So, I am sure you are all wondering how Kim's procedure went with the shoulder. The Dr said that everything went well, but from Kim's point of view, it has been a rude awakening to the world of REAL PAIN. Yes, he got a tasting of that at Christmastime with his back injury, but this has been worse. And the thing is, before the surgery even started the anestheseologist gave him a block that was supposed to numb the entire shoulder area for 36 hours after the procedure. But it didn't work. And,during the surgery they inserted what is called a "pain pump" that is also supposed to really help with pain, but that didn't work either. Well, maybe it was helping some...cause maybe it would have been worse still without it, but Kim was in excruciating pain when he came to so they loaded him up with lots of different narcotics, which weren't working either. They finally gave him Perocet, which lessened it enough to get him dressed and take him home...so now I am supposed to keep him well drugged on schedule,around the clock, so that we don't get back into the severe pain stuff again. And the Phenergan is helping him to sleep since I gave him that...so Heaven be praised for Phenergan! Anyway. I heard it was going to be a nasty procedure, so I am not shocked, but Kim is sure of one thing: The pain pump is working...it is pumping lots of pain into there!
Brigham is always wishing he had results of these procedures, so here it is for anyone else who wants to see. The first pictures are the inside of the shoulder joint. Dr Ritchie said that none of that red/pink inflamed looking stuff should be there and that it was proof that Kim has been in alot of pain. That was NOT news to me. Anything so painful that you only get 3-4 hours sleep at night, with serious pain reducers in place, is serious pain. He said that the (rotator cuff) looked fine, at least it was not loose as they can be if that is the cause of the problem. The Dr ground down a "spur" and used that little grinder you can see in the picture to clean up the whole joint, opening it up significantly. The DR said that he didn't find any calcium buildup (calcification???) anywhere. I think that is what he said. Kim will not be able to work for the next 3 days, and then friday, he will start with physical therapy "in earnest". So now you know. This is giving me problems trying to get the pictures loaded...stay tuned...maybe I will figure it out again.
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