I SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!! (almost)

I seriously can't remember the last time I was able to get a full night's sleep.   I'm sure it has happened since the surgery, but I can't remember it.  Well...until last night that is!!

I think three factors came into play.  In no particular order they are:

1) I did some "PT" right before I got into bed.  My physical therapist (Todd Hayes at Johnson and Hayes) has told me movement and strength are the things needed to get rid of the pain and get me back to doing the things I want to do.  So, I did some stretches and general movement (basically arm swings) right before I got into bed.

2) We sold the cloud we've been sleeping on.  Four and a half years ago my husband and I bought a new generic memory foam mattress.  It wasn't cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn't Tempur-Pedic and it was on the softer side of the spectrum.  I loved it.  It was like sleeping on down.  The problem was that after four and half years, the bed had developed a bit of Alzheimer's (it had no memory).  I never really noticed but my husband, who would probably prefer to sleep on a  ROCK, did.  So last week we ordered a new mattress (a Tempur-Pedic that will allow me to sleep on a cloud and my sweet husband to sleep on a rock).  Yesterday, we sold the dementia plagued puff box.  We were going to sleep on the guest bed, but it is currently covered with yard sale stuff.  Instead we pulled out the air mattress.  It's a nice one and was considerably more firm than the cloud.  I don't know if the firmness of the sleeping surface had anything to do with the quality of my sleep, but it was a change, so it made the list.

And, last, but certainly not least...

3) I slept with a pillow under my arm.  A friend of mine who had shoulder surgery last year told me that's what she does to keep from waking up in pain.  (Her procedure was different, but I think the reason it's hurting now is just stiffness in the joint, which would be the same for both of us.)  I don't exactly understand the physiology behind why that would work, except that it's probably like the pillow in the sling I was chained to for eight weeks; it just puts space in the socket.  (That's a guess.)

I'm aware this is an ad for alcohol, and their meaning is not mine, but challenge is the fertilizer of a great life!!  We remember the bumps in the road, not the smooth sailing!!

I did actually wake up three times in the night.  (I think that was all my better half's "fault".)  However, instead of being in tremendous pain (as usual), I was able to go back to sleep two of the three times and only got up the third time because it was legitimately MORNING!!!!!  The sun was coming up and everything!!!  GLORIOUS MORNING!!!

To make things even better, it didn't take nearly as long this morning to get down to a comfortable level of discomfort.  Most mornings I am convinced that I should either call the dr as soon as their office opens, or maybe just start driving to Birmingham right then, because something has gone terribly WRONG.  You would think I would be used to the routine by now, but I am an "in-the-moment" kind of gal (in case you didn't know that already!).

Speaking of "in-the-moment"...Thursday I had a moment that caught me completely off guard.  I was sitting at lunch and my friend asked me how my shoulder was doing and I realized that not only did it not hurt right then, I didn't even NOTICE it...I wasn't even AWARE of it...I couldn't even FEEL it!!!  It was GLORIOUS to feel like a normal person after a year and a half of being in a continuum of "aware of it" up to "wow that hurts so bad I think I want it cut off to stop the pain!".    (I wish I was kidding...)

I think it will be a long while before I'm not aware of it more than I am on the other 99% of the spectrum, but for now I'll take sleeping through the night!!

Until next time...  :D