Three Week Scapula Report

Definitely healing.

Today was X-ray day for me at TISM. After spending another hot and drippy hour on the trainer down in the basement, I cleaned up and walked over to TISM for my follow-up appointment. Progress seems like it has been slow, but then again, it always seems to feel that way in the third week after a broken bone. I can now, somewhat painfully and slowly, lift my right arm above my head, and it has been getting a little bit easier to  do things like sleep and pull on t-shirts. 

After four or five x-rays, I waited in the exam room for Dr. O'Brien to arrive, feeling fairly confident that there would not be any surprises. When he asked how I was feeling, I commented that I had developed a whole new appreciation for the number of muscles and ligaments that attach to the scapula. He smiled and replied, 16! He said that the scapula was healing very well, pointing out the differences between my ER x-rays and the new ones. You can see the healed collarbone from that crash at Six Gap some years back quite easily. My range of motion is good enough that PT shouldn't be necessary. The official radiology report noted the following, which I guess isn't too bad. The osteoarthritis is no surprise, considering my age and family history. The increase from 2 ribs to 4 was a little bit of a surprise, but does kind of explain the difficulty with lying down in bed. 

1. Healing comminuted fracture of the superior medial aspect of the right scapula.
2. Increased conspicuity minimally displaced lateral 2nd through 5th right rib fractures.
3. Moderate acromioclavicular and glenohumeral osteoarthrosis.
4. Corticated mineral density projects adjacent to the superior glenoid, likely loose body from scapular fracture.

As usual, he advised that things won't be really healed up until 6-8 weeks, and that of course everything won't be fully solid for a month or two after that, but in the meantime, I'm OK to get back on the road to the extent I can tolerate it, provided I don't do anything stupid, like crash. So no more follow-ups, just a gradual return to normal activity. In celebration, I pumped up the tires on the 'cross bike, which immediately reminded me that my right shoulder is still not ready for prime time. I think I may venture out for an easy ride on the levee this weekend.

Back around Christmas, the daughter had sent us a dog DNA test kit from Basepaws. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I finally got around to swabbing Charley's gums and sending it off for analysis. That took quite a while, but a couple of days ago I got the results. Somewhat surprisingly, he matched up a little more with Labradors than "Staffordshire" Terriers, but it did confirm our suspicion that he was mainly a Lab / Pit Bull mix. Of course you can argue about the differences between "American Pit Bull Terrier" and "Staffordshire Terrier," but it seems that they largely the same, and the name depends more on whether you are in the U.S. or England. Interesting, though, and he didn't show any worrisome health traits, so that was good.