30 days and the $4000 screw

[Puff]

Good morning all. To the numerous emails and phone calls I have received I say thank you all very very much for the wish of a speedy recovery from rotator cuff surgery. More of an ordeal than I expected as well as the doctor. It marks 30 days now that the surgery was performed and frankly it is still extremely sore with very limited capability. I never realized what some of those baseball players go through to be able to continue earning their million-dollar paychecks.

Frankly not knowing exactly how this had happened, I still believe it was the impact from an accident that occurred when I was heavily rear ended by a texting teenager. While the damage seemed to be about $2000 may be a little more, the vehicle in fact turned out to be totaled. Even the drivers seat back had collapsed flat to the floor. When I opened my eyes I was starring at the ceiling of the car.

According to the doctor the MRI did not show several components of the damages they had to repair so the surgery was a little more time-consuming and expensive with the total event running almost $30,000. Thank goodness for my health insurance being in place. I know of too many stories where the opposite was true. Despite their heavy opioid compounds that were in two of the medicines I took for pain, they sent me home with a pain pump with the needle down your neck that pump some kind of juice into your surgical zone for 72 hours... That may have helped a bit until hour 74. And while I am now back at work and wearing a monstrous immobilizing brace on my left arm I can get back to doing some things(none of the good stuff or fun stuff) that I used to do before.

The $4000 screw? That is the price of the screw holding the bicep tendon back in place as listed in the hospital breakdown . Apparently, the last bit of the tendon where it met the bone was quite frayed from the movement of the muscle and its surrounding bone spurs so the bone had to be cut down so it would not destroy the extra rope from the biceps tendon after it was screwed back in place. They explained it to me that it was like having a rope where the last foot of it was heavily frayed so they just cut that part off and tied in a new piece.

The physical therapy initially seemed minimal but has now escalated to some serious stretching of scar tissue and range of motion. This too will change around week six.

If you're asking if it was a easy surgery, I would say certainly easier than so many much more serious ones however you get to sleep in a recliner for a week with a shoulder immobilizer strapped to your rear end. Those seven days will provide you at least eight hours of sleep for the complete. And you will get to memorize almost every ' I Love Lucy show" ever made or by some of the oddest gadgets you'd ever seen or heard of at 3 AM in three payments or less. I hope to be back in full swing by the end of April in order to complete my baby GF and get back into the swing of things. Spoke with Pete as well and it seems as though he has the Northeast gathering clearly under control. I will be there and look forward to seeing everyone. Just be alert to patting anyone on the shoulder... While it may not be a launch to the moon, I'm sure it would feel like that...BANG ZOOM...

Puff

[Squiggle]

Sounds like a bit more than fun dude, hope you have a more speedy rest of the recovery!

[Pete Mazz]

Great to hear from you Puff! $4,000 screw? Don't they know we only weld around here?

[The Czar]

Whoa...whoa...that's crazy man...I hope you get better with each day...

[forty_creek]

Ouch! Keep your head up! Sounds like a nightmare!


Drankin, Smokin and Dreamin

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stewart]

Its a slow painful recovery pal i know firsthand. I had seven surgeries to put my shoulder back together that injury ended my career take it slow and in no time you will be back to normal.

[Rodcrafter]

Wow Puff!

That sucks, Pete and me have been talking about you a lot. I'm glad to hear from you first hand, that must mean improvement.
Don't get in too big of a hurry taking on that GF. It may have been the big GF that tore you up. I remember you saying "it's so heavy" a few times. lol... Sorry I just had to do that.

I hope you get well soon Buddy!

[Weldun]

Good to see you back on the forum Puff, not to say that the rest of the crew doesn't do a good job of keeping the pot stirred but you certainly add a different flavor. Don't rush things and take care of yourself.

[Pete Mazz]

Pete and me have been talking about you a lot

Nothing good of course!

[Big T]

I didn't know where you'd ran off to, I thought maybe you'd moved in with Gizmo!! Get well soon Puff.

[Puff]

Ha... Thank you all. Not to be whining about it but there is pain constantly and in the therapy place, they continue to try to stretch the arm backwards, the imobilizer is a $ 200.00 sling with Velcro that my wife has to stand on and pull upwards to separate.

It is literally freakin miserable and I'd hoped that by now it would be half recovered but they said no way and at the risk of ripping out the repairs...do nothing.

Geez I never thought about that big gf doing this...I did slam into it like a Law & Order episode many times to get it rolling. I'm sticking with the car crash though. I'm a bit tougher than that. Nice to get back into the swing of things

That's encouraging Stewart. I've got too many more years ahead to work unless we develop a taste for smoked cat chow

[Dirtytires]

Best of wishes.....I see too much of this at work so I know what you are dealing with.

Glad to see you back.

[Rev.Mike]

good to see you back Puff, im going under the knife again here soon my self, Glad the surgery was a success, physical therapy can suck, but as long as it helps! Glad to have ya back!

[Puff]

Well best of luck to you as well.... the anesthesiologist is probably more important than the surgeon. Let's hear back and see how it went good luck.

Thanks Rev. Mike

[Smurf]

Good luck on your recovery Puff. Nice to be reading your posts again.

[Puff]

Thank you Smurf....one handed typing leaves a bit to be desired but....I'm gettin good at it

[Rodcrafter]

I only use one finger Puff, I never have learned how to do that stuff. Takes me longer but what the heck I talk slow anyway.


Making memories.

[Gizmo]

Best wishes on your recovery Puff - hang in there - we're rooting for you!

[Pete Mazz]

Puff hasn't been seen or heard from for quite some time. I've called and left messages but never got a response. I hope for the best but fear the worst.

[Big T]

[Gizmo]