Desperate Times

About 11 years ago or so, I managed to tear both my rotator cuffs to varying degrees, but I really have no idea how I managed that. My left one was much worse than the right, and at some point I had a cortisone shot in my shoulder which seemed to do the trick quite nicely. Rotator cuff tears don't heal on their own--they require surgery--so I was thrilled that the shot took away the pain for a number of years.

Last week I was pulling a large patch of weeds up in the backyard, and tore the left one again. At first I thought I had just "overdone" it a bit, since my neck was a bit sore too. But within 12 hours or so that distinctive burning pain in my upper left arm left me no doubt as to what I'd done.

I found piano substitutes for the weekend (thanks Cathy and Lisa!), and gingerly went to our sports medicine guy on Monday. Not only did I manage a full tear (he thinks), but the muscle is also impinged (read: pinched) in the shoulder socket, two conditions that both require surgery but that can be done together.

I've had more than my share of surgeries over the years, and the novelty wore off many moons ago. I like to plan ahead, so I hoped that with another cortisone shot I could make it to the end of the school year. On Tuesday, the pain was still increasing, but I was optimistic about surgery over Christmas Break. This morning I knew that I had a kitchen knife and a melon-baller in the kitchen drawer and was pretty sure I could perform the surgery myself, thank you very much! I have an appointment with the surgeon on Friday to discuss options, but unless that cortisone shot kicks in really fast, it looks like I'll be adding another scar to my body, this one to my previously unscathed shoulder.

The worst part is (well, I guess if I were truly honest it isn't the worst part), it hurts to knit!