Yesterday was 9 weeks post-op for my shoulder. I had asked at my last appointment for the receptionist to call my insurance and verify exactly what my coverage is for physical therapy. Now, rest assured that they do this before the very first visit, but then you never know what changes take place to your plan from one year to the next. Having reached my $5,000 out-of-pocket maximum for 2019 but starting over as of the first of the year, I just wanted to make sure no one was caught off guard as my physical therapy continues. I had this nagging fear that I might run out of visits before my arm is really functional again.
Let’s just say I’m so glad I asked that question! She called on Friday while I was at my session, and we found out that the 20 visit limit is a HARD limit, not a soft limit. That means there will be no option for pre-authorization for additional sessions when my initial 20 run out…that’s just going to be the end of it, regardless of my situation or even of what other injuries or surgeries might come up throughout the year. That’s right! I could break my ankle later in the year and would receive zero physical therapy once these 20 visits have been used up.
Needless to say, my therapist was as alarmed as I was. This is my greatest fear…to reach the end of the recovery road and find myself incapacitated to some degree. As it stands right now, I can’t put clothing on and off over my head. I can’t reach a cupboard to open it. I can’t hit the button on the wall to close my garage. I can’t braid my hair at night. I can’t fasten my own bra or zip a dress up the back. There are lots of jars I can’t open because I lack the strength and control to either hold it tightly or turn the lid with that hand. I can’t wash my right armpit. I can’t drive with two hands. I can’t use a regular blow dryer and brush. I can’t put my hair in a ponytail. I can’t wash my hair under the bathtub faucet. I can’t put lotion on my right arm or shoulder or shave my armpit properly. I’ve adapted to doing a lot of things differently, like getting a blow dryer brush I can use with one hand, I got an electric razor, I shower on the days I need to wash my hair using only one hand, I got an adaptive steering device that allows me to make big turns with only one hand, I only wear clothes that open down the front or that I can step into and pull up with one hand, etc. But I don’t want to live the rest of my life this way, because right now, I’m worse off than I was BEFORE the surgery, and I’m out $5,000 to boot!
My therapist said we will have to change up the game plan. He wants to focus more on functional everyday use. He wants to use our sessions for just the things that he can do for me and to teach me how to do the rest of the exercises on my own at home. He wants to cut my sessions back after next week to only once a week or every other week so we can spread them out over a longer period of time. And he doesn’t want to use all of them, because he’s afraid I’ll need them later in the year for another purpose. Many shoulder surgery patients end up needing revision surgeries after a few months because they have a re-tear, they pop a suture or an anchor, or they have scar tissue that has to be removed because it’s impeding their progress. Then therapy is needed all over again. So then what? All of it is a scary possibility.
So now I’m doing a lot more home therapy. Pretty much everything I do is painful, from the exercises to everyday use. Today, I was shopping at Walmart. I opened up a cooler door to reach in for some yogurt, and the door sprung back on a strong spring hinge and hit me in my left shoulder, jolting it badly. It was so painful! I had to lean into the cooler for a minute or two to regain my composure, and it has been painful ever since. This is my daily life. I’m working hard at my recovery, but it’s a slow and painful process. I long to feel normal again.
So if you’re on the road to recovery from shoulder surgery, just know I feel your pain and frustration! You have to focus on celebrating the small victories, because big ones are few and far between. The jury is still out on whether or not I’m glad I had it done. At this stage, it’s hard to know, because it looks as though I’ll run out of therapy before I’m fully recovered. That would be such a shame. I can wait for the light at the end of the tunnel, if I can only know it’s there!
If you’ve had shoulder surgery recently or it’s on the horizon for you, there are a couple of great support groups on Facebook that are full of fellow shoulder warriors who have been in the trenches and will support you at every turn. Their wealth of knowledge and experiences will help ease your anxiety and answer your many questions both before and after surgery. This is my favorite group:
Shoulder Surgery Support Group (Rotator Cuff Tears & arthritis)
They are very encouraging. In the meantime, I’ll keep working hard and pressing on to the goal! I return to see my surgeon two weeks from this Monday. I’m anxious to hear what he thinks of my progress at this stage and whether or not I’m where I should be.
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