A JOYFUL NOISE

I tell you, I can't figure out which is harder: recovering from my shoulder surgery (i.e. therapy) or trying to figure out and stick to a diet that doesn't make me gag/feel sick each time I eat. It continues to be a struggle, but I am keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus and when I have those days of very little strength, I rest. I rest physically, emotionally, and most important, spiritually. It continues to be a battle for me each day as I often question why am I struggling so much this past year and continue to struggle. When all tests are done and now answers are given, what does one do? How does one feel? Honestly, I feel frustrated. This is not saying I want something like a positive diagnosis, but I just want answers so I can be treated properly. I'm really tired taking nausea medications all the time and other "cover up" medications. I talked to my doctor and told him that I'm not fond of the idea of just taking medications to "cover ...

Today was my 11 day post op check up for my orthopedic doctor. Dr. DiDuch explained all the photos to me and told me that there were a lot of frays near my bicep area, but no tear (praise God); however, there was an extra "flap" of tissue around my bicep which made the MRI appear that I had a tear---this is not a bad thing and nothing to be concerned about. Dr. DiDuch did tell me that my rotator cuff WAS torn almost all the way through and that the membranes were very very thin; therefore, he repaired that tear as well and told me that I should still be in a sling for another 5 weeks but can sleep without it. He said that after my 5 weeks I only need to wear it while going out and around big crowds. He is getting me started in Physical Therapy and hopefully I will be getting in very soon when the therapist that has worked with me before. The doctor said to expect pain for a while but that PT should help and he did give me some refills on my Percocet which is gr...

Last Thursday, 6/10/10, I had surgery on my shoulder. I know I just had it this past February, but I wasn't doing any better and got another opinion over at UVA. The surgery went well and took about 2-2.5 hrs to finish. The doctors did find a rotator cuff tear and some bicep muscle frays which they repaired. I was glad they were able to find out what was wrong and why I wasn't feeling any pain relief after my first surgery. What I kept questioning was how could my first doctor not see / repair my cuff tear and see / repair my bicep frays. It was a painful 5 mo after surgery and even though I'm in post-operative pain, I am glad to know the doctors were able to repair what needed to be repaired. Like last time, I requested a nerve block. So I couldn't control my arm/fingers for a good 12-24 hours. It was numb. The difference was that the anesthesiologist offered to put in a temporary port that delivers lose doses of pain medication/nerve block for 4...

Today I saw my GI doctor, Dr. Cohen and Dr. Cerefice. They both are still concerned about my stomach issues and nausea as well as other things. I have been referred to two different doctors. One is the endocrinologist, who will keep tabs on my cortisol levels and see if I indeed have adrenal insufficiency that could led to Addison's Disease. They were explaining that an under-active adrenal gland could cause pain and nausea to the stomach and they want me to follow through with the endocrinologist to see what treatment will be best. A second thing they are trying to rule out is my vestibular muscle. From a 2005 MRI, it showed the neurofibrimotosis pushing against one of my ear's semi-circular canal. They have set up an appointment for a second MRI and an appointment with the ENT doctors. Dr. Cohen thinks that I may have a version of vertigo. I did tell him that there are days that I would be doing nothing and suddenly have a "dizzy" spell and ear r...

I still have yet to become my 100% self. I still have days when I'm just plain worn out or have days I can only handle fluids. I have nights when I can't sleep and nights when I sleep the hours away and still feel tired the next morning. But all in all, I am getting stronger each day and my endurance for the days seems to last longer, depending on how strenuous the day was. For example, today I had to go over to the McCue Center Orthopedics at UVA for a pre-op; after that, we had to go to PATC (Pre-anesthesia testing center) to prepare for my surgery on Thursday. Surgery? Say what? Yes. Surgery. Again. In less than 6 months. Three surgeries within 12 months. Well, I'm not complaining. Actually, I am looking "forward" (I use that word very loosely) to the surgery in hopes that what Dr. Smith did NOT CATCH during his arthroscopic surgery and his not ordering an MRI, will be repaired. I went to UVA for another consult. My first one was with...

This will be only a brief update as I am not having a good day today and feeling very tired and sick to my stomach once again. Last Friday, May 29th, my primary care doctor order a Gastric Emptying test to be done. I went just because she felt it was a good thing to do; I felt that since the first time I did this study it showed nothing, I was almost positive this time around it would show nothing. However, I was wrong. My doctor's nurse called me today and told me that a normal emptying tests is 100% emptying withing 2 hours (and they only gave me one egg and two toast to eat). My results showed that my stomach only emptied 37% within two hours. What does this mean? Well, it means that my stomach is properly digesting the food before it goes into the small/large intestine at a proper rate; thus, even if I feel hungry, my stomach is still "full" so the more food I eat, the more my stomach can't handle it and it makes a reverse reaction (vomiting). So,...

.......to full recovery, whenever that will be. A week ago tomorrow I was discharged from a 14-day stay in the hospital, minus one day when I got discharged "too early" and was told to go back to the ER night after I was discharged. Recovery has been slow but steady. I have found my days to be good at times and then there are days I'm totally wiped out no matter how little I do or how often I nap. I know sometimes sleeping too much can make one tired, I seriously don't have energy certain days. And those are the days I feel the pain and nausea again. My appetite has not come back 100% and I still eat very simple meals several times a day and very small portions at a time. I am home recuperating and at the same time keep my eyes opened for any potential job openings because as of this coming Tuesday, I will no longer have insurance........... I haven't even thought about COBRA since my workplace isn't returning my form of communication! agh!! Howeve...