That Boy Needs Therapy

It's been a while, so here is some catching up. I just finished week 2 of physical therapy, which involves a lot of stretching of the shoulder muscles, as well as exercises to strengthen and stabilize the shoulder. My therapist, Kelley, is great and has done a fantastic job. (Plus she is an Otterbein grad, bonus points, and her husband is a classic movie buff, extra bonus points!) While I still have a good amount of soreness, which will hang around for some time yet, I have picked up quite a bit of my range of motion. Last week, I was able to raise my arm in front of me to 100 degrees; this week it was 130, quite an improvement. Kelley says to expect about 12 weeks of PT and then I'll be better than bionic.
Going to therapy puts the song "Frontier Psychiatrist" by The Avalanches into my head, where they keep singing repeatedly "That boy needs therapy, b-b-boy needs therapy."
I also started back to work last week, part-time four hours a day, and tackled a mountain of email. I go back full time on September 1. Will this bring about the end of the One Armed Sabattical? Stay tuned.....

No Slings Attached!

The sling is gone. After six weeks of wearing it day and night, I'm finally able to dispose of the Ultra Sling II. My six week check up was on Friday, and the doctor said I am doing pretty well and don't need the sling any longer. By this point in time, the expectation is that you can raise your elbow to the side at a 90 degree angle, and I can get mine a bit higher than that. I start six weeks of physical therapy on Tuesday, probably three times a week. I hear that it can be a bit "intense" to begin, but met the therapist who is a very nice, pettite young woman who looks like she won't hurt me too much.


The picture is probably the only one in existance of a middle-aged white guy in a sling singing "Funky Cold Medina" in a karaoke bar in Wilmington, N.C. We managed to get a visit in last week for Susan's birthday and had a nice time.

Ellen Comes to Visit

Ellen was here this week to visit and we had a lot of fun. The highlight of the weekend was on Saturday night, when I lucked into a ticket for the Ween concert at Lifestyles Community Pavillion and Ellen and I went together. There was no real seating, only standing in front of the outdoor stage and lawn seating. So, since I am still wearing the sling and didn't want to be in the middle of the mosh pit, we asked about handicapped seating and the very nice lady who worked there seat up two folding chairs for us in an area between the pit and the lawn, so we could sit and see over everyone's heads. Nice! I may keep the sling for future use even after I am better.