Getting Rebuilt

So as many of you may already now, I'm having surgery on Monday. They will be doing laparoscopic surgery on my right shoulder to A. see if they can find out what is wrong with it, and B. to fix anything wrong that they might find. All of this stems from when I was deployed back in 2010. Doing something extremely stupid while trying to move furniture by myself caused me to dislocate my shoulder. I had it popped back into place by a chiropractor after getting back to the states later that year, but it has given me continued problems ever since. I actually allowed myself to come off of profile during the Spring of last year and just barely made my minimum pushups. That was a little too close for comfort. After that I decided that I better get it checked out again. While some might seek to get out of PT stuff, I just want to have full use of my shoulder again. I want to be able to exercise, pick up my daughter and perform my duties as a firefighter without the constant nagging pain I currently get if I work my shoulder beyond a minimum amount of movement. I realize that there is no guarantee, but I'm hoping and praying that this will help set me on the path to that.

While I'm not particularly looking forward to the pain I'll be in immediately following the surgery, or the fact that I'll be in a sling for at least a week, I'm looking forward to 30 days of free leave from work. As I'm able to move away from the sling, I'm hoping to get out and use my camera some. It would certainly be a much needed boost as I've gone through slumps this past month. I'm also really looking forward to spending lots of extra time with my family. It will be nice to maybe take a day trip here or there with them to DC or Baltimore and not have to deal with the throngs of weekend tourists. Then too there is the time out of work. I could make a whole separate post about that, but I will simply way that after 13 years in and 5 years wearing the rank of Technical Sergeant, I am quite disappointed at how exponentially my level of responsibility has dropped here in my new assignment. As an E-6 I'm currently doing the work of an E-3 or E-4 as my primary duties. Years of busting my tail only to be given what is essentially an entry-level job. It is quite disheartening to say the least. I know I won't have to do it forever, but it looks like I'm stuck with it 'til at least February. So needless to say, 30 days away from that mess is quite welcome, whatever the circumstances.

Here's to an upcoming week filled with heavy drugs and lots of sleep!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.