Hi Everyone....

Starting to get a bit nervous now. Suppose to be having my surgery within next four weeks and will only get about 24-48 hours notice to be there. I have not done the following:

1. No shopping done
2. No decorations done
3. No tree up and lit...
4. No Xmas cooking done
5. No cards done yet...

and....Heading to Florida on the 27th. I am worried about recovery, pain and how long I should be off, whether or not I am suppose to do P/T. I have tried to call Dr. office for two weeks and can not get through. I have been given little to no info on what they are doing and what to expect and my time is running out on being able to get some things done. Any thoughts or suggestions??

Rach

I would let the kids help to decorate the house - it can be a simple home made type of Christmas.
same with the tree or get a artificial tree and let the kids be in charge of decorating
gift cards for shopping after recovery?
just one big gift per kid { 1 expensive thing vs a bunch of little things}

I rarely ever do cards - email cards yes

I try to not fall into the commercial aspect of Christmas or any Holiday,
being with family and friends is the important thing.

Hi Rachel,

I feel your frustration but you have to realize there is only so much you can do. As for Christmas.....kids to help total bonus let them help with the baking...hmmmm maybe too much mess.....

Wrapping is always hell for me so I decided (and I LOVE to wrap presents) that bags are the only way to go....get some tissue and then stuff it into the bag and you're good to go.

as for surgery....dont even think about it.....I did this and it really helped me I just treated every day as normal until that day then worried is much easier on your stress level.

as for PT....not for three months I was told but depends on your doc. Mine gave me some exercises which I did in the shower so my muscles were warmed up.

as for recovery you WILL need help,. I stayed at my Moms but i moved in pre surgery as I was not moving to where dh was going.......anyhow you will need help to wash and help with hair and these things for at LEAST first two weeks then you can slowly start doing more.

I had pain so bad.....not joking or trying to scare iu....tos pain left but had acute surgical pain and I felt run over by a truck!!!! Will add more if I think of it later feel free to PM me if you need a good talk!!!

love and hugs,
Victoria

I agree with Victoria - gift bags gift bags gift bags!!! I love to wrap but it isn't worth the pain. Shopping online could be an option - get it down fast and don't have to leave the house! Let the kids decorate...I am sure they will have lots of fun!

When I had surgery I got the call Friday late afternoon, had my pre-op Monday and then the surgery on the Tuesday...that gave me the weekend to get stuff ready and I just 'winged it'...whatever wasn't done would find a way to get done

I started PT 8 weeks post-op...still going now (8 months post-op) and have been told to continue for another 6 months...I was told physio would be KEY in my recovery. Personally, I couldn't imagine having had no physio after surgery but that is just my opinion. I didn't even ask about it till my follow up appt...like victoria I was given some exercises to do in the shower on my hospital discharge and just went with that for the first lil while.

Best advice I have is not to get too stressed right now...the holidays will happen...just do your best!!!

Thanks for the suggestions. I did listen you all you guys before and got someone to help me clean my house...nice treat. I will get some help with the decorations and tree and shopping will be minimal with the trip to Disney. Some of my main concers are the pain levels, when will I start to feel better and what the heck is he doing in there? When I spoke with him, he wasn't able to give me a lot of info because he spent alot of time discussing the whole TOS thing. Other than what I have read here I am not sure of how everything works, and how I will be feeling and what to do/not do when I get home. What were your recovery times like?
I will be getting the recliner and lots of pillows. Those seem like huge musts from other posts.
Sorry for typing, going fast as hands hurt...I know u all can relate.

Rach

PS...Jamy...why the P/T so late? I have read posts where it is right away. Can you move you arm much after surgery? What kind of movements can I expect?
Gibbrn...got the hair helpers all arranged....a couple of close friends of mine and going to help me with that....I'm sure it will be a quick wash but I will take what I can get...

Hi Rachel - there were two things that lead to my late start with PT. One was that the PT I had wanted to use was sick the day of our appt and it was going to take months to get in for a consult with him (he is quite the guy - hard to get appts with) I made many many calls and most places went 'TO what?' - so those calls ended quickly. Also it was about 6 or 7 weeks post-op that I actually had my follow-up with the surgeon...

I basically have full range of motion now - some limited on the end range. Some days are better then others...everyone agreed (docs, PT, etc) that the last thing you want is a frozen shoulder. Movement was limited after surgery not to mention it hurt like heck, but I did my shower exercise and have really listened to my 'team' (I like to call them that...I see a PT, MT and Chiro weekly...adds up to a lot of appts!). Right now I find I am weak and likely will be refered to a (sports rehab type) clinic to gain some strength. If you want to PM me with any questions I'd be happy to share my experiences...

This is not said to bash you, but I wonder if you realize that your goal should not be on Christmas but on YOU, your surgery, your current health regimen.

I am concerned that your thoughts on Christmas, etc., might cause you some stress that you should avoid before surgery.

If you have to, maybe gift cards? Can you go to others' (like family or close friends) for Christmas so you can avoid decorations this year? Oh, I know how much we love all of that, but you can end up at 3 AM with a nice big ol' flare!

And CARDS?! Isn't that a lot of hand movement? Not good to go into surgery with a flare, or any inflammation we don't already have...can't everyone just understand you have TOS and are about to have surgery any day and give you a pass this year?

Remember, you only get one shot at your first TOS surgery, and you don't want scar tissue! The world will go one without all of the "doing" you do for Christmas, as no one noticed when my cards stopped - I am and always will be someone who LOVES cards, letters, wax stamps, stickers, etc., and unfortunately, TOS trumps those now...

First and foremost keep your health at your TOP priority -

sleep a lot
vitamins
walks

Set up after-care, prepare spouse, children, and just focus on limiting your activity except for the right "Edgelow" "TOS" type of PT. It's all about YOU time, as far as I'm concerned.

God bless you.

Hi Rachael,

I would have to aggree with the others here. This is a pretty major surgery, and the recovery really isnt a piece of cake either. Take time to take care of yourself. Dont worry about Christmas cards. And if I were you i wouldnt even bother with decorations, getting the tree up, christmas lights, etc. you dont want to be bothered with taking them down after Christmas and after surgery. Everyone will totally understand. And besides you will have many more healthy Christmas's to come!

Good luck! And take care of YOU!

Thanks Everyone....I will do my best to get through the holidays unscathed....

All of your advice and wisdom is noted and I will do my best to follow what I can...

Tree is up....
Cards are done....(kids did them)...
Decorations (what I am going to put up) is done....
Three of six gifts are done...(Disney World is "the" gift)

Demerol is in.....lol

I feel better now. I have a good start and if I go for surgery this week...gift cards will finish up.

My last wish would be to have a better understanding of the whole surgery process....but I guess I will wing that too...

My thanks to you!!