I am sixteen years old and am trying to prepare myself for surgery in just two days. . . Im having my first rib removed, my scalene muscle removed, and two others in my neck. I am a softball pitcher and worried about my recovery time.

Hi LSUsball2010,

main things to remember....stay calm...try not to think about the surgery just go with the flow....I didn't get stressed and I think that helps a lot. Of course you are gonna be afraid of the unknown. Recovery time is different for each person esp. depending on which surgical route the surgeon wishes to perform. If you have a chest tube it will make a difference.

I am not gonna lie to you, I felt hit by a train. It was painful but they gave me medication to cope. ALWAYS ASK FOR MEDS IF YOU ARE IN PAIN....NEVER A NEED FOR YOU TO SUFFER ASK FOR SOMETHING TO HELP YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! can't stress that enough. Recovery for me for complete back to normal...well normal is relative as my PT wrecked my surgery as I stated before but it took a great few months to feel normal again....at least four before I was feeling half decent and could sleep lying down.

just always have help at hand....your friends for moral support and your folks for help with your day to day stuff at home...I was 32 when I had the surgery and felt like a little girl again as my Mom was washing my hair, helping with my dressing on my incision and doing all my laundry agian...a big change for me at 32 used to running my own place...however I'm sure at 16 you are well used to your folks helping u.....just don't be ever afraid to ask for something....my most embarrasing thing was I had my period right when I went for surgery so had to get help with PADS which I never used but you sure as heck can't put your own tampons in as you can't move that way for a while.

If you want more moral support I'll check here later or you can PM me and I'll try to answer your specific questions.....again....go in with an open mind and no fear....just take one thing at a time and don't feel overwhelmed. Never be afraid to ask ANYBODY for any help at any time!!!!!!!

take care and good luck with your surgery hope we hear from you again as your Physio will be the next thing to tackle....my Physio wrecked my surgery results so be very very very careful who you go to for your physio!!!

love and hugs,
Victoria

I've heard this is a pitfall for pitchers. So sorry you're in this spot.

I've not had surgery but I have suffered a lot by not having surgeryn (7 years of pure heck and now it's very tolerable and I'm experienced, I guess). I would not want a 16-year-old to miss out on so much because you can't...... can't........ can't ...... ... and can't some more...... and then some more!!!!!!!!

I would get a 2nd opinion. Let your parents check out the reputation of the surgeons and hospitals for you specific surgery. Be thorough about that, to the point of annoying the facility. If they're good, they'll brag. I had contact with one of my surgeon's patients, and she bragged on his care and experience. You can postpone a while if necessary. I hate to say that but I'd want to be sure. It seems to be a fickle surgery and recovery. So they need to ask questions.

Check out the PT care in your area, specific to your postsurgical needs. PT has to understand your situation and I would want them experienced or talking with an experienced PT, or getting good direction from a qualified postsurgical TOS person regularly. I know my surgeon has PT in-house but I'm 3 hours away. Their PT person talks with my PT person.

Your chances are probably greater than most for a great recovery because of your age. I understand it would be major surgery, so you're probably not prepared for that. You'll have to listen to your doctors, parents and caregivers to get you though it. It will be over, though. You will come though it, in time. So, my best hopes and prayers for you. May you recover Godspeed

I do hope you have researched and found a expert surgeon for your operation.
This is Not a time for a rookie dr or one that is in a hurry to cut

Have you had expert PT for the symptoms ??
I wish we had more time to hear more about your symptoms and what you have tried already...

You can put the surgery off if you aren't 100% sure right now and do more research , please don't rush into anything that is not critically urgent.

Things I am wondering about-

what is your main pain & symptoms?
what is your avg pain level?
Do you have severe swelling or blood flow issues?
Can/did the Drs show you on MRI or other tests what exactly the problems are?
How long have you had symptoms?

