First, my big news: I began physiotherapy yesterday, and, drum roll!!!, I won’t have to wear my shoulder brace anymore, or rather, “you don’t have to wear it unless you feel as though you need it,” my physiotherapist told me. She reassured me that there’s no way I could make my shoulder worse unless she jumped up and down on it. And, since that’s not likely to happen, I agreed that the brace should come off. It had become sort of like a Linus blanket (Peanuts reference) for me…I felt safe with it!

My physiotherapist pointed out that keeping my arm in a brace at home would have a negative impact on therapy. There’s no point, she said, in working and stretching muscles that I haven’t used in the past month, only to use the brace to immobilize them again. That made sense. So, last night, for the first time since I found out I had a fractured shoulder, I slept without a brace. And today I’m typing with two hands! Yaaaay!

I can take a shower and tie my shoes again…by myself, I mean. I’m sure that must sound silly…except to those who gone through a similar experience. I mean, what’s the big deal about tying one’s shoelaces? Well, for someone who has a strong independent spirit (yours truly!), it’s a BIG deal.

I’ve rediscovered how the small things in life can give me pure moments of joy. Even bending over to change the cats’ water bowls without experiencing a jolt of pain in my shoulder is such a thrill right now!

Another potentially positive bit of news: my full recovery may not take as long as one might think, given the nature of this injury. My physiotherapist told me that my arm’s range of motion and strength is much better than she expected (curcumin? Hah, who knows?). She thinks I’ll progress quickly. So do I.

She also told me that I would almost certainly have pain in my shoulder area the day after our sessions and told me I could take a painkiller if needed. Well, I don’t have any pain at all today. Indeed, early this morning you would have seen me pottering around the garden, cutting off dead flowers and getting rid of a few weeds. Sure, I get an occasional twinge if I use my left arm in a way I shouldn’t (yet), and of course I can’t raise my arm beyond a certain point, but that simply means that I’m looking forward to my second therapy session tomorrow! 🙂 

Now for the second part of my post. I recently came across a rather unsettling Science Daily article about cardiac toxicity caused by carfilzomib. If you’re currently taking carfilzomib, or know someone who is, please have a look. It’s easy to read, so I’ll just give you the link: http://bit.ly/2XZkP1h

That’s it for today. Hope everyone is fine and dandy! Take care!!!