Steve developed right shoulder pain a couple of months ago while insulating the attic.
In the sloped areas, he had to lay on his back and work over his head to place the attic insulation (my very own Michelangelo!) and after weeks of doing that, his shoulder was really sore.
I was pretty certain it an overuse injury because it improved with rest during the week and then flared on the weekends after working upstairs. I advised ibuprofen, rest and ice for the first 48 hours, then switch to heat.
He was a very good patient except the rest part.
We really didn’t want to take any chances with his shoulder and admittedly Pediatrics is my specialty, not Adult Orthopedics, so once the insulation was finished he went to see his PCP, Dr. Davis, who confirmed the overuse injury as rotator cuff tendonitis.
He advised a course of steroids and for Steve to take a few weeks off from the remodeling to rest it.
Steve wouldn’t hear of it.
Although Zach and I are good helpers, and sometimes we even come up with a solution for something, Steve has the know how and the ability to get the work done. If he was out of commission the project would come to a standstill. He didn’t want to do that so he decided as long as it wasn’t getting worse he would keep working.
At that point in the remodeling we had started hanging the shiplap,
which fortunately didn’t bother his shoulder as much as the insulating.
We shortened our work days which allowed him more time to rest his shoulder.
This went on for a few weeks and then the Saturday before last, he fell while we were putting up a piece of shiplap in the upper part of the stairwell.
He was standing on a 2×12 placed across the open staircase (the furthest piece, I was standing on the nearer piece). He was facing the wall on the right, having just finished nailing it into place and was turning to his right, towards me, and lost his footing.
He reached out with his right arm to catch himself but there was nothing to grab and he fell into the wall (on the left above) crushing his right shoulder!
He was wedged in the stairwell, feet up against one wall and shoulder against the other. He had no use of the right arm but somehow he managed to pull himself up and out of the stairwell and into the attic.
It absolutely broke my heart to see that big strong man of mine in so much pain and struggling, but thank you God, because it could’ve been so much worse.
After the shock wore off and we got cleaned up I took a look at his shoulder. Although he was in significant pain I didn’t think anything was torn. He was so lucky there was nothing for him to grab, when he reached out to break his fall, because I don’t think his already compromised shoulder joint would have survived the strain without a tear.
My advice was the same: ibuprofen, REST & ice
and this time he has no choice!
His spirit’s broken to see everything sitting.
He knows the kids are anxious to have their rooms and he knows that I am anxious to move them up there so we can begin demo on the first floor, but it all has to wait and I think I am more okay with it than him.
He has to mend before we can move on, end of story!
L
Prayers for healing and patience.
Thank you!
Scary!!
Hoping for a speedy recovery!
Thank you!