Shoulder Party!!

For months, I have been STUCK in getting my arm higher than 90 degrees when I lift it straight up.  Mira...  Los fotos!  La evidencia!

January

February

April

March

May

June

July

Claudio called it a "Punto Critico," and we worked on it continuously.  I lifted weights; I lifted my arm; I used the door pulley; I did all of my assigned exercises, but I wasn't making noticeable progress.  Even my sweet physical therapist in the US, Stacey, noted it.  Every few weeks when I see her, she measures my range of motion, and she notes, "Well... you are at 80 degrees, same as a month ago, but don't get discouraged, it takes 6 weeks to gain measurable muscle."  I didn't stress it; I just kept doing my exercises.

And then... two weeks ago...  I went to see the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Adelman, to review my MRI and talk about future plans.  We discussed all the metal in my arm skewing the MRI results; the potential to remove the hardware in the future, orthoscopic surgery to clean out scar tissue and look around, but overall, waiting until the year marker to reassess the situation.  All the doctors and therapists have told me the same thing, I have one year to make the greatest gains.  After that... things slow down... dramatically.

I told him my goal is to get my arm to 165 degrees.  I don't need a full 180, although I will bust my butt to get it.  He asked me to show him my progress.  I jumped off the table, gave my arm a stretch, and raised it.  It went up, and Up AND UP to about 130 degrees.  My jaw dropped.  I couldn't believe it, so I did it again, and it happened again.  With amazement, I explained my shock to Dr. Adelman.  He smiled and said, "Well, I think you'll meet your goal!"

For the rest of the day, and the days since, I have been lifting my arm just for fun and just because I can.  It is awesome.  That first day was hilarious.  We had tickets to tour the Boeing airplane factory with hundreds of other people, and I kept lifting my arm and yelling at Adam and the kids, "Look LOOK!!"  They immediately looked to the sky in anticipation of a Dreamliner or 747 on the horizon, and I kept yelling, "NO!  Look at my arm!!"  We were cracking up, and the people around us could not figure out what was going on.  They were equally perplexed looking at the empty sky.  Ja-Ha!!

Just this morning, I reached up to the cabinet above the refrigerator and grabbed a cutting board for the first time.  I couldn't stop smiling.  I grabbed a cutting board with my left hand!!  Party on shoulder!!  Party on!

A beautiful salute from Claudio, Sonja and
their spectacular family after I shared a video of
my joy and success with them!
Los extrano!