From the Desk of T-Rex

Posted on May 20, 2022 by prairiemoonquilts in Studio News

The saga of the broken elbow continues . . .

It’s been a long haul. Nearly nine months since I very un-gracefully changed my life in the blink of an eye!

Are you sick of hearing about it? I’m sure sick of talking about it, but it seems to want to consume my life right now, so I figured a new update was in order.

Three weeks in a cast, two 6-week rounds of physical therapy, countless hours of “occupational therapy” trying to act as normal as possible, and I’m still not where I should be. Even if I wanted to accept that it’s as good as it’s gonna get, it’s really not.

And for the icing on the cake, I developed an overuse injury in my opposite wrist mid-January, so for four of those months, BOTH arms have been disabled. And still, I can say to myself: “It could be worse. My friend, Pat Sloan, broke both of her wrists at the same time!” At least I can still partially use both of my arms.

But Doc is not happy with my progress, and keeps giving me the wrinkly-brow look, and finally sent me to a specialist. So today I saw a Sports Medicine hand & elbow specialist. You know, because I’m such an athlete — NOT!

For my elbow, he’s not completely happy with the last x-ray. He thinks it’s a tad bit out of alignment, meaning the ball isn’t quite spinning in the socket at the right point, and there’s a little chunk of bone hanging off one side that never reattached (which I was told about from the beginning — they told me there were two chunks that might not reattach, so this wasn’t a real surprise).

What was a surprise is that while I thought the fracture only went vertically up my arm (aside from the two random chunks), it actually went in several different directions, so I’m being referred even further to an elbow surgeon to see what he thinks my options are from this point.

Hopefully not surgery, but if that’s what it takes, my daughters will insist that I go for it. They claim I’m too young to settle for a deformed arm the rest of my life. I tried to convince them that I could probably deal with it for the 20-25 years I have left (just for kicks), which brought on a tirade from both of them that made me proud, complete with lots of eye rolling and hissing sounds — I’ve raised them right! And it IS my turn to give back — haha! Isn’t that what parents are for?

Evidently, there are lots of broken elbows in our area, because the elbow surgeon is booked up until the end of June, so until then, I just hang out with my deformed arm and wait. I can do that.

As for the wrist, I got a steroid injection in the affected tendon area, and got fitted with my very own custom removable cast, complete with padding in all the right places. I even got to choose my own colors! The key word here is “removable” — I don’t have to wear it at night — whew! And I can take it off to shower and do dishes, which relieves a lot of frustration right from the start.

So . . . I’m in a cast for two more weeks, and then I can start slowly weaning myself out of it. Let’s hope and pray that the injection works, because if it doesn’t, my only other option is surgery, and altho it’s a minor procedure, it’s one I’d rather not go through.

Meanwhile, I’m still quilting as much as I can. Obviously, I’m a lot slower than I was pre-accident, and back then, I always thought I was too slow, so my mind is having to wrap itself around a still-messed-up schedule and I’m still trying to adjust to my new pace — I’m used to being super busy and getting so much done, and now I feel like I’m on a hamster wheel, working away and getting very little done. I’m guessing this could be a big contributing factor to my current slump.

Anyway, I’m trying to keep a good attitude about it all, since it just takes time and I’m doing all I can do — I have to be patient. Why is that so hard??

I promise my next post won’t be so down-in-the-dumps! I should have some stuff to show you that I’ve been working on. I’m giving myself some grace over the weekend, praying that my slump is over by Monday, and that I’m back in the saddle being my normal happy productive self. Thanks for visiting!

And thanks to all of you who have regularly checked on me, asked about my progress, sent up prayers, and offered cheer and good vibes for the last nine months — I appreciate you more than you know!

24 responses to “From the Desk of T-Rex”

  1. Rose Marie Smith says:

    I have been worrying and trying to remember to pray (brain goes to sleep). Give up washing dishes. Make the Tiger do that. You know who I mean. And raising daughters with opinions is just how life is meant to be. I have my two. They try to boss me, also. We need to coffee together. I am just sure of that.

  2. Mary Kolb says:

    Continuing my prayers for healing Shelly – you need to be back to your planned schedule of making quilts more beautiful!

  3. Helen Beall says:

    Patience is always hard, but not impossible. You will be okay with or without surgery, so try not to worry. But I hope the steroids do the trick!

  4. Patsy says:

    Sorry you are still having problems. Prayers.

  5. Shirley Guier says:

    I’m sure it has everything to do with your slump
    Hopefully the removable cast will work and you will end up with one good side soon. Glad you finally went to a specialist for your elbow. Maybe they can figure that out soon too. Wishing you all the best and hope you get back to your normal you soon!

  6. Randy Menninghaus says:

    I would like to take the time machine back… and make sure you did not fall. Hard to bear. And operations when you have animals.. super sucky… I can see your girls hissing… Good luck.. do what you have to do to be able to quilt for life

  7. Dianne says:

    Prayers for peace, patience and healing! Remember to be nice to yourself!

