Question:
So I rolled out of bed while sleeping and landed on my right shoulder back in the first week of December. Had a giant black bruise and lots of pain. To sum up a long, stupid period of doctors and testing and referring, my right shoulder is broken in 2 places and pushed down and outwards from the socket. It sucks. The Orthroscopic Surgery is at Johns Hopkins in scenic Baltimore on the 29th.
I would take the time to go through my very colorful medical history, but it's tedious and might just terrify you. To sum it up, this guy is the 3rd doctor that I have seen at Johns Hopkins (5 hour drive) since 2001, all for different reasons (all of them are some of the best docs at the best hospital in the USA). At some point, all 3 have uttered this cursed phrase at me: "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this.".
I seem to have wandered off topic. Anyways, any of you wankers had surgery like this? How was the recovery, and did it permanently affect your picking/strumming?

Answer:
Sounds like you won't be playing guitar for a while, but don't let that stop you from making music. You can get a software sequencing program like Sonar, Cubase, Reason, FL, etc, and make music on your computer while you're recovering (although you'll have to get used to using the mouse with your left hand.)

Answer:
Good luck. And it sounds like a football injury. Other great musicians have recovered from broken bones. Les Paul, Peter Frampton, and Craig Chaquico, to name a few. Why did it take so long to diagnose? Drink a lot of milk. Eat a lot of greens. And try to get some sunshine. And eat some good protein rich foods. And be patient.

Answer:
Shoulder injuries suck. Hopefully your shoulder will be fine and dandy after the surgery. There is sure to be that physical therapy period afterwards when you think to yourself "What the hell have I done? This will never be right". Don't worry to much about it and keep working it. It should be much better after some time.
I destroyed my shoulder bouncing off a telephone pole while flying off my motorcycle about 15 years ago. It was recommended that I have surgery but I was uninsured at the time and was financially strapped. I've learned to live with limited motion and arthritis pain. Best to get it done while you can.

Answer:
I had four shoulder surgeries on my right shoulder. I now have arthritis and have not had a single full, uninterrupted night of sleep since the original accident 8 years ago.
I had to learn how to pitch, write, brush my teeth and wipe my ass left-handed.
I can't play full sized acoustic guitars for more than 10 minutes because of th e angle my arm has to be in to go over the top of the body and down the other side.
Bottom line? I wish you a whole lot more luck than I received.
This said, Dick Dale has rectal cancer... how can I possibly feel bad about my stupid shoulder?

Answer:
I shattered my wrist back in 2000....I was in this contraption for four months...it was attached with two 3-inch screws through both bones in my forearm and two 4-inch screws through all the bones in the palm of my hand...after they took that off and I started PT I realized I had shoulder problems...so they took an MRI and noticed I had torn my rotator cuff, so back under the knife to correct that problem...finally when I started PT in earnest it took 3 or 4 months before I could form one chord on the guitar (it was my fretting hand and arm), but I stuck with it and even though I only have about 50% mobility in my wrist I am now able to compensate and play about as well as I did before...best of luck to you p4vl...take your time and really do your PT and I'm sure you'll do just fine!

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Thanks guys. I realize it could be a great deal worse, I just needed to yell a little. Argh.

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Thanks guys. I realize it could be a great deal worse, I just needed to yell a little. Argh. Yell all you want! We love ya' & completely understand:thu:
Good luck in surgery & prayers for a speedy recovery.
Mojo sent!

Answer:
Had the surgery. There were...complications...
Kidding. Actually, I got the usual response, which was "that was the least common broken shoulder I have ever seen in all my years". One of the bones was hanging by a piece of cartilage, which the Doctor described as 'a stone hanging at the end of a rope'. Apparently, the tons of xrays and mri's didn't pick that up. He removed that bone, which I can't help but take as a sign that I'm going to have the Open Surgery at some point.

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Glad to see that you can find humor in such a serious subject ;) Best wishes.

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Prayers and mojo from Michigan for a good recovery!

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Had the surgery. There were...complications...
So you're switching to the drum forum now?
Glad it went well so far then & mojo for a speedy recovery!

Answer:
My prayers and best wishes to you Bro for a solid recovery and to over come the complications!!

Answer:
I shattered my wrist back in 2000....I was in this contraption for four months...it was attached with two 3-inch screws through both bones in my forearm and two 4-inch screws through all the bones in the palm of my hand...after they took that off and I started PT I realized I had shoulder problems...so they took an MRI and noticed I had torn my rotator cuff, so back under the knife to correct that problem...finally when I started PT in earnest it took 3 or 4 months before I could form one chord on the guitar (it was my fretting hand and arm), but I stuck with it and even though I only have about 50% mobility in my wrist I am now able to compensate and play about as well as I did before...best of luck to you p4vl...take your time and really do your PT and I'm sure you'll do just fine!
you fell from a ladder right?

Answer:
Glad to see that you can find humor in such a serious subject ;) Best wishes. As Zappa said, 'Seriousness is something to be laughed at'. I've been through some ongoing hard times with medical stuff, and the only way to keep from going mad is to laugh at it.
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