1 Year Ago

1 year ago (yesterday) I had surgery to repair my torn labrum in my left shoulder.

1 year ago (yesterday) I started healing and improving my situation instead of letting it control me. I had lived in denial of it for a long time and thought I could beat the system and avoid going under the knife. However, even with all of my experience and learning it still had to happen.

I view my surgery as a big turning point in my year. Before the surgery I was going through a rough time looking for work, always seemed to make excuses or say i couldn't do something, due to being in almost constant pain, and felt very limited. After surgery I could finally say "I can't do that... yet, but I will be able to soon." Six weeks with my dominant arm in a sling felt like a lifetime, and made my right arm quickly learn how to do the everyday tasks of life, but I did my time in the sling and was diligent in my rehab that I was cleared from the doctor at 12 weeks. With the improved attitude and outlook, I was able to find work and let my personality shine through again, making myself a better person to be around.

There were plenty of bumps in the road to getting my shoulder back to full strength and becoming pain free in the first year post surgery. But going through the experience has taught me how to exercise smarter, know when to push my limits,when  to back off, and know when to be patient and let things take their course.

I still may not be able to do every exercise or activity that I want to yet.... But I will soon.

Reflections of a 24 yr old

Today I turn a quarter of a century old. The big 2-5. Officially closer to 30 than 20, and any other thing you can say about being in the smack dab middle of your 20s. With that, like last year I will reflect on some important things that happened to me as a 24 yr old.

• I realized  I didn't like who I was and quit a job that was affecting my behavior outside of work
• I applied for lots of different jobs and cautiously said no, because they all weren't good fits.
• I started dealing with my unnecessary anxiety head on
• I had shoulder surgery
• I took a temporary customer service job and a fun 3 weeks and vowed to always be nice when I am on the other side of the phone
• I got a job in the fitness field that paid a decent salary and had benefits
• I started working with a population I had never worked with before.
• I got myself on my own financially
• I started to feel like a full human being again (two fully functioning shoulders)
• I got a text message out of the blue that has changed my life forever :)
• I learned to be myself in personal relationships
• I witnessed on of my favorite teams win a championship in person. WE WON THE CUP!!!!
• I got an offer for an opportunity that couldn't be passed up
• I fell in love (the real kind)
• I've become not afraid of the fallout

As you can see from the list above as I turned 24 life was at a rocky place, it only got worse but it made me tackle things head on and not just push them to the side. It was after that that I realized how good life could be and I can say that I am the happiest I have been in a long while. Here is to it continuing as I officially become an old man ;)

-DJB

No Job too Small

I have recently started a new job and am really enjoying it. There is a lot of interaction with the members and the staff and the atmosphere is great.

With any job there are little tedious things that need to be taken care of. These menial tasks often get swept to the side or not have much thought put into them due to more pressing matters. However I see these jobs a bit differently. My internship days taught me the value of taking pride in the jobs everyone else hates, or doesn't want to do. This has helped translate that into the working world and keeps the focus on the important things so the supervisor or manager doesn't have to be checking up to see if they get taken care of.

This also translates into personal life in that if you take time to actually listen to a person you care about, or clean up after yourself so someone doesn't have to remind you, or (for guys specifically, if you put the toilet seat down for your wife or girlfriend) then you can keep your mind clear of the little jobs that clutter it.

If you find yourself with a tedious task, take a second to take a deep breath, get a positive mindset, and look at the task a different way, you may find that can be therapeutic for you, and may even lead to a breakthrough on a meaningful project.

-DJB

Reflections and Connections

December is the time of year where all sorts of different media outlets post and list their favorite items/events/people of 2013. My reflections on the year are a bit more private and may remain so ( I haven't decided yet). However another kind of reflection that I am doing this holiday season is connecting with people who I haven't kept up good contact with this past year.

I am lucky enough to have some time off during the holiday season. I have made a list of people, in no particular order, that I have thought about and realized we haven't talked in a while. Each day I will call and talk with them, or leave a voicemail if they don't answer. Yes CALL them, not text, email, tweet, or facebook message. The point is to make this personal and not something out of courtesy during the holidays. 

