Pre and Post Operation - 1 week on

The Diagnostic

After returning from holiday it was straight down to the doctors Monday morning to try and find out how much damage I had done to my shoulder. After five minutes speaking to the doctor she suggested 6 weeks referred physio due to already having reasonable movement. I asked if an MRI could be done to know the full damage to the joint but was refused. I then happened to mention that I had private medical insurance. Her next question was "so who would you like to be referred to?" Slightly taken back by the complete change in tack I gave her the name of the consultant who operated on Richie's seven months prior. Feeling slightly annoyed and let down by the NHS I had my referral, spoke to the insurer and had my consultation booked for the 2nd June.

The next Monday (19th) I received a phone call from the consultant’s secretary asking if I would like to bring my appointment forwards to tomorrow, not passing this opportunity down I snapped it up.

The next day I was heading to see the consultant not really knowing what to expect. After a brief 10 minute chat he'd booked me in for an MRI that Thursday and booked a date for surgery of 2nd June, the same day as my original consultation, which was a result!

MRI time

Come Thursday morning I was gowned up at 9am and heading into the tunnel listening to Radio 1’s Live Lounge CD. After about 20 minutes of loud clicking and trying to hold very still despite the pain it was over. Before getting changed back I was told to wait for a CD with all my photos on. Getting back to work ASAP so I could have a look at the photos I couldn’t really make head or tail of them. Doing a bit of Google research I found that white parts are bad, still not really knowing how bad things were I was going to have to wait for the MRI report.

MRI scan, looks interesting couldn't tell much,
hopefully the consultation will!

Come the following Thursday I received a call from the consultant's secretary confirming an operation would be required the following Monday.

The Big Day

The weekend was soon over and the day of the operation was here. I wasn’t allowed to eat 6 hours and drink 2 hours before my operation. Checking in at 12pm I was shown to my room, met the nurse, ordered food for after the operation and chilled until the consultant came round to see me. Graham Tytherleigh-Strong then came round and explained the operation to me. From the MRI he explained that a Bankart Lesion repair was required to stabilise the shoulder. I was booked in at 4pm, so had around 2 hours to wait. Fortunately when the anaesthetist came in to explain her part she allowed me to have a small glass of water. The next two hours seemed to fly by, with me donning my second gown and putting some compression socks on.

Just so he doesn't get the wrong one.

Operation Time

Just after 4pm the nurse and porter came into my room and I was then being wheeled down to Theatre No.4. An intravenous line was put in my left hand and before I knew it the anaesthetist said “this might feel cold, then your face will tingle and you’ll be asleep”. Sure enough the last thing I remember was looking at the clock reading 4:30pm with a tingling face. Then what seemed like a blink I was being woken by one of the nurses at 6:30pm in recovery. Feeling slightly cold due to the anaesthetic and a totally numb arm due to the temporary blocker injected into my arm I was wheeled back to my room, where Hazel was waiting.

Awake and back in my room.

That Night

Post operation food came round though I didn’t really feel hungry; I just nibbled on the salmon sandwiches and let Hazel finish the rest off. At around 10:30pm Hazel went home and I dozed with the TV on till around midnight when I was given my first antibiotic injection. After that I slept upright straight through till 7am, only being woken by the coffee lady, followed by breakfast. Just after 8:30 Graham came round to let me know that the operation was successful and gave me some photos of his handy work.

Top left is the detached ligament. Middle left is just one
of the anchors used to attach ligament back onto the bone.

After having my final antibiotic injection, getting the dressings changed and meeting the physio I was discharged at 10:30am.

Just three little holes to show for it.

One Week On

So now that I am a week on from the operation I still need to keep my arm in a sling for two more weeks before I can start physio. However over the last couple of days I’ve been taking it out and bending my elbow as this has now become stiff.

With the weather being so good it’s been frustrating not being able to do anything active, apart from walking around the town.

This Thursday I'll have the stitches taken out which will make showering easier, but still very tricky with only one arm!

Hopefully the next two weeks will fly by so I can hit the recovery hard!