Shoulder tear - ain't this a bitch...

So guess what, I have what looks to be a torn labrum in my right shoulder. Just went for my 2nd MRI yesterday. This all started with the dog, we had to put him down just over a month ago, he was at the emergency vet for 4 days, then we took him home. His legs didn't work and every 30 minutes he would basically freak out and try to get up, bark at the walls, etc. The only way to calm him down was to pick him up, carry him outside and lay him down in the grass for 5 minutes or so, then back inside for another 30 minutes. I did this for 2 days straight. At about 3AM the 2nd morning my right arm felt like it was going to fall out of it's socket, really sharp shooting pain from my elbow, up the outside of my shoulder and over my shoulder blade.

I tried hitting balls a few days after we put the dog down and I got through about 25 shots before I felt like passing out. Tried to play the following day and quit after 5 holes. Saw a physical therapist a couple of times and he did some electro therapy, shot a laser in the shoulder to reduce the swelling, etc. I thought I was good and went to San Francisco with some friends, played in Napa and got through about 14 holes before it flared up again. We played Harding Park (site of the 2009 President's Cup) and quit in the middle of the fairway on 14 as the pain was too unbearable. On the advice of my instructor Jeff, I went to see the guys at All Star Health and they worked on my shoulder with a thing called Active Release Technique, basically really really really deep tissue work. It freed up the nerve and I could play pretty much pain free.

Just before that trip I had an MRI done and scheduled an appt. with an orthopedic surgeon, so we stuck with that. Went and saw that Dr. and he says he's 95% sure I have a torn labrum in my right shoulder. To prove his point, he pushed and pulled on my right arm and then BINGO, my right arm bone moved what felt like 3/4". Wow, what a freaking weird feeling that is! I said "What the hell was that?!" He stated that movement is the result of the tear. He scheduled me for a 2nd MRI utilizing some dye injected into the shoulder, which is called an Arthrogram. Basically a really long needle stuck really really really deep into your shoulder socket where they inject dye so they can see the cartilage better. We're doing this so we are 100% sure that it's torn before we fix this.

So here's the problem, fixing it is surgery. It's arthroscopic, so I won't have a big scar, but I'll be in a sling for 6 weeks and then PT. And the kicker...no hitting golf balls for 4-5 months. Are you fucking kidding me? I was scheduled to play Talking Rock in Prescott this past Sunday, so I asked him if I could play, to which he suggested that I not hit driver, not swing too hard, etc. I told him that wasn't happening, so maybe he could just level with me and tell me if I can play or not. So he caved and said "Sure, why not, it's not like you're going to tear it!". Good advice. So I played Sunday, a fair amount of pain crept in on the back 9, but nothing like when the nerve was firing. After starting out 5 over through 4 I shot one under the remaining 14 holes to shoot 76. I guess not bad on a course I'd never seen with a torn shoulder.

I have a follow up appointment on the 25th to get the results of the MRI and to figure out what to do regarding surgery and the like. As can be expected, I'm pretty depressed and feel like someone kicked me in the gut. But, I personally know people who have gone through worse both themselves and with family, and the bottom line is that after some therapy, I'll be back 100%. It sucks pretty bad, and I'm not happy about it, but I've spent some long nights thinking this over and I'm coming to grips with it. I'm hoping I can start chipping and putting after 1-2 months, which I'll ask the Dr. specifically about. It was suggested to me that I could carve out the worlds greatest short game with that time, to which I replied "well, maybe I can get to average anyway". Who says I don't have a sense of humor dammit.

I'll post results of the follow up appointment and lay out a recovery plan here. This blog looks like it's now going to turn into a documentary of the road to recovery. I don't know if that's as exciting, but at least it might motivate me and maybe some of you. Maybe we can create a short game plan together.