On a more personal note...

I had my second shoulder scoping on February 27th, a Wednesday morning. The second time through was much smoother than the first, knowing exactly what to expect, knowing how I was going to react to the pain killers and anesthesia, etc.

Being more in the know meant I proceeded with less scaredy-cat caution. I was out of the sling in 24 hours, I stopped the pain meds in 48 hours except to sleep, and was using the arm again in restricted ways by the weekend.

I think that has helped it heal much faster. At the two week point, I was further along in the left shoulder than I was at a month with the right shoulder. Even my physical therapist ( I have a new one now) was surprised by my post surgery range of motion. I'm still ahead with the right shoulder, but as I type this, not by much.

What I'm sadly dealing with now is that my insurance only covers 12 PT sessions in a calendar year. I'm scheduled for my 13th session this coming Tuesday, after which we scheduled a break so that I could work on getting my insurance to approve another set of 12.

I'm trying to do my own PT work, knowing already what my last PT did, I'm trying to pin it down to a few exercises that should get me moving along quicker once my current PT decides that it's time for strengthening work.

The frustrating thing is it's now March, and I've basically been out of commission in some way since mid-December. Taking the first month to sit back, relax, and think about what I wanted to do as far as athletics is concerned was nice. Now I'm ready to get back to it. And the patience and waiting is picking away at me.

Training is my Prozac.

I'm definitely more on edge than normal. I get sad easier. I get anxious easier. I stay that way longer. And my daydreams inevitably drift back towards training, competing, and the like.

It's finite, though, and I have to keep reminding myself of that. In the meantime, I'm doing lots of things that don't bother my shoulder: rowing, airdyne, squats, sit ups, even some super light dumbbell pressing. LOTS and LOTS of self massage with lacrosse balls, foam rollers, etc.

Heres to getting back in the game stronger than when I left it!