About 12 years ago I tore my left rotator cuff when I fell off a ladder. I was only one step off the deck where I was working, but it was enough to cause a complete tear. I had rotator cuff surgery fairly soon after the event, but long enough that I gained a feel for what a rotator cuff injury feels like.

About four years ago or so, I had another ladder incident. I knew immediately that I had suffered another rotator cuff injury, but not as bad as the first time. This time it was to my right shoulder, which connects my dominant arm to the rest of my body. It hurt quite a bit for a short time, short enough that I could continue my ladder work after sitting down for a while. It didn’t cause any severe problems, other than making it impossible to throw rocks at stray cats, which was something I just had to learn to live with. I hurt it again about year or two later using a gasoline-powered auger, but still, I could live with the fairly minor symptoms.

And then about month ago my right shoulder began to ache. It was not really bad, let’s say about a four or five on the hospital scale of one to ten. I couldn’t think of anything I had done to make it hurt. I went to the same orthopedic surgeon who I visited last summer for my knees, and who did my left shoulder. I saw his PA, who said he would order an MRI. That was on Wednesday, March 10. I didn’t hear anything about the MRI by the end of the week.

On Sunday, I hurt my arm again, and it was bad. I couldn’t, and still can’t lift my arm above my shoulder, and sudden movements cause a sharp pain. It hurts some when I try to sleep, and it hurts if I absent-mindedly try to do some trivial task with my right hand. I called the surgeon’s office Monday to tell them I was hurting pretty bad and had limited function with my arm. They responded in about an hour. So now I will have my MRI on the day this posts, Thursday, and see the surgeon on Monday.

Based on my left-armed experience, I expect the MRI to show a tear that warrants surgical repair. This comes at an inconvenient time because Leah is still experiencing a lot of pain in her leg after her failed surgery on December, and is not going to feel like carrying me around in her arms for two months while I recuperate.

I know that after the surgery I will have a few days of pain that will almost certainly require drugs, but that after that I will actually be able to move around and do everything that’s possible to do with only one hand, like tying my shoelaces. No, wait, I won’t be able to do that. I might be able to put on a shirt without help. I might be able to walk the dogs, if I can convince Zoe not to pull too hard. I’ll be able to work the TV remote with either hand. It’s going to be a hassle, but I will be glad to have it repaired, assuming that’s what the doctor says I need. We have a stray cat around the house that has been needing some attention.

You might be wondering how I sustained the most recent injury. Sunday night I was scooping out some ice cream. The ice cream was really hard. The spoon I was using slipped and I jerked my hand. No big deal, but I think it finished the rotator cuff tear. I made a noise that got even the dogs’ attention.

I had to eat all the remaining ice cream. It was too dangerous to leave in the house.