Road Trip

The sun came up on Thursday and it looked glorious! Not a cloud in the sky! Glorious, that is, until I got in the car and started driving east on 8 Mile. Then I had to dig out my clip-on sunglasses!

Why was I driving east on 8 Mile at 8:00 AM? Because today is my annual checkup on my knee in Mt. Clemens. And, that time of the morning is not the time you want to be on any expressway!

I made good time on the surface streets and got there about 9:00 AM. My appointment wasn't until 10:30 (the earliest I could get), so that left time to go out to breakfast with my friend. After an enjoyable repast, I dropped him back at his house and went to the doctors.

I got there about 15 minutes early, but didn't get into the room until almost 11:00 AM! I got the usual x-rays and then saw the doctor. There is still one small area that hasn't completely filled in with the donor bone, but he was very pleased, given the condition that I started from.

Then I asked him about my right shoulder. He asked me to try and lift my arm straight out and up and, of course, I couldn't get it higher than my shoulder without pain. Then he had me push and pull against his resistance and then asked me to show him where the pain starts and where it travels to. Unfortunately, the pain path I indicated would tend to support me having a torn rotator cuff.

Next it was back to the x-ray lab, for three shoulder shots. He looked at them and said I have noticeable arthritis in my shoulder but explained you can't see a torn rotator cuff on an x-ray.

So, the diagnosis is either bursitis or a torn rotator cuff. Since I have to see my family doctor next month, here's what he decided to try. He had me take off my shirt and he gave me a rather large shot that was a combination of pain killer (for immediate relief) and cortisone (which takes 6-9 days to start working) directly into my shoulder.

His working theory is that if the pain stays gone by the time I see my family doctor, it's probably bursitis and she can treat me for that. However, if it returns before then, it's probably a torn rotator cuff and she can schedule an MRI. Once he sees the results, he can decide if I need surgery or not.

I asked him how in the heck I would get a torn rotator cuff, as I am not exactly known for playing tennis or golf. He said it was simple: I use a cane. He said its very common for people who walk with a can or a walker to eventually have a torn rotator cuff as humans are not designed to walk while putting some of their weight on their shoulders. That does make sense!

He asked me to try and lift my arm again and, for the first time in a month and a half, I picked it up over my head! He laughed at my amazement and said, "See, I told you it was immediate pain relief."

So, I left with some simple exercises and a Theraband (a large rubber tube I am very familiar with from my knee therapy). It seems I have lost some muscle strength by deliberately not using my right arm (hey, it hurt, okay?).

This time I took the Expressways back home. Well, I didn't go "home," I went to work. The sun was still shining and it was getting noticeably warmer. I opened up the sun roof before I went in, so the car wouldn't get too hot (it's been, what, six-eight months since I had to worry about this).

At 5:00 PM as I was heading home, it was still sunny with no clouds and a whopping 64 degrees F. I got home, treated the cats and changed shoes; then I went out to do a final "branches, sticks and bark" cleanup of the front yard. It's too nice to stay inside! But, before I went out, I opened all the windows and shut off the furnace.

I finally got the whole front yard picked up, including a chestnut a squirrel must have gotten from somewhere (no chestnut trees here), some sauce packets from a chicken place and a used condom (glad I was wearing my gloves).

Back inside I made a couple of phone calls. By now, it was after 8:00 PM and I really didn't feel like making dinner. So, I just reheated the remaining cauliflower and then ate that watching TV until an early bedtime.