A Long Time . . .

I have been fighting the "Blogger" for at least five months.  At last I broke the code and I am back on the air so to speak.  Much water has gone under the bridge in that time.

The biggest is I had my left shoulder replaced.  I was in constant pain, sometimes harsh, sometimes mild.  The Orthopedic Surgeon said the end of the humerus bone was totally eaten up by Osteoarthritis and had to be replaced.  The operation was conducted in Fort Worth Methodist Harris Hospital on September 18, 2018 by Dr. Curtiss Bush (an graduate of the LSU Medical School).  There was immediate relief, no more pain, period.  Done and gone.

However, recovery was a bit more arduous than desired.  I had to wear an awkward sling that put a lot pressure on my neck.  Apparently that caused my Radii Culopathy to flare up and started problems from my neck down to my right hand.  I have pain that radiates from my neck sometimes very bad but most times just irritable often requiring a couple of Ibuprofen pills up to and including Tylenol 3's (Codeine).   Sometimes the numbness in my fingers is elevated and sometimes it backs off.  But all together indicate my neck problems had returned.

Dr. Bush seemed skeptical about it but I convinced him to require a MRI on my neck and an X-ray of my right shoulder.  I have had the MRI and looked at the results and the 6th vertebrae looks bad on the top and the bottom of that neck bone.  In the past I have had Cortisone shots in the neck that pumped up the disc and totally relieved the pain.  I have an appointment with the same pain doctor and I will give him the MRI and say shoot me up again.

The Cortisone usually results in freedom from pain for at least 5 years and last time it worked for almost 15 years.

Any left shoulder is great, no problems fully recover range of motion, etc.  I am very pleased with the final results.  I breeze through physical therapy and face a follow up appointment a year from my birthday, March 9.

I am getting old and things are wearing out.  The left shoulder being one of them and my neck the other one.  Both are attributed to all the jogging I did in the military.  On the other hand all that jogging has put off my cardio problems.  I do have cardio problems but no heart attacks and mild blockages in the arteries around my heart.  The VA has awarded me service connected disabilities for both the Radii Culopathy and the heart disease.