After shoulder surgery, the doctor said there was very little I could do for the next week, especially using the right arm. I can type on a keyboard, and I can walk. I asked him about walking a dog. He said, “As long as you hold the leash in your left hand.”
So for the past few days I have been walking Apollo in the morning, one lap around the lake.
Meanwhile, I have been using the cold therapy machine almost 24 hours a day, and taking pain pills. The cold therapy machine is like an ice chest that I fill with ice and water, and then a pump circulates the icy water through a pad that is velcro’d to my shoulder. The cold is soothing, reduces pain and inflamation, and helps with healing. It’s been a week now, and I am cutting back to only wearing it at night. That is a relief in itself, since I can now get up and walk around without detaching and reattaching myself every time.
There’s still some pain, especially at night, but it’s getting better. Last night was the first night I didn’t need any Vicodin, just the milder analgesic Ultram. I tried to get through a couple of nights earlier in the week, but by 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning I gave up and took Vicodin. I’m getting through the days without anything, and it’s not bad at all.
Walking with Apollo has its challenges too. He pulls pretty hard when we first start out; he’s excited and wants to get to that next bush. But I have him pretty well trained now to slow down when he hits the end of the leash. Although the jerking is on my left arm, my whole body feels the shock and it reverberates in my right shoulder. By the time we get home, just the bouncing of walking has me ready to sit down for while and rest that shoulder.
The worst part of being one handed is when he makes a deposit on the ground. I have to tie the leash around my leg before I can get out the poop-bag and clean up after him. But we seem to have figured it out together, and he enjoys getting out every day for a walk.
No bike rides for a while — it’s too hard to ride with just one hand, and if I fell off I could hit that shoulder on the road and undo all the repairs. That’s not worth the risk.
Wednesday afternoon I go back to see the surgeon, and he schedules physical therapy. They have in-house therapists that have worked with them for years, so although I’d like to keep it in the family, it’s not worth driving to Queen Creek or Pittsburgh.