For those of you who are interested in a little background on my experiences with my right shoulder here it is in a nutshell. If you want to skip straight to the update on my left shoulder just scroll down to the bottom :)
My sophomore year of high school (2010) I was playing my second year of tennis for Ogden High. One day while practicing I went to hit a low ball and I felt something pop. I immediately knew something was wrong. I looked down at my right shoulder and could see that my shoulder had dislocated. At first I didn't feel any pain. I felt numb. I wasn't processing what had happened, and then it hit me. Unimaginable pain. I went to the athletic trainer and had her take a look. It was definitely out of socket but it wouldn't go back in.
I went to multiple shoulder specialists in the ogden and salt lake area. X rays and a MRI was done, but no doctor could figure out how to fix it. That's when I found Dr. Metcalf up in park city. He looked at my MRI and made a surgical plan.
Now keep in mind this was before we knew I had EDS so we just thought this was a tennis injury.
We scheduled surgery in Dec so I played the rest of the season with my shoulder out. Lots of KT tape for me. When I went in for my surgery he found that my Labrum was more than double the size, it had not torn like we thought but had shredded. He sutured it all together and closed.
When I woke up I was told that I had a nerve block and that I would be numb for 24-28 hours. They made sure I was ready to go and sent me home. On our way home from park city I told my mom that I could feel my stitches, she said that was impossible because of the nerve block. By the time I got home I was screaming. To this day I have never screamed like that before.
It was like an out of body experience. I couldn't handle the pain. I remember screaming to my mom "I hope I pass out"because I couldn't handle the pain. None of the pain meds were making any kind of difference. I ended up in the ER because I went into shock. This is when we found out that my body metabolizes medication too fast so I don't respond to it.
Rehab was awful. The most painful physical therapy I had ever done. I was stuck in a brace for 8 weeks. I was frustrated and ready for the experience to be over.
I finally was cleared to play tennis again in June. He told me that there was less than a 10% chance that this would require surgery again. I played tennis all summer and all junior year. One day I put my back pack on and felt my shoulder pop out. Again. Only this time the pain was worse. It had gone out the back this time.
I went back to my surgeon and he told me I needed another surgery and that I was done playing tennis. I made the decision to hold off on the surgery and play tennis the summer before my senior year and my entire senior year. This was one of the most challenging things I have ever done. The pain was awful and I was frustrated that it was holding me back when I was playing tennis. BUT me and my doubles partner went undefeated the whole season and then got 2nd in region. We also had the chance to go to State.
I went back in to get surgery in Dec (2012). This time they had to drill into the bone and put 6 anchors in. This surgery was much worse. I had to stay in the hospital over night to be monitored since I didn't react to any pain meds. This time around I was put in my brace for 14 weeks and didn't have a functional shoulder for almost a year.
After my second shoulder surgery my surgeon went to compare the two shoulders and actually ended up popping out my left shoulder. This is when we realized it wasn't a tennis injury, it was something more.
For the last 5 years my left shoulder has been dislocating. It was just something I dealt with because I told myself I would never have another shoulder surgery. I have had a hip and 3 hand surgeries and to this day my shoulder was by far the worst surgery.
LEFT SHOULDER UPDATE.
The last year or so I have noticed that my shoulder was popping out more and becoming way more painful. I was so focused on recovering from my 3 hand surgeries that I just ignored it.
About 6 months ago is when it was to the point where it wasn't functional. It popped out in my sleep, when I drove, when I put clothes on, when I did my hair and pretty much anything else that required movement from it. I asked two of my physical therapists about it and they both said it was very loose. I finally decided to make an appointment with my surgeon.
Wednesday I went back up to park city after 5 years. I got instant anxiety walking in to that hospital again. They took x rays and then Metcalf came in to examine it.
He was able to pop it out in all directions and it was as he called it a 'grade 3' on each direction meaning it was the most severe. We discussed our options. At this point we all agreed that physical therapy was not going to help at this point because it was too loose and there was no stability. And then my worst fear came a reality. There is no more options left except a surgery.
Because of my previous issues with surgery we feel more confident going into this and fixing it in one surgery instead of two like my right shoulder. We know that I need to be in a brace for 14 weeks instead of 6-8. We know that when I go back to physical therapy after the surgery we won't need to do any kind of range of motion exercises because of my EDS. We know that I do not respond to pain meds so we will take it hour by hour and if I need to stay over to be watched I will.
I am still recovering and doing rehab from my 3rd hand surgery so thinking about getting another surgery is hard to process. I am still processing the news and trying to figure out how to deal with it.
Because I will be in a brace for a little over 3 months I have decided to wait until the end of April to get my surgery so that Zach and I can still enjoy our vacation in Seattle. My surgery is scheduled April 26th.
Although I am terrified of going through this experience again I know I will get through it with my amazing family, friends and boyfriend behind me every step of the way. This is just another battle that I will fight because living with EDS is a constant battle.
