Do you have any recommendations on a place to stay while there? The administrative person sent me a list of hotels and the prices were very reasonable. I am going by myself the first trip and hope to avoid renting a car as driving in unfamiliar territory in my condition is not wise.[/QUOTE]

I actually stayed a night at the Baylor Park Plaza, which is the hotel there on the hospital grounds. It's definitely no-frills, but it's clean and quiet and you can walk to your appointment without ever going outdoors. The water pressure is terrible, but for a brief stay it's a really good (and inexpensive) option, particularly if you want to minimize driving (and driving in Dallas is nerve-wracking even under the best conditions). If you decide to stay at the BPP, there is a nice cafe on the lobby floor and several diners within walking distance (although it's not the best area to be walking around at night; daytime is no problem) so getting fed is easy. Unfortunately, the nicest hotels are the furthest away from the hospital, which is going to necessitate a vehicle; there are several taxi services, though.

My worst flare up on my "good" side (which is my left) happened right after I got the scalene block on the right side, which was the first pain relief I'd had on the right in years. I was terrified that since that happened, the same thing would happen if the surgery helped the right side. Fortunately, it hasn't been a problem so far. Dr. P says it's not uncommon for the "good" side to get relief once the "bad" side is corrected; I certainly hope that's the case for you.

In the meantime, I'm glad you are getting relief from the botox! I totally empathize with the medial scapular pain; it's a crippler! It's interesting, though, my muscles reacted differently than yours - my shoulder dropped the same way yours does when you have a bad flare-up, but while my back muscles atrophied like yours, my scalenes hypertrophied. Dr. Ahn called me "bull-necked" - one of the many eyebrow-raising things he said to me, but I digress - and in one of my MRIs it almost looks like I've grown a hump on my neck! My shoulder is still out-of-place, but I can move it to the right place now, which I couldn't before, and hopefully PT will improve it to a place closer to "normal." And no more bull-necked hump, probably due to a combination of having the muscle removal, reducing inflammation, and not constantly trying to hold my shoulder in a weird position to alleviate the pain.

It never ceases to amaze me how many presentations this condition can have - reading this forum has been a real education. Maybe that's part of why doctors don't diagnose it well.