09/05/2026
🎉 I’M OFFICIALLY RELEASED FROM THE ARM SLING!! 🎉
Five weeks of that thing was MORE than enough — especially considering most of those weeks were spent in an Alabama summer when the temperatures were flirting with TRIPLE DIGITS. 😂 There is absolutely nothing pleasant about having your arm strapped to your body when it’s 98 degrees outside. I have never been so happy to retire an article of clothing in my life!
My physical therapist says my range of motion is awesome, which was such good news.
The interesting part is that even though I’m feeling great, the repaired muscles and tendons are still in the early healing/attachment phase. Right now, the repaired tendon is forming stronger scar-tissue connections back to the bone, but that attachment is not mature enough yet to handle much pulling or resistance. So my exercises are still mostly passive — working on movement and flexibility without asking those healing muscles to do the work themselves.
Over the next several weeks, we’ll gradually move from passive motion to active motion, then begin adding gentle strengthening. After that comes rebuilding the strength, endurance and flexibility that were lost along the way. It’s definitely a process, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!
I’ve also tried to give my body everything I can to help it heal — good nutrition, plenty of protein, rest, and I’ve been taking collagen supplements as part of my routine. Healing takes a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes, even on the days when it feels like you’re doing absolutely nothing.
And here’s my little encouragement for everybody dealing with one of these pesky injuries that seem to start showing up in our 50s and 60s. 😂
Don’t underestimate your body just because you’re getting older. Give it what it needs — good medical care, good nutrition, protein, time, patience, movement, rest and a little determination — and let it do what God designed it to do.
I spent more than 30 years as a nurse watching the human body do some pretty remarkable things, and now I’m getting a firsthand reminder.
Our bodies are capable of doing far more than we sometimes give them credit for — especially when our minds believe they can. 💪❤️
One milestone down. On to the next one!
