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There’s been yet another delay, but now they’re pretty much almost maybe certain to have the new scapula by 2/18, and have scheduled surgery for 2/22.
I just have to… hold as still as possible and keep taking painkillers.
Almost made it.
Stay on target.
Still hurts. It’s getting slowly worse. Or I’m getting too acclimated to my pain patch. I tried tightening up the sling, but it wore a hole in my elbow. Yes. An ulceration. A bedsore, if you will. Ugh. We’ve been changing the dressing daily and I have a nice, soft washcloth in the sling as a liner. So it’s nearly healed up.
The bright side is that now, rather than dreading the second surgery, I am positively enthusiastic about it. Let’s get ‘er done!
However, I got a call this week that the manufacturer has (again) delayed the ship date of my shiny new scapula to mid-February.
Luckily, Mom’s schedule in Buffalo has been much less problematic than mine, and she may be back in LA as early as 1/26.
Yay Mom! (Although, I guess now there’s no hurry.)
My hair is growing back. There’s a light fuzz on my head, stubble on my legs, and yes, three whiskers on my chin so far. I wonder how far it will get before my next rounds of chemo make it all fall out again…
The pain from the surgery itself is mostly gone, Unfortunately, the cadaveric spacer scapula has … /shifted/. It’s sticking out about an inch and a half on the top of my shoulder, and the head of the humerus swings forward and back in a way that won’t be tamed by any conformation of the sling I’ve got. There are no comfortable positions. Walking or riding in the car causes shifting that quickly ramps up the constant discomfort into a sharp cramping pain. Rather than the broken shoulder I had before, I suppose now I’ve got one that’s permanently out of joint.
Well. Not permanently. I can put up with it because it’s only temporary (and my doctors have miraculously obliged with pain med refills, no fuss). We still don’t have a ship date on the replacement scapula, but there’s no reason to think they won’t come through on their late January estimate.
Mom, who has been the perfect help these last three months, is back in Buffalo for January. She has her own life to put in order. She’ll be back in a few weeks, but for those few weeks we’ll need a little help, especially with getting Sarah to and from school. (Ishould have been able to walk her myself this far post surgery, but the shoulder is getting worse rather than better.) I’m hoping some neighborhood people will be able to commit to doing it on a regular basis rather than farming it out piecemeal to different people on different days. It’s too chaotic that way, and a little nerve-wracking.
We’ve had a lot of people visit during the last few weeks. Even though I’m stuck on the couch for most of it, I really appreciate seeing friends and having the house full of noise and light.
It keeps the whole thing from being a formless blur.
Now, if only I can keep from panicking when Sarah brings up birthday party plans for February…
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