Monday, January 26, 2009

Rehab

“They try to make me go to rehab and I said no, no, no…”

I never thought the day would come where I would feel like I have something in common with Amy Winehouse. Yet here I am, feeling like kindred spirits as I hum along to her song. This girl knows exactly how I’m feeling. Rehab sucks. And I realize that there are probably plenty of things in life that suck more, but nobody has come up with a catchy tune for them so for now, rehab tops my list.

First, let me pause and say how grateful I am to now be on the healing side of this injury. (Thank you God. You are good.) Now, where was I…oh yea. Complaining. I have now begun to spend an hour and a half of my time, at the end of an already extremely long and tiring day, trying to make this shoulder work properly again. Do I prefer this to walking around in a sling and not being able to do simple things like shave my armpit properly or unhook my bra? Of course I do. But that is not to say the process is in any way enjoyable.

For starters, it hurts. Like really, really hurts to stretch something that has no desire to be stretched out. I spent six weeks telling all the tendons and ligaments to get tight and cozy in there and now I’m trying to rip them apart and they are really fighting me big time. And because I will only inflict a certain amount of pain on myself, there is the therapist to help with the process. Supposedly, you are stretching it the right amount once you let out a scream. That is the indication that you have pulled and tugged the right amount and then you simply relax and hold it for a while. If I didn’t have an identical shoulder to compare it to, I’d never believe that this form of torture is necessary and I’d be quite content with having an arm that only lifted about three quarters of the way up. But I know better, and I know that in order for me to be the best at what I do, I’ll need that shoulder for positions such as this:



So it looks like I’ll be in the training room for the next several weeks lifting my 1 pound pink dumbbells and screaming out in agony as I stay on the fast track to get this shoulder healed and strong as soon as possible. Amy managed to stay out of rehab and make millions of dollars but I know I won’t make a red cent if I am not on top of it. And before you know it, I’ll be back to my old self!



(picture of old self minus 28 years...this is what I'm shooting for. My inspiration)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm amazed at not only you and your abilities to heal, but at the living conditions we had to deal with as kids.

Eternal Lizdom said...

My brother (age 16) has been dealing with a variety of shoulder injuries over the years (gymanstics, wrestling, weight lifting) and never listened to the advice of the therapists and experts and now has a deep bone bruise and is completely restricted on all activities.

So, in a distant way, I understand your frustration.

Keep it up, stick with it, it's all worth it in the long run.

And you were an ADORABLE baby!!

Dana said...

I'm sorry but I seriously laughed out loud when you said Supposedly, you are stretching it the right amount once you let out a scream. I have had a few broken bones in my day and it hurt like hell when I had to rehab my elbow. They (the evil arm staighteners) needed me to straighten out my arm completely and as you said, it totally wasn't acceptable movement until I screamed!! That's why I laughed...I seriously know how that feels, but I was also crying along with screaming! PURE TORTURE!!! But my elbow is working properly now...so that's a plus!

Anonymous said...

Just make sure your teeth don't look like Amy's either!

Hahahahahaha!

Anonymous said...

I am the "anonymous" that weeks ago suggested you really follow the rehab. I am delighted that you are following up. Just do what they tell you and be religious about it. It will hurt for a few months, but you will soon see progress. You will be back 100% in no time. Best of luck!!!

melanie said...

the bikini pictures weren't enough, bri?! now all of the internet can see your boobs.

haha. love you!

Jasmine said...

You really need to stop playing in Photoshop...because, you know there's NO WAY your abs reeeeally look like that! ;)

Brianna said...

@ brit...i know. mom couldn't even put a shirt on me for goodness sakes!

@liz...you never realize how much you need your shoulder until it's taken away from you! i was a pretty cute kid, wasn't i?! :)

@ dana...see! you know what I'm talking about!!

@ bianca...my teeth are big, but they ain't that bad!

@ anonymous...i have good people here fortunately that allow me the opportunity to stay on top of my rehab.

@ melanie...LOL. they haven't grown either darnit.

@ jaz...i know...it's shameless of me isn't it?!