diaper changes, thanked Karl and was back working. All of the childcare kiddos went home but Carver was still here. He was being terrible….definitely not the sweet little guy in this picture……
I have a cupboard that he tries to get into that I don’t want him in. There are toys in there but they are buckets and there lots of pieces in each bucket. He will dump them all out and walk away. He did just that. I cleaned it up and he went right back to the cupboard. I distracted him with a different toy but he was up and went right for the cupboard again. I redirected him and told him no again. Nope…he went right back there again. I decided enough was enough. He was getting one swat on his butt if he did it again. It was after hours and was the grandam now-not the childcare provider…His mom and dad both told me to give him one swat if he needed it…yep I decided he was getting one swat on his diapered butt if he was back in my cupboard again. Sure enough. He did. I swatted him once on the butt..and with that, my arm/shoulder was just fine.
Carver didn’t cry but he did look at me a little different….I was looking at him a little different too. My arm was all better. What just happened?
Over the next few days I noticed a bruise on my arm at the bicep muscle and the arm was sore but it was a different soreness.
This all happened about three weeks ago…and where is my arm now? Just fine. No pain. Discomfort, yes but not the pain I previously had. I still don’t have a good range of motion but it’s livable….and did Carver go in the cupboard again? Yes but if I say no and close the doors, he doesn’t repeated go back there time after time after time. I think we were both cured.
So do I keep my appointment in Lacrosse. I’ve debated about that. As of now I think yes. The Doctor is so hard to get in to see. I kind of feel uncomfortable telling the whole story as I know society and many of you likely frown on giving my grandson one swat….but I kind of want an answer as to why this could have happened with my arm…AND most importantly if I need to see him later on, I will already be considered his patient so I would get in quicker…oh my.
So that’s the the next chapter in the saga of my arm/shoulder. I did try my arm out on the quilting machine and did two small quilts in one day….that’s going to be a no-no from on. I was sore for several days after that. I can only do one quilt in a day from now on….ugh. But I can do it and my arm bounced back to good again.
If your shoulder bothers you, try staying away from your long arm……they can do a number on soar shoulders!!
I’m glad your shoulder is feeling better! I’ve had 3 – yes 3- shoulder surgeries – and not minor ones either. Nell can tell you as last year at this time I was gearing up for rotator cuff, labrum, bicep tendon, and bicep muscle repair. I’m sure you will receive lots of unsolicited advice – and I know this is some of just that-keep the appointment. Become the doctor’s patient so like you said you can get in when you really need him. I hope you are able to get relief and eventually have a pain free working shoulder/arm. Good luck
I am normally a do not go to doctor person. But in this case, it might be a good thing to have a specialist check over your arm and either tell you something is continuing to go bad or is somehow fixed. You can discuss what signs to look for to tell if another visit is necessary and you can discuss your quilting and show him the motions and get any advice he has. Arms and shoulders are so important to daily life (as are feet).
I have had three shoulder joint replacements, all in the right shoulder. A few weeks after my first surgery I heard a snap in my arm. It felt like someone snapped me with the worlds heaviest rubber band. Tears flowed from the sudden pain.
I got into my Mayo surgeon the next day. He said I was lucky it released on its own. The area was impinged.
He would have performed surgery to release it if
it hadn’t snapped on its own.
Please take care. Keep your original parts at all cost!
Keep the appointment. You know for a fact you’ve had problems so it’s not out of line to get an expert opinion. Better to be told everything is fine than to wish you had sought care sooner in 6 months.
Following this because I’m having shoulder/biceps pain. One thing my doctor recommended which seems to really help is icing it with a gel pack each evening.
I agree that you should keep the appointment just to be sure what is going on! You may have to learn what you can do and how much but you will perhaps have a better idea of just what is going on. Good luck!
I’m a nurse, and agree with what Ana said. I would also suggest asking about exercises that would strengthen your arm muscles.
Listen to your body when using the longarm…you will know when to quit. Keep your appointment…what can it hurt? And I do not frown at you for swatting Carver’s butt. He needed it and now he knows he can only push Grandma so far…he learned a little about respect that day.
Keep the MD appointment. Things are better but you said “don’t have the range of motion”. Things could get better but could get worse.
I also think it would be smart for you to keep the doctor appointment…always nice to be an “established patient”! A single swat on a diaper is sometimes what they need to get their attention…no judgement here!! I hope your shoulder doesn’t require surgery. Is there a way to adjust/change your handles on your longarm? Mine are easy to adjust to a different position, but I think some are quite stuck in on position. You may need to lower your longarm so your arm/shoulder can be in a more neutral position, or maybe hubby can build you a cat walk that will put you up high enough that your shoulder feels better, but can easily be removed so you or others can use the machine at the regular height.
I say a little swat on the butt is what they need sometimes to get their attention. It usually only takes one and they listen. Good look with your arm and shoulder.
I agree with the others that you should keep the appointment for your shoulder. It could be a worse deal if you didn’t keep the appointment, and something happen. Some of the others have some great suggestions. A swat to Carver’s butt wasn’t any harm. No judgement! The noise of the swat probably got his attention more. Sometimes that is all it takes to stop the naughty behavior. Take care and rest that Shoulder.
I have always said that a little swat on a diapered behind knocks the wax out of their ears so that they can hear what you are telling them!
Keep the doctor’s appointment. Much better to become an established patient and be safe in caring for your shoulder rather than sorry later on.
If more parents (and/or grands) would swat their kids once on the butt at that age our world wouldn’t be in the mess it is in! You are doing him a HUGE favor! He will grow up to be a hard-working, responsible, respectable young man that everyone loves to spend time with. Glad the shoulder is feeling better, but it can’t hurt to see the specialist.
Keep the appointment and use butt swapping on an as needed basis
I have no problem with a bit of discipline, I think the world has gone crazy with the feeling that you can’t prank a child. Growing up if we went near the burners on the stove we were told not to. If we did it again our hands were slapped. We were not being beaten, we got a quick slap. There were no bruises and if we still did not learn to stay away from the burner we got slapped again.
That is, in my humble opinion, the way children learn that there are consequences to what they do.
And if more people knew there were consequences to their actions this world would be a better place.
No, I don’t condone beating that leaves bruises and broken bones….that is abuse and is well beyond what you did.
I would echo that you should keep the appointment….even if it only results in learning that the tendon might have given way. If it is hard to get into a doctor I never cancel an appointment.
Aren’t grandchildren magical? They can cure us in many ways. Keep your appointment and an open mind. I have hip pain as a result of a fall. One of those over-the-counter tens units has saved my life. That was $35 well spent.