Big day today. Really good day.
Lots of stuff happened. Lots of awesome stuff.
Weird first few sentences. Really weird first few sentences.
I went for my follow up appointment today at Bellevue Bone and Joint. I saw both my surgeon Dr. Trumble and the physical therapist, Clyde. The PT removed my stitches and tested my range of motion. I am able to move at nearly full range. I have also been cleared to return to gym activities and begin active movement in my right arm. This is huge news for me. My gym is my refuge and I have missed it terribly. I will return on Friday morning and then start planning workouts for next week. Obviously I can't do any weight on my right arm. I actually can only lift a can of soda right now. Still, I am stoked to be able to do some cardio and core on Friday.
So remember the outer arm burning issue I have been describing? Yeah that's due to the irritation that the surgery may have caused and may last a few more weeks. The dry hands are also due to the surgery. That's the worst news I have though. The list of things I can do has far outweighed the list of things that I can't do.
So exciting! Folks, no more wraps. I have a little sleeve thing now. Stitches are gone so they can't be ruptured anymore. My range of movement has doubled. I can almost completely straighten my arm out now. I can get back in the gym! I can shower by myself! I still look like Iron Man!
This is less than two weeks after surgery.
In the office, the PT had started removing stitches. Katy couldn't even watch and was entirely focused on making sure I was ok. The girl that I thought was so squeamish began watching with interest once the last 5 or 6 stitches were getting pulled out. It was kind of funny. I think once she realized I wasn't going to die, she decided that this wasn't so bad after all. Then taking the pictures got easier.
So, be aware that the next few pictures are kind of gross. They are pretty awesome though and have already been seen by the squeamish on Facebook.
This is before the stitches came out. You can see where it seeped a bit and how tight that wrap was. The older fellow in the back was awesome. He was getting his hand worked on and was really curious about my injury and surgery. We all ended up talking about Jamie Moyer.
In case you don't know, Jamie at 49 years old, made the Colorado Rockies rotation in his first comeback attempt from this surgery. He's quite an inspiration.
The stitches are out here. You can't quite see the incision in this one. I'll get a better picture up soon.
This gives you a good idea as to how quickly your muscle tone can go away. My arm has really deteriorated quickly since it hasn't been used at all in a few weeks. Hell, I've been posting most of these by typing into EverNote on the iPad one-handed.
I'll tell ya...I slept great too. Everyone was surprised at the range of motion I have now. It sounds like I'm ahead of the curve....pardon the pun. It's Opening Day after all.
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