Facing surgery / time off- or just deal with it.

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I know a few people that have had failed surgeries with no fault of their own (surgeon not doing what they were supposed to, defective hardware, etc). I also know a few people who have had failed surgeries because they won’t do the therapy because “it hurts.”

The therapy after surgery hurts. I’ve been there. Grit your teeth and buck up. It’s going to hurt a lot before it feels better. After my hip surgery I pushed as hard at therapy as the therapists would let me. Hot packs before therapy and ice after. My hip isn’t as good as it was before it got injured, but I’m way better than it was right before surgery.

 

[racsan]

Well, I got the call for the orthopedic consultation, its next friday. Im pretty sure I’ll go through with it, Been doing more with my right arm trying to not use the left (if possible) Its giving me some back strain somehow, had plans of working on the tractor this weekend but think im better off resting up instead. I definitely need to take it easier. I dont bounce back like I used to.

 

[JoshT]

That's one of the problems that dad encountered with some of his injuries. Trying to lessen the load on the injured part increased load on other parts and ended up damaging the good instead of helping the bad. One example is that his leg was messed up in the plane crash that started everything (Cessna 172, he was a student pilot and experienced engine failure with the instructor). Torn ligaments, severe chemical burns, etc. Well at the time he was working on cargo aircraft, and the leg injuries made it difficult to climb or stand and work for long periods. They accomidated and let him stick to jobs where could sit and scoot around. Well that lead to torn rotator cuff in his shoulder due to the additional stresses and strains from that type of moving around.

There were also some crushed bones in his ankle that he never let them fix, and that no doubt compounded the wear and tear on the other joints from favoring that ankle. He wouldn't let them fix it because fixing would mean fusing parts of the ankle and limiting motion. I wasn't experiencing his pain and discomfort, but I always wondered if allowing them to do that would have had a positive net improvement. Thinking that he would have been able to walk and move better, adjusted to the limited motion, and been much more active in the later years.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I know I wasn’t looking forward to surgery on my hip until about a week before the surgery date. At that point I was pushing hard to finish a few things up and every time I drove my F-150 (stage 2 or 3 clutch), despite it being a hydraulic clutch which helps, I was in tears from the pain to drive that thing. I was confident in the surgery though, my surgeon worked on pro athletes and after my surgery went on to full on research and teaching.

 

[19Walt93]

Get it fixed now, if you wait you'll be older and recover slower.
When I had surgery on my right hand I managed to shave left handed, taught myself to write left handed well enough to do Sudoku, sort of learned to brush my teeth left handed abut struggled to use toilet paper with my left hand. You'll get through it, just try to think of things you can do now to make it easier on yourself. Maybe put your right hand in your pocket and practice a little.
Good luck.

 

[JoshT]

Maybe put your right hand in your pocket and practice a little.

Don't really see how playing pocket pool is going to help, but to each their on.

 

[19Walt93]

Don't really see how playing pocket pool is going to help, but to each their on.

It would force him to use his left hand. What he does with the right hand is up to him.

 

[racsan]

the “good “ thing is that the bad (or should I say “worst” ) shoulder is the left one, Im right handed. Im sure theres issues with the right shoulder too but its the left one thats in need of surgery. Yeah, certainly true that waiting will only make things worse in the long run. Maybe when I get back to work after it all I will be on a less demanding machine, I could certainly get used a slower pace. One hard part for me will be recovery & NOT doing anything. Guess I can read & draft up some future projects. Crops will be off & I can explore the fields with the gator at low speeds.