Hi friends, I’m swallowing my pride and asking for help.

Here’s what’s goin on: Six weeks ago (January 13th), I went to my first appointment at a facility that (supposedly..) specializes in safe, assisted stretching. My goal was to learn, with their help, how to correctly stretch certain muscle groups to alleviate some of my chronic back pain. They guided me through a series of gentle stretches, and warned me that I might be a little sore after the appointment.

I did notice some soreness in my left shoulder (my dominant arm), but the pain started to increase significantly into that evening until around midnight when I found myself in unmitigated agony. I have almost zero memory of the following week. It was very scary honestly, since it seemed so weird for me to have sustained a serious injury from gentle stretches of all things.

I was able to get an MRI, which showed that my labrum, the ball and socket joint of the shoulder, was completely torn (anterior & posterior). I had been describing the feeling in my shoulder as like, Pinocchio with one of his strings cut and the arm kinda hanging loosely. Gross

I am scheduled for labral repair surgery this Wednesday, March 5th. I’m not supposed to work for two weeks post-op, will have a dang ole sling 24/7 for six weeks, and PT for about 6 months. I keep telling myself this is just a blip on the whole life timeline, but boy I am dreading the recovery.

My ability to work has been significantly reduced the past 6 weeks, and it has made money extremely tight. I’ve so far avoided asking my community for help for some reason. I dunno! It can be a very humbling and vulnerable experience to reach out for help. But with some big upcoming medical bills on top of a reduced income, I’m really running out of options for staying afloat.

So, my friends, I’m taking the plunge and asking for help if you’re able to give ❤️