LIFE GOES ON...

Today was a typical Tuesday - no gym, that was yesterday. But I did have a doctor's appointment for a sore shoulder. Last week was my first MRI and I was grateful it was an open imaging machine. I have heard they can be loud and very uncomfortable. Honestly, I can do just about anything, I just want to get it over with. However, the thought of getting inside a big cylinder, and one with loud noise for a half an hour, unnerves me - a great deal. Yes, I am a claustrophobe! 

The good news is I decided to close my eyes the entire time and focus on the music playing. The technician was good at his job and asked if I had a preference to certain music. I said Oldies but Goodies would be great. Focusing on the music made the time fly and I was relaxed when it was over.

Back to the doctor's appointment. I like my doctor, he is an orthopedic surgeon and very personable and outgoing - not your usual serious, formal doctor.  He is very expressive, he could not hide his disappointing news "you have a torn rotator cuff" and need surgery. I chuckled and said, "Wow, I read it on your face, that something was wrong. But it's actually good news because after the surgery I won't hurt any more. And I will certainly sleep better." 

It was diagnosed as shoulder impingement, with a rotator cuff tear. It's a common diagnosis and comes with age, starting decades ago. The way I learn and remember information is to write it down. The collar bone and acromion are now touching, creating a bone spur, therefore digging into the top of the tendon. Hence, tearing the rotator cuff (a tendon). He showed me amazing photos from his library, and then the photos from my MRI. My tear is all the way across the tendon.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to being healthy again. No shoulder pain! Surgery early October then a sling, and about a month of physical therapy. My body responds well to exercise and physical therapy, having broken my wrist 2 years ago.

The really good news? I have something that can be fixed, fixed with surgery, exercise and therapy. I don't have cancer. Lately I have been a little irritated having some new aches and pains, frequent aches that never bothered me before. But why shouldn't I get sick? What makes me think I deserve a life without physical maladies? Especially with so many people dying of cancer, or heart disease. 

I am blessed - I say that a lot and will always say it because it is true! I have great health, 3 sons I was told I couldn't have, wonderful daughters-in-law, now I am a grandma, and many great friends. Oh, and I work with wonderful people in my volunteer job - we help people in the community. What could be better? I have 2 favorite quotes today!

Thank you, good night and God Bless!    Aleta

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but by how we REACT to what happens to us." Wade Boggs   - He was a Third Baseman for the  Boston Red Sox- with a great attitude!

"Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will."  Zig Ziglar, a motivational speaker and author