Good News, Bad News

The Good News

The good news is that hubby has continued working on our master bathroom renovation this weekend.  Last weekend, he got my soaking tub and Roman faucet installed.  This week, he put the backsplashes back up, and today, he spent the whole day cutting out a box in the wall above my tub and installing a 24” Roku tv!  He framed it out on the tub side and made it all pretty.  It’s really a focal point!  He’ll pretty it up some more with some trim paint and such, but I tried it out tonight and watched an entire movie while I soaked in a nice bubble bath!  It stayed so warm the whole time because of the insulation he installed around the tub, so I never had to add any hot water the whole time.  Impressive!

The next parts of the renovation involve caulking around the tub, putting the tile back down on the floor, and designing a custom cabinet to have made for us to install with a top on it that will fit on the entry side of the tub.  It will provide storage underneath so nothing ever has to sit out around the tub, and it will also provide a solid top for sitting and for setting things on while you’re in the tub.  That’s going to be a big project, and we’ll have to get some price quotes on building the custom cabinet.  I’m excited, though!  Everybody wants a turn in my tub now.

The Bad News

The bad news is that I saw my orthopedic surgeon this week for follow-up on my frozen shoulder.  He said it has barely improved since he last saw me in October.  Since it’s been 14 months since my shoulder surgery, and the frozen shoulder set in right after surgery, he said it’s clear that I’m in the 5% of patients that isn’t responding to traditional treatments and that I still have chronic inflammation in the joint.  So he said it’s time for more surgical intervention!  In less than two weeks, I have to go in for an Arthroscopic Capsular Release (ARC).  It will be outpatient surgery at the same center I went to for my first surgery.  It means 2 weeks in a sling during the day, more use of the ice machine, which I’ve never been able to discontinue after all this time, and still more Physical Therapy (PT) for 6 weeks thereafter.  I’ll probably have therapy twice a week plus follow a home therapy program on the other days.  They will basically go in and cut away the thickened portion of the ligaments around the joint capsule, moving my arm into full range of motion and then stitching it back up.  I’ll have full anesthesia, the nerve block, and the continuous numbing pump for the first couple of days at home, just like last time. 

After all the time and effort I’ve put into rehabbing my shoulder, it’s a big of a letdown to be starting all over again with another surgery.  The recovery is tough.  The first few days are intensely painful.  I made it through without pain meds last time, just because I have a high pain tolerance, and I don’t like pain meds.  But it was rough.  I’ll need help for a while.  It’s supposed to be healed up in 6 weeks, though, and there’s an 80% success rate at maintaining full range of motion.  I’m hoping I’m one of the lucky ones this time around.

I spent $5,000 out of pocket on my shoulder in 2019 alone.  I spent still more in 2020 on all the many months of physical therapy.  I’m still making payments on my 1st surgery, and it won’t be paid off until the end of this year.  Because of that, the surgeon said he would be willing to cut his surgery fees in half to help me out, and he said perhaps the others involved would do the same.  He also wants to do a Platelet-Rich Plasma injection during surgery to help with post-surgical inflammation.  It’s not covered by insurance, but he said he would talk to the vendor and get them to comp the kit so I won’t get charged for it.  Bless his heart!  I’m thankful he is able to help with some of the charges.  The outpatient surgery center alone charged me over $3,000 just for their facility fee last time, so I’m sure I’ll have that again this time.  Ugh.

Honestly, I’m dreading going down this road again.  But I also have the hope that maybe this will finally restore full use of my arm and take away the need for NSAID medication, topical NSAID gel that has been destroying my skin, and having to sleep with the ice machine every night.  I have not been able to sleep on my left side for about a year and a half.  I’ve always slept on that side, and I long to be able to do it again! 

Prayers appreciated!