Cal Club Autocross Forums

Thursday Noon is cut Steve's shoulder open day....
Actually, not so dramatic, more like 5 little holes.
Out patient, but still general anesthesia.

Going out for the "Last Supper" tonight.

The surgery is the easy part. Most rotator cuff repairs are clean ups. I have a completely torn muscle/tendon that has to be grafted back on to the the arm bone. Because of that PT can't start for 6 weeks. Elbow tied to body for SIX FRICKIN WEEKS.

Of course that means my shoulder will completely lock up with scar tissue and atrophy to the point of worthlessness. Then after six weeks if the grafts take, they can break the shoulder free and start a two year series of ever increasing PT with a goal of 85% capacity. Woohoo....

No golf swings for 8-12 months, though doc points out I won't have much of a chance at a strong swing even a year from now.

But the good news..... He thinks autocrossing in March will be completely safe if the surgery is successful. Although he cautions I probably won't have the strength to raise my arm over my head at that point.... He liked the goal though. He looks forward to bragging that he rebuilt my shoulder in December and I'm racing cars in March. That's the plan.

Now pass the anti-anxiety medication.... Funny, there is a worm in the bottom of the bottle???? ;)

Steve Ekstrand wrote: Now pass the anti-anxiety medication.... Funny, there is a worm in the bottom of the bottle???? ;)

wow...hope all goes well Steve. the worm is your spirt guide. he'll assist with the operation and take care of the insurance forms

God Luck Steve!!

And just to be safe, I'd suggest writing in marker on you forehead, "Don't cut here!".

Good luck with the surgery.

Afterwards tell them the pain is a 15 on a scale of 1-10 and ask for "the pump"

Moriphine at the touch of a button, it will help for a few days make it more fun.

Have somebody post to let us all know you are ok.

Good luck, with the surgery Steve.

Get well soon, Steve and have fun with "the stranger" for the next few months ;)

You'll be like John McCain with the weird arm thing!

Good luck Steve - will Stacey have to help you pee?

I did some research on "the pump" last week and there are a bunch of class action lawsuits. Apparently the localized pain killer eats the lining of the shoulder joint and causes the pain to be for life instead of just the recovery period. No thanks!

One of the pluses theoretically in my favor is that I have little to no degeneration to deal with, just a clean tear from trauma, as opposed to 12 seasons closing for the Dodgers.

Helping pee? No.

But... I have to pre-button loose pants and tighten with one handed with the belt. And I haven't figured out how to tie shoelaces one handed yet. Gotta go to the old man section at Kohl's and get the velcro walkers.... :barf:

SIX frickin weeks immobilized. I asked the doctor if he was joking. Just glad it was my left hand. I'm fairly ambidextrous, but I'd still die if it was my right arm. But I am pretty bummed about golf. I just got new clubs too and was planning on going back to playing more now that my RA has been under better control. The goal for 2010.

Good luck and Godspeed! Of all the joints I've damaged, I've never had "a shoulder." <knock wood> I imagine that's one you underestimate until it's screwed up, then you discover out just how important it is. Call if you guys need help with anything (except that peeing thing). I'm only a few minutes away.

Good luck, Steve!

Leave for the hospital in an hour.... Argh.....

Even though it's out-patient, see if you can't get a sponge bath before you check out.

Good Luck!

Curt Luther wrote:Get well soon, Steve and have fun with "the stranger" for the next few months ;)

Heal up quick man, I'll make sure I teach Robert how to play "Slug Bug" with you.

Steve,

Get well soon, and those time frames.... always on the long side, as medical professionals don't want legal professionals coming after them for predicting to short of recovery times.

Just like Kurt, need anything at home, or over at the lot with your rig, I'm just a hop skip and jump away.

Craig

Good luck Steve! If you want to autocross a car with an automatic and the ability to steer with one hand, you're always welcome in my car.

Good Luck.....

The pain pump's I have seen are not localized to a surgery,attachment wise, just attached to the regular IV, hmmmmm

Pete Loney wrote:Good Luck.....

The pain pump's I have seen are not localized to a surgery,attachment wise, just attached to the regular IV, hmmmmm

Yeah , thats the one I was talking about.

They can make you forget anything hurts.

Sorry to disappoint....

But I'm ALIVE!!!! }:) }:) }:) }:) }:) }:)


Must have been the drugs, but I was so pumped to wake up really clear and pain free and staring at a clock that said 2 hours and 20 minutes had passed since I started taking big breaths with the mask on.

Here's the huge huge huge good news.

No tendon graft necessary. Doc said the remaining fibers were strong enough. So, just a clean up and decompression. The arm is now back centered in the cuff and will be readyto rock soon. PT almost immediately. No immobiliztion. No delays.

I'm pretty happy right now. Tender. Dreading thenerve block wearing off tonight. But pumped nonetheless. Its good to wake up one. Better too to have the doc say you'll be racing and golfing way sooner than you thought.

Thanks for all your prayers and kind thoughts!

Steve Ekstrand wrote:Sorry to disappoint....

But I'm ALIVE!!!! }:) }:) }:) }:) }:) }:)


Must have been the drugs, but I was so pumped to wake up really clear and pain free and staring at a clock that said 2 hours and 20 minutes had passed since I started taking big breaths with the mask on.

Here's the huge huge huge good news.

No tendon graft necessary. Doc said the remaining fibers were strong enough. So, just a clean up and decompression. The arm is now back centered in the cuff and will be readyto rock soon. PT almost immediately. No immobiliztion. No delays.

I'm pretty happy right now. Tender. Dreading thenerve block wearing off tonight. But pumped nonetheless. Its good to wake up one. Better too to have the doc say you'll be racing and golfing way sooner than you thought.

Thanks for all your prayers and kind thoughts!

Crap! Now I'm gonna have to get all the committee members of "Conemangler is Gone! Let's Party Like It's 1999" together and cancel all the plans. Crap.

Steve Ekstrand wrote:No tendon graft necessary. Doc said the remaining fibers were strong enough. So, just a clean up and decompression. The arm is now back centered in the cuff and will be readyto rock soon. PT almost immediately. No immobiliztion. No delays.

awesome!

Wow! That's tremendously good news!!

So could the Doc do anything for your driving? Maybe he can help Bill... ;)

KJ Christopher wrote:

Steve Ekstrand wrote:No tendon graft necessary. Doc said the remaining fibers were strong enough. So, just a clean up and decompression. The arm is now back centered in the cuff and will be readyto rock soon. PT almost immediately. No immobiliztion. No delays.

awesome!

Good news.

And I was sooo looking forward to calling you T-Rex.

Oh well, congrats!

Great to hear things worked out so well!

Robert Puertas wrote:And I was sooo looking forward to calling you T-Rex.

Oh well, congrats!

That's sooo funnny.... And it hurt sooooo much to laugh that hard!