Helpful Hints for arm/shoulder Slings

Experience: 1 crushed bone @ elbow (soft cast, sling), 1 clean break arm right below shoulder (hard cast 4 days then sling with waist band), shoulder surgery (sling with waist band) AND all on left side
all the result of 2 motor scooter accidents within a 5 month period
this is a 150cc street legal requires a motorcycle license (top speed 60 and don't ask if I've been on the freeway becuase the answer is yes and motorscooter could go over the minimum required speed limit! yes it was a scary 5 minutes on a freeway but the traffice was very very light that morning).

Fabreze works wonders on stinky slings. Don't use it on soft/hard casts though. I just had to suffer through that.

Back scratchers have multiple functions in addition to scratching your back: assist with grabbing seat belt; grabbing/moving light things around; assisting with putting on clothes regardless of whether it is a pull on or button up top;

Stick: round 3 ft' long stick to keep in the car to punch buttons such as letting you in some parking garages or to order food at some drive throughs. Keep it where it will not become a projectile in the event of a wreck! Mine fits between the passenger seat and the console unit and I kept it pushed down where it wouldn't come loose. By the way, small pillows under the arm and next to the door help stabilze the arm while driving since you can't use the arm to reach the steering wheel.

Cars: please don't drive while on pain killers. I had to a few times after I couldn't afford a taxi (those are scarce where I live) but I made sure it was during the day when traffic was very light. Only went to the dr and therapy for months. yuck.

Clothes are the hardest thing especially when living alone. Once I started the wall walks exercises and the Dr approved showers, I did them in the shower to soap under arm (remember, most of the time it was glued to my side and it hurt to move it and I wasn't supposed to move it either). To put on clothes: Slip the arm opening over the arm while doing wall walks then you slide it up, insert your head and good arm without moving your bad arm (short sleeve only). And yes, sometimes it is better not to change into nightclothes but just wear the shirt you've been wearning all day. Weird but cuts on moving the arm accidentily. I stuck to large loose very short sleeve shirts that I use when gardening. Cold in the winter but it works and kept my arm from moving while at the same time, helped me to feel human (but I am really really tired of these shirts). These shirts were good at physical therapy too.

Baby wipes are a heaven send while waiting for Dr to approve showers. Sometimes that takes weeks. By the time of the broken bone in the 2nd accident, I had an extra sling so could wear the old one to shower (don't get the one you wear all the time in the shower unless you can wrap it in plastic) and didn't have to worry about ruining the current sling. AND don't take a shower until the doctor/surgeon says you can - Baby wipes really do work just fine!

Shower: the drug store has plastic wraps to cover casts and they work pretty well in spite of their size and looks. Don't use oil in the shower as you may slip easier than normal. Put a little shower oil on a facecloth and wipe it over your body where you are able (My right side is much dryer than the left because I can't use my left arm yet). And no, I still haven't found a way to shave my legs yet.

Bras: keep them snapped/hooked and just pull them up and down with the good arm to get them off and on. After shoulder surgery, I had keep the left strap off so it stayed under the armpit. Works well but be aware that during physical therapy, it may slip (however, the therapists are used to it so don't be embarrassed - its only annoying to you anyway). Sidenote: keeping them snapped in the washer kept other lingerie from getting snagged.

There wasn't anything I could with my hair - fortunately it has some curl so could put in some curl product after I combed it out while leaning over. Once it got long enough, it could wear it up by grabbing it and twisting with the right hand, lean head against the wall to hold the twisted part and then use right hand to put in the hair clip. it works. My hairdresser (wonder person) told me of 1 customer with shoulder surgery that came in every 3rd day to get her hair washed while she was waiting on shower approval from dr - wished I could've afforded that but the drive would have done me in.

If you know you're going to have surgery, practice BEFORE surgery if you can.

DISCLAIMER: This is for reference ONLY and ONLY pertains to my specific experiences. Check with your doctor and/or surgeon first before attempting anything mentioned in this post. I am not liable for anything you do because of something you read and tried that was mentioned in this post. These are based on my experiences and I hope no one else has this much injury on any limb in such a short period of time (or at any time really).

Met with some friends from work for lunch. Catching up with friends is always nice. And the food was really good (bacon wrapped grilled stuffed shrimp with jalapeno pepper and cheese).

