2 year shoulder anniversary
Guys! My new shoulder is 2 years old today?! I don't know how you feel...but that is CRAZY! 😮
So I have not done a shoulder blog since my 1 year anniversary (so last October 2nd)- and was not totally sure I would do one for 2 years...then so appropriately timed I got a FB message from a nice gentleman in England who read my post from last year & is struggling with being young and needing a replacement...so I took that as a sign I should continue to share! The main reason I wanted to blog the process (I did one from surgery & every month after until the year mark) was because when I was initially told I needed to do a partial replacement I searched and searched (and searched some more 🙈) for stories of younger people (was hard to find anything under 55) who have had this done and what their outcome was...and was terribly unsuccessful. I did find one about a man in his late 50s who still played baseball and he had a pretty favorable outcome...but it just wasn't what I was hoping to find. So here I am...hoping to help solve that problem for someone else out there! 💪🏻
So how is my shoulder?! Pretty good! Normal like I had never had it done? Um...NO. But I can say with 100% confidence that it is better than it would have been had I not done it. I was told by the doctor (who I think is phenomenal- you have a shoulder problem and can get to Columbus...Dr. Bishop is your girl!) not to judge any outcome prior to a year out...well let me tell you I am SO much better 2 years out than 1...and I know there is more progress to be made! I have strict pressed over 100#, push pressed 120#, got back to full front and back squats, done some kipping pull-ups & toes to bar, can do a handstand (that still does not feel that great), done a back handspring, ring dips (which was something I was not sure I would ever do again), and today I did a snatch (yes- full squat) at 125#! All of that is pretty great I think! You can watch a little video of my 2 year shoulderversary workout I did today if you would like 😊. I also can show almost every exercise as a PT and when I am coaching classes...which was a struggle before. It is not all perfect movement ( I still have a little tightness each direction), but better than not being able to do it at all!
I still have soreness from time to time, especially if I use that arm for a prolonged period. I made a wood slat wall a couple months ago (you could read the full blog post about that! 😂) and had a TON of soreness from all the sanding I did (which was a very large amount). I will say though that a few little projects, like that one and and an accent wall I did, I would not have been able to do before surgery.
I continue to focus on things as a non competitive athlete- which sometimes is still hard! I even decided to leave my PT job that I have had for 12 years (my last day was just 3 days ago!) to work on doing stuff more on my own. When I was competing all my goals really were based on that...but when that was gone it was easy to feel a little lost and goalless. I have spent 2 years really focusing on who I am outside of just competitive fitness & ready to tackle a new goal of growing my own little business! If you want to check out www.builtbyborda.com I would love that! 😉 I want to take all that I have learned through this experience along with my 12 years of being a PT and 20+ years (which seems impossible! 😬) of coaching gymnasts/CrossFit athletes/lifters and create a business that helps people stay as healthy and strong as possible as well as recover from events as needed!
Well there we are...a 2 year update on my shoulder...and me! If you want to know more about the full recovery process look back through and you will see lots of updates- some talking more physically and lots about mentally recovering from this (plus you can see a bunch more pics if you want...even the inside of my shoulder- which is gross...warning)! I hope that it helps people whatever is going on with them and wherever they are on their injury journey. I always love answering any questions you have! Thanks so much for reading! 😘