We do have a thread on Hank Blalock the Texas ranger ballplayer that had TOS surgery - but he has expert docs and PT I'm sure - but if you read the sites about him he is still on/off the active roster due to various ongoing injuries...
here it is-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread26882.html

I'm just saying you are young and unless there is a critical reason to have this surgery right now , blood clot issues, continuous & extreme nerve pain etc. - why not wait a bit??

Once these parts are removed you can't put them back...

Hi there!

Sorry you have to have surgery... Did you have a blood clot? I had the same surgery and it went well. My advice for you is to take it easy when you get home - its tough to sit around when you are used to being active, but give yourself some time to heal, you wont regret it. And find a good physical therapist so you can quickly and safely regain your strength.

It took me about a month to start to feel really good after the surgery - and about two months before I felt like I had the same strength in my right arm and shoulder (where I had surgery) as I did on my left and my motivation was that I wanted to resume my sport really bad too, but I was almost 20 years older than you when I had surgery. So I would suspect that you should heal up pretty quick.

Google pitcher Aaron Cook from the Colorado Rockies - he had the same thing as you and I do and he still pitches for the Rockies - like its no problem!

Best of luck to you and please let us know how everything goes for you. I would like to hear about your recovery process as well. You will be in my thoughts and prayers two days from now! Keep in touch!

Anna

Oh and one more thing you should know... If you are having the surgery due to a blood clot, which I suspect you are since you are a pitcher, your doctors will probably put you on blood thinners (Coumadin) for while afterwards and they wont allow you to participate in any sports where you can cut or bruise yourself - which can cause dangerous internal bleeding - but you should be able to go to the gym and run to stay in shape once you get the okay from the doctor, but it adds a little time to the whole recovery.

Another thing I wish I had known when I was recovering - they have you on a ventilator during the surgery which really effected my breathing when I started to try to get my heart rate up when working out afterwards. Make sure you use the breath measuring device (I dont know what the real name of it is) when you are at the hospital right afterwards to build up your lungs and it also helps with avoiding phomonia, which is the real reason they have it there. But when you get home and can lay flat on your back take big deep breaths for about 5 minutes twice a day. Seriously, about a week and a half after surgery I went for a walk, just a walk, and was panting like I had just run a sprint! So, I wished I had known...

Have some button up shirts to wear when you get home - its hard to get a t-shirt on! And last but not least shave your legs and armpits really well before you have the surgery - you wont be able to do that again for awhile.

Again, best of luck and keep in touch.

Hearing about the Colorado Rockies pitcher makes me feel a lot better. I can't postpone the surgery because I can't waste time getting back into my softball routine and Ive been having constant pain for the last year or so. . . But we have researched a lot about TOS and the surgeon I will be going to. He's suppose to be one of the best in the country so it gives me some relief. His name is Dr. Thompson out of St. Louis, MO. This surgery seems to be the right thing to do and definitely the last resort, after months and months of physical therapy; I suppose Im just nervous considering its going to take place so soon. Thank you for all of the support

It's good to hear that you did the researching, I was worried about that part .

Phys therapy
Just don't rush yourself during the healing process.
Make sure you have some expert PT people and do the ROM routines and everything for short sessions many times a day when dr OKs it.

If you seem to be having any problems during PT and they don't adjust things so it works better for you -don't be afraid to ask for a different therapist or go to another place.
There are good and bad out there and you only have one body.
I found I got better PTs with each change, plus I learned a lot from asking questions and watching what they did.
{I didn't have surgery , but many sessions of PT for RSI type of TOS}

Be careful when driving or riding in a car because a few got re injured quite soon after recovery due to accidents.
Just in case you are tempted to go riding around with some one that might be a bit reckless or inexperienced.

Best of luck and let us know how you are doing when you can.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Dr. Thompson did Aaron Cooks surgery. I have heard great things about this doctor and think you are in good hands.

Good luck with your surgery - i really hope that things turn out good for you and that you can get back to the pitching in the future!

Take care
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