  8. Bev C. says:

    Patience is such a hard thing, even worse if you’re always impatient! Hopefully in the near future you will be able to look back at it and get a chuckle from it. Wonder Woman is actually every woman until you’re not. Take care!

  9. Sharon says:

    Like you said, and my dad always said, there are always people worse off than you. It’s hard for me to remember, and I don’t know that it actually helps us feel any better. It seems to me that you have it pretty bad. Maybe it’s time to get your quilt machine computerized. At least you could get more quilting done if you can get them loaded. You can always do freehand again when you are better. And you are going to get better, even if it takes surgery.

  10. sandi says:

    I’m so sorry to hear that it’s still a problem. Hopefully they’ll get it fixed and you’ll be good as new.

  11. Linda Argo says:

    I feel your pain! I fell on February of 2021 and broke both arms and dislocated my L elbow for the third time! What an inconvenience! Had surgery on the elbow with lots of hardware. R arm was a simple fracture so that helps. Hang in there. This too will pass!

  12. Karen E. says:

    My dominant elbow was injured in an traffic accident in the early 80s. I so wish I had done whatever needed to be done then, but I thought it would be okay. It’s weak and achy most of the time now and the rheumatologist said several years ago “it is what it is.” I completely understand not wanting to have surgery, but I urge you to do it if you believe it will help.

  13. Kerry says:

    Wellllllll, you can always do James Cagney impersonations – “you dirdy rat!” 😉
    Fingers crossed the steroids do work. xx

  14. Paula in NE OH says:

    Shelly, You are doing the right thing checking everything out. Hopefully one of the many people you are seeing will come up with a solution to the problems. You are in my prayers.

  15. Angie in SoCal says:

    Somehow I missed this. I am so sorry. Like Sharon said maybe it’s time to computerize your longarm so you can move through some of those quilts. Something like it happened to me when I was turning 40 – it was a wake up call that I was trying to do too much. Took a long time to recover, but I learned a lot about taking it easy so I could heal. Prayers for you, Shelly.

  16. Ginny says:

    Prayers that you do get a solution and recover. I have proof that in spite of not being your self that some work is accomplished. The quilt I recently got back from you is amazing.
    Take care of yourself and listen to the medical help even though at times it seems not much help.
    Wanting to hear about the improvements that are to come.

  17. Pam Desilets says:

    I agree with everyone. Take the time to care for yourself. I know it is hard to be patient. I just had a right knee replacement. Not able to sew at machine, but able to do binding by hand. Slow going. Chin up and do what you can. I know you will do what needs to be done. Waiting to hear progress.

  18. Wendy says:

    Oh, Shelly – even your “slump” post is upbeat. You are such a fighter. I’m so sorry you are having to deal with all this, but so glad you have Cowboy and the girls to help out and keep you moving forward. And yay for being able to remove that wrist cast! I’ll be praying for you, and rootin’ for you up here in my little neck of the woods.

  19. diane says:

    Well, IMHO , the healing is in the talking and sharing. It helps folks to know you and for you to connect…It is being human! Yeah you. Life seems to be a crapshoot. In one 16 month period, every four months I had a joint replacement…two knees, one hip and one shoulder…Inbetween all that I was up at midnight with a little red wine and sewed the entire sewing machine needle threw my finger..I was finishing off something important…not that important..In hindsight…all the pain was worth it. Not that other stuff did not happen. With arthritis, I really need a whole body replacement. I asked God to make me 54 again instead of 74, but he said , No, I had my chance…Sewing keeps me sane Good luck to you xo

  20. Cindy Wienstroer says:

    Good thoughts sending your way – wish i could help. So very hard to just wait.

  21. Debbi says:

    I’m so sorry that it’s been such a rough road for you. Hang in there! Hopefully the specialist will have something to offer. Do not settle. Even if surgery puts you out of service a bit longer it’s only a blip when you look back on it in the future😊 Prayers for you..

    I realize more and more each day how much we (I) take for granted. I’m working on being more grateful for my blessings and intentional in my life.

  22. PAULA M MORGAN says:

    It is true, we are lucky in the ailments we might be experiencing even for 9 months or 20 years, there will always be someone worse off then ourselves. They could be family members (in my case) or people we follow via Instagram, blogger ect… The important thing to remember is not to stop trying to get better. If you stop, you will not only never know if getting better is an option, you will not know if your condition is as good as its gonna get. And you are too young to be dealing with these kind of limitations. I will add a prayer of intention for your doctors to get you the best possible course of action.

  23. Mary Delia says:

    I don’t think anything I can say would make you feel better, but know that I am thinking of you and trying to send good thoughts, prayers and positivity your way. Stay strong.

  24. Ginabeth says:

    Shelly 🙏🏻 for your elbow and wrist. Thx for sharing. Quilters are the best listeners (readers). Good to give yourself grace. Sounds like you have strong daughters. You find joy in the little things❣️
    🧵🪡✂️

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