Running Code 3

It’s not a secret that I’ve had issues with my shoulders over the last few months. It’s been a rough road rehabing them also as I’m not quite the best patient, nor am I patient … at all.

It started right around the time of my birthday in October. I’m sure that I injured my left shoulder while doing dumbbell thrusters, most likely from doing them with a heavy weight. I got it checked by a couple of the ER Docs and PA’s that I work with and they were all in agreement that I strained my subscapular muscle. I wasn’t great at resting it though, and I ended up impinging my infraspinatus muscle. When it swelled, it really swelled, and it impinged the nerve also and would cause such shooting pains down to my fingertips!!!  I got adjusted by my chiropractor several times which helped immensely, as it started to affect my neck and head.  It was difficult for me to workout and watch others perform moves that were once sooooo easy for me. Push ups HURT. Throwing a left hook HURT. Pull ups? Forget it. And lifting weights over my head had me wincing like a girl. Seriously? Yeah.

In the middle of November, I had had enough and told my trainer that I needed to defer my training for a month. I couldn’t bear to workout and watch others, knowing that I could not, would not be able to do the moves that those that I workout with would be doing. It sucks to be there and have my workouts “modified” by my trainer. It sucks to have the pain that I have in my shoulder, but the resting helped and my left shoulder healed to about 80% after resting for a month … and I was ready to go back to the box … But something happened … I injured my right shoulder!!! Seriously!

I’m not sure how or when, but I’m sure it’s from the fact that with all the babying that I did for my left shoulder, the right one got the brunt of the pressure to perform and to pick up the slack that the left one could not do. That and coupled with the fact that my work backpack weighs as much as I do and I wear it with a single strap slung around my right shoulder … but seriously, I am not sure how I injured it.

Here’s my theory … I always pray for my children. Always. I pray for their health and safety. I pray for their happiness. I pray for their protection. I pray a lot. I pray that if they are sick or hurt or injured that they do not suffer. My boys play baseball. My Nathan is a pitcher. He is a very good high school pitcher. At the beginning of December, Nathan was playing baseball for a travel ball club and he did a lot of pitching. A LOT. He played in a championship game in which he pitched both days. Usually after he pitches, his arm and shoulder aches. Instead, he did not have any aches or pain … I did. My right shoulder ached and I know that I didn’t do anything to injure it, and it was the pitching motion that really hurt to perform. So it is my belief that whatever pain that Nathan was to endure was transferred to me. I’m okay with that. I have strong shoulders and can endure the pain, so yes, Lord, give it to me. I used to think that I carried my stress in my low back, but I don’t it’s up in my shoulders where it’s tight and heavy. Yep, here I am trying to be like Atlas and carry the weight of the world on my shoulders when I should know better.

Regardless of how I injured it, my right shoulder aches. It hurts even worse than the left one did. I’m smarter this time around though, and will not work it out, or push it to the extreme. My trainer is smart to not let me do any upper body at all. None! You can’t believe how crazy that makes me, but I know that it’s for the best.

Over the past weekend, I had an enlightenment as I cared for a little old lady who came in with a dislocated shoulder. DISLOCATED … I mean, seriously hanging there unattached. Yet she did not whimper, nor did she complain. I started her IV, gave her some pain meds that seemed to help, but the Doc that I was working with was leery to put her “under” to put her shoulder back into place because she had some underlying conditions that would not allow her to tolerate the medications that we use in the ER to put people to sleep. She agreed, and I watched as my Doc gave her a local anesthetic combined with some Morphine into her joint, then I gave her something to help her relax and some medications for pain … and he manipulated her shoulder for several minutes until it “popped” back into it’s socket. She whimpered not once. She complained not once. We’re talking about a 75 year old woman here.

She amazed me … giving me NO reason to complain or cry about my shoulder that is only mildly strained! So … I will NOT. I will not complain, nor whine about my “minor” injury. Because that’s exactly what it is … minor compared to the problems that others have with their shoulders. I’ve seen people with dislocations that cry and scream out in pain. I’ve had patients with chronic shoulder issues that don’t bother to take the time to take care of it so it’s chronically injured. I’ve had patients who have had shoulder surgeries, some multiple times. I will NOT be this individual. I will take the time to let my shoulder heal. I will take the time to rehab my shoulder correctly. I will love my shoulders because they are strong, and beautiful, and awesome. I will no longer pretend to be Atlas and let the weight of the world be distributed evenly among all of us.

As I write this, my shoulders are both healing. I can tell that they’re getting better. I’ve been good about letting them “rest.” I have strong shoulders. I’m good at healing my body – at telling it what to do. I’m workin’ hard on sculpting myself an awesome back and shoulders. My shoulders WILL ROCK! Just you wait and see …