Managed to miss the evening party as I sat down to read a book and lost track of time. I can't believe I missed the gathering but sometimes when a book is really good, it happens.

I'm waiting patiently for warmer weather - actually that is a lie as I'm rather impatient when it comes to being cold.

The rotator cuff is not the problem - it's the bicep muscle that has some tears and scar tissue. So in an attempt to avoid another surgery, we're trying changing up physical therapy and using the ultrasound to break up the scar tissue. I also got a shot in the shoulder that has eliminated much of the pain so I can move the arm more. Still can't drive quite right though or roll my hair (well, I can get about 4 rollers in but that is all) and heavy pots/pans are not easy but I've found ways to move them.

I must laugh though, my brother and sister-in-law have been coming over twice a week since September to help me do things I can't do like open bottles, change linens, bend down to clean the kitty litter box etc (bending made me feel like passing out it hurt so bad). I told them about 2 weeks ago they could stop coming (really, some of it was that I needed live human contact). So yesterday, I was using my kitchen shears (I love them! they help me get into things I would have had to wait for someone to come over and do for me) and discovered that 1 pair has a bottle opener on it - I tried it on the bottled water and it works great! But my first thought was being sure to never tell my brother as he must have opened hundreds of bottles of water for me over the past 6 months! Otherwise, I'll get this certain stare.......

Back to the original subject, I forgot to ask if I'll have to take another MRI to see if surgery is needed or not. I told him after the last one (actually my first one), that I'll either have to be dead or unconscious before I ever do it again. I lasted in the closed machine long enough to get my nose covered before I was using the panic button to get me out. I waited about an hour and was able to use the 'open' MRI hardware and I'm still not sure how I lasted 45 minutes. Wow. I never knew I was claustrophobic!

I'm still trying to sell the scooter but no nibbles so far. I just want it out of my garage and eye sight. the good news is that my brother doesn't kick it every time he comes over. He doesn't know I want to try power chuting for my next hobby though. He'll shoot me.... assuming my sister in law doesn't strangle me first.

LOL

The day started out extremely cold and finally warmed up. Met some old friends for lunch - always good to see them - and one has a new job! That is so good to know as he was laid off the month before I was. So far, I think there are just 3 of us that are still jobless.

Mentioned that I found a new hobby to replace the motorscooter. Power parachuting!!! it has 4 wheels that touch the ground (when it's on the ground) and you don't need a special license either! While most just rolled their eyes - one friend was pretty adamant that I take up something safer like jet-skiing! oh well, I'm sure I'll find something by the time it is warm enough to do something other than clean up the garden.

Made a wonderful leek and potato soup last weekend. It's the first time I made it and it was very tasty. I'll have to make it again this winter.

Yes, it is winter here. We've had an early snow - I don't ever remember seeing snow before Christmas here (and then it only lasted a few hours!). This snow didn't last long either but it was pretty and gave everyone a nice way to start out the holiday season. But I'm ready for spring now.

Oh what a beautiful weekend. It isn't often we have a fall longer than 2-3 days. The leaves are gorgeous and haven't all dropped overnight like most years. Nice and warm and sunny.

The cats were allowed out to the back yard for a bit. Millie carefully made her way to the covered swing since the grass was wet and she doesn't like to get her feet wet. Sam did his usual walk around to make sure there were no intruders and everything was to his liking. Then he proceeded to eat my pansies.

Mom dropped by and I don't think she ever believed that he likes pansies so she saw it first hand today. We went out to eat and then I showed her some of the new shopping areas. Which brings me to a pet peeve - we're supposed to be 'green' and saving gas etc yet all the new shopping areas are basically strip centers with standalone stores that require (at least in bad/hot/cold weather or when buying heavy things) getting in the car and driving to the next one. Short trips are a complete waste of transportation energy but here we are - building to ensure we continue to use more gasoline.

Of course, some people know I tried the motorscooter route to counteract my big SUV that carries all the heavy gardening stuff I use year round. LOL. One smushed elbow - replaced with a big titanium bolt- and a broken arm and most likely a torn rotator cuff. Too bad they didn't discover the torn rotator cuff when they found the broken bone. Oh - of course, that was 2 separate motorscooter incidents in less than 6 months. Needless to say, it's for sell - which is too bad because I really enjoyed myself and was having a great time!