Physical Therapy
A couple of weeks ago I had my last physical therapy session, the third I had to pay for myself since Blue Shield had denied any further therapy beyond 12 sessions in a year.

All this started a couple of years ago when I over-threw a disc at Casitas disc golf course. I tore my rotator cuff and labrum, so much so that it produced bruises. As the pain continued over the months I finally relented to have an X-ray and then an MRI. With the tears revealed, I scheduled surgery for May 20, 2012.

The aftermath of this surgery wasn't fun. I was in a sling for three weeks and didn't begin therapy until after six weeks. In retrospect it is easy to see that this waiting period was far too long. Despite their best efforts, my therapists were unable to restore my full range of motion. My surgeon didn't seem to care, saying that I probably had developed a case of arthritis.

I sought a second opinion and in early February, 2013 I had a second surgery which removed some bone impingement from my collarbone (which had been mysteriously missed by the first surgeon) and also removed lots of scar tissue.

Now, almost a year later, I am getting close to my full range of motion in my right shoulder and am working hard on strengthening the rotator cuff muscles. It has been a frustrating year and at times I regretted having had surgery in the first place. I can't say that this regret has gone completely away, but I'm moving on and am seeing the bright side of life once again.

Every day a try to do one more push-up than the previous day. Today I did eleven.


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