I am so excited to get this shoulder surgery. I’ve experienced countless shoulder injuries over my time because of football and hardly remember a time when my shoulders didn’t hurt. People who haven’t experienced the pain and difficulty that comes with shoulder issues don’t understand the massive impact it can have on someone’s quality of life.
I try to hide my discomfort from my family and friends because I know my pain upsets them. I do a good job of hiding the majority of the pain I’m in, but every so often I let out an uncontrollable cry that makes it very obvious that I’m in need of a shoulder arthroscopy, at the very least. I say ‘at least’ because shoulder arthroscopies are one of the most minimally invasive shoulder surgeries that surgeons can perform.
In my initial consultation with my shoulder surgeon, she said that depending on what she finds during my shoulder arthroscopy, she may be able to perform my surgery then and there using that tool. She said that this would only be possible if I needed a rotator cuff repair, superior capsular reconstruction or something else. There was a decent list of things that my shoulder surgeon could fix with a shoulder arthroscopy. I struggled to make sense of the entire list, but I feel like I definitely understood the basics.
When I was listening to the surgeon speak, I couldn’t help but think about how glad I am not to be a shoulder injury specialist. Melbourne only has a select few and they are booked out for months on end. I sat there wondering whether or not they ever actually got a break, rather than taking in the vital information that I’d need to know to get ready for my shoulder surgery. I always do this when I feel overwhelmed with information. Even information that I actually want to receive!