Hello from South Dakota!!

Back on Dec. 20th I had to drill a hole in a concrete wall for some 21/2" conduit. I drilled half way through the 14" wall and changed sides. I started to drill when the concrete gave way and the hilti surged forward, making my shoulder feel as if it exploded.

I reported the accident to my Boss and he sent me to the clinic. They determined that I had a small tear in the rotory cuff, so on to physical therapy. Now the Doc is saying that I have done something to the AC joint and I have to go in for surgery on the 25th.

I have never had to have surgery before and I am a LITTLE concerned about how well someone can recover from this. Electrical work is the only thing I really do well, and if I can't do any overhead work again I'm afraid I may have to give it up.

I'm also concerned that if I can go back to work my employer may find a way to let me go, and after an injury like this it may be slightly difficult to find a new place to work.

Ok, Ok, Ok, to much time to sit around and worry about things! Any suggestions? Anyone have this surgery before? What do I do "IF"?

Thanks
Jon

I tore my rotator cuff when I stepped onto some sheetrock laying on the floor. How was I to know there was a hole in the floor under the rock? Hit a cleat in an ajacent wall on the way down, pulling my arm back, tearing the cuff.

Sore as hell. Never had the surgery, treated it with pain killers and anti-inflammatory meds. Now, every few years, it flares up again, and I treat it as before, and after about 4 months it goes away. My doc said if it (the pain/discomfort) lasts more than 6 months, may need surgery.

If you are in good shape, and can stand pain, you should be able to do therapy after surgery, in order to strengthen the arm.

Will you be able to do the same work? Depends on only you, dude. Do the surgery as a last resort, but do do therapy, and grin and bear it.

Good luck.

Rick Miell

How big of a company do you work for? Is it posssible that you could go back to work on modified duty? Many questions.

Scott

Oh yeah, sorry to hear about your shoulder dude.

[This message has been edited by Scotts (edited 02-20-2003).]

nj,
i spent 20 years as a carpenter and 2 as an electrician before the missing disc,cracked elbow,and broken vertabrae finally did me in.got some retraining from workers comp to become an inspector.i made it to ahj in 10 years time.there is other things to do if the body says no.i still have all my tools and miss the hands on work but being in a heated office on those snowy days ain't all that bad after all.old craftsman never die ,they just............

njelectricmaster,
Sorry to hear about your shoulder.Not quite the same,but close...I had shoulder impingement surgery on my left shoulder.In a shoulder impingement,There is not enough clearance in the shoulder joint and the bones rub the rotator cuft.I had the surgery after years of pain,especially after a day spent making up j-boxes overhead.It was to the point that the cuft was thin that it was to the point of tearing.I was back at work in few weeks but it took a year or more to fully recover from it.
Did you file a worker's Comp. claim?I would immediately.This would provide you with income while you are recovering and rehabing your arm.(though it ain't much,it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick )
If your employer lets you go because you were injured,you have to ask yourself if you really want to be working for that kind of person.

Also a bit different, but I suffered a broken ankle that involved surgery, a six inch steel plate and thirteen screws (not on the job but I still got comp because my boss was great!). Now I worked in a warehouse at the time, which included a lot of lifting and heavy legwork. This was about four years ago and it still hurts at times but like “rmiell” said:

“If you are in good shape, and can stand pain, you should be able to do therapy after surgery, in order to strengthen the arm.” (Or ankle in my case).

When you work with your body, it gets hurt. There’s not much of a choice in that. But how many scars are on your hands that you look at and tell stories about now? And like “pwood” said you don’t have to leave the trade if it’s serious (god forbid), you might just have to change your job title a bit. Good luck, and if I can speak for all of us on ECN, we’re pulling for you!


[This message has been edited by Elec_VA (edited 02-20-2003).]

2nd the sentiment Elec_VA, the trades are a hard dollar

Hello from South Dakota!!

Thanks for the replies. I did file workmans comp. the first day I was hurt, and the Doc said I could do Light duty, but the Boss said there is no such thing as light duty.

As far as weather or not this is the employer to work for......that is anouther thread.

The surgery on the AC joint is also an impingment surgery.

Thanks Guys
Jon

I personally know two people who have had the surgery with great success. They both are angry at the fact they waited so long to get it done. Neither could lift their arm higher than shoulder height and both are back to normal now. Why put it off and suffer. I had foot surgery (my choice as well) a month ago and still recovering (back to work in two more weeks) It is miserable laying in bed all day but I hope it will be worth it! Good luck!

not always....

i blew a knee out years ago, it hurt some of the time...

the doc's fixed it so it hurts most of the time now....

(probably why i've a 'tude?)

Hello from South Dakota!!

Sparky, I think having a 'Tude has more to do with all of the deadlines, back-orders, mistakes by GC's, and scheduling than it does your foot. But I will still let you use that as an excuse if you want.

I do hope you are wrong about hurting even more than it does now!

Jon