I am entering Week 3, Post-Break, without a sling and that is a great feeling. The doctor yesterday told me I should just let my arm hang straight down now as it heals. It is a relief not to have my elbow at a permanent right angle, although I do still have it immobilized when I am sleeping and I have a sling for when I am out in public. This is mainly as a deterrent in the hope people will stay far away from me. I am nervous about getting jostled and aim to avoid crowds as much as possible right now.
I was leaving the library after tutoring students on Wednesday, and there was a large crowd of adults and children signing up for summer reading programs –a larger group than it could have been because librarians were bribing, err.. handing out ice cream. I had to walk through the mass of people to get to the front door, and felt very vulnerable in the sea of strollers, adults, and kids of all sizes. One push into my arm, I kept thinking, and I’ll be back to square one. Or worse. Anyone looking at my bruised eye seemed to sense not to go near me. I walked out untouched, using my right hand to shield my arm even though it was in a sling.
My black-and-blue eye is slowly healing. I thought the area was looking almost acceptable until I ran into a friend yesterday who had not seen me since the day of my fall. She immediately made a face that seemed to say, “Oh, wow…ouch…your eye,’ before actually speaking, “Your eye looks painful.” It isn’t though, and I am confident it will look fine eventually. (The first thing Dr. O told me yesterday was that it was looking much better than Tuesday, which initially sounds kind and is always a safe thing to say, but his practice sees 250 patients most days.)
The two (relatively painless) x-rays yesterday showed that both places near my left shoulder where my humerus is broken are healing well. Dr. O told me that if I needed to break it, this is the best way to do it – the bones didn’t move and are sitting nicely in place, but their cracks are sobering to me. Forget about swimming for a while, he reminded me as he pointed to the ball of my shoulder, where the arm rotates. The healing there is going great but it can’t be rushed. Even if I want it to.
Of course I was relieved to see and hear that my bones are healing and I thought to myself later that as of now, I have needed no invasive medical intervention at all. Two sets of x-rays and professional counseling. I do feel fortunate and thankful.
After getting suggestions from Dr. O for ways to stay physically active and not harm my healing arm – he could sense I was going a bit stir crazy- I went home, got changed (a time-consuming process, especially in that I can only wear front-closing tops right now since my arm is not movable. Finding something that worked and then getting it on was a chore), and went to the gym to spin on a stationary bike for a half hour. It was tough after a while because my left arm just hung after I took it out of the sling, but it felt great to be back with my heart rate up and my body doing some work besides repairing my arm (which of course is a big new job).
Next week I have my first PT session and am interested in what that will entail. Until then, I will figure out ways to stay active while I am healing. Right now, I will change my clothes and try to do a one-armed row (doctor-approved) for a half hour.
-Susan
2015 Working Event Schedule
1. Muscatine Y Indoor Triathlon, 1.25
2. North Dodge Indoor Triathlon, 1.31
3. Hawkeye Community Rowing Indoor Challenge, 2.07
4. U of I Tropical Indoor Triathlon, 2.22
5. Performance Fitness Indoor Triathlon, 2.28
6. Dam to Downtown 10k, 4.18
7. River Run 10k, 4.26
8. Marion Half-Marathon, 5.16
9. Quad Cities Sr Olympics, 6.06 Cancelled
10.Great South Bay Swim, 7.17 Cancelled
11. Alcatraz Swim, 8.08 Cancelled
12. Big Shoulders Swim, 8.12 Hopeful
13. Des Moines Half Marathon, 10.18 Perhaps
109 Days to Alcatraz 