If you have time during the holidays I would encourage you to do the same. I am excited to hear about how the people on my list are doing, and hopefully it propels us to not lose our renewed connection and builds stronger friendships and bonds because of it.

Happy Holidays,

DJB.

Post surgery Vol. 3: The sling is gone!

It is time to get things moving along with my rehabilitation from my Type II SLAP tear. I have officially been cleared out of my sling as of a few days ago.

Yesterday, I went to physical therapy and got cleared for full range of motion in all planes.  However, I am not close to full range, yet. As hard as it might be for me progress slowly and know my limitations, I know that this new intact labrum is an expensive new chance to do things the correct way. I became aware and educated on how to protect my shoulder too late for surgical intervention, but now it is time for me to become proactive and make sure that this surgically repaired shoulder lasts me for as long as possible so I do not have to have any more surgeries on my left shoulder any time soon.

Unfortunately, I have seen this case with a lot of people I have observed. The movement patterns are performed with little care and technique until there is signs of pain and dysfunction that puts a limit on what can be performed. It is a reactive nature instead of proactive.

Being proactive to improve movement to build both inner and outer strength is something, now more than ever, I hold dear to my heart since I have been on the other side. I know how it feels to not be able to do basic movement patterns because of pain and movement dysfunction that couldn't be improved without surgical intervention.

It is time for me to put my words into practice, I have been learning and teaching more and more, and now am very excited to be going through the trials of re-learning how to use my left arm and create movement patterns that are fluid and pain free

It is time for a more proactive you.

Post Surgery Vol. 2

This post is long overdue.

The past few weeks have been a pretty consistent linear climb to getting back to fully functional. I went in for my two week post-op appointment and was able to get my stitches out which was a relief because I can actually take a shower without worrying about getting the stitches wet. The sterile strip in the scar in the back of my shoulder fell off today and the scar is barely noticeable.

I made it my goal to get at least 10,000 steps on my fitbit each day, I have only missed that goal one day since I set it. I have been making myself get up and go walking early in the day since it has been so hot and humid the past few weeks.

I started physical therapy on Thursday and i have limited range of motion until I am four weeks out and then I can get a bit more before I am cleared to be out of my sling (my appointments is in 22 days, not that I'm counting).

Overall I am still happy with how everything has gone. I have tightened up my nutrition so that I am not gaining weight since my activity level is lower than normal. I have also been able to refocus and devote a good amount of time to working on my Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification.

It is a waiting game to make sure this labrum is completely healed and once I get to the 6 week mark I will be good to go to start getting my activity levels back up to where I want them to be.

Post Surgery Vol. 1

Tuesday I finally took the step and got surgery for my SLAP tear in my left shoulder. The past week has been a little spacey with lots of sleeping throughout the day to recover.

Here is a brief day by day review

Tuesday- By the time Tuesday came around I was beyond ready to get this over with. The doctor said that the surgery went better than expected and they were able to do everything they needed to do through the scope which is nice to help keep the scaring to a minimum.

Wednesday- The nerve block was finally wearing off so i was actually starting to feel pain, however I did end up sleeping for most of the day because the pain killers and I were not getting along.

Thursday- This was the first day of the week where I felt back alert and more like myself. I even threw my fitbit to see how many steps I got in during the day, my goal was 1000, and I got pretty close.

Friday (Today)- Today is the first day I don't have to ice constantly so I am able to move around a bit more. I was able to take off the bandage and see the 3 scars healing on my shoulder. I have gotten up to 2,000 steps and went out and saw my chiropractor to get some acupuncture done.

So today I have started to feel more human again and get back to a routine. I am hitting my goals of getting more steps in each day and being slightly more active each day. I have made sure to keep my diet in check as to not overeat junkfood but also to make myself eat when the painkillers don't let me have an appetite.

I'll be back in a few days with hopefully more energy!