I totally agree. Fortunately, I have been able to communicate with them via e-mail, so I just pulled all of it from my work e-mail before it gets deleted from the server. I may need it later on.

I have an appt. next week to pull the stitches, and, sadly, I don't feel safe going there by myself. So my wonderful husband offered to take an hour off work to meet me up there.

On the up side, had my appt with another surgeon, who followed me with pneumothorax, and it's appeared to have resolved, except for the crepitus (air under skin and fascia). With God's will that should go away in a week or so.

I was totally concerned when ER doc showed me my first chest x-ray, where we saw air in the mediostinum. I was horrified that they punctured something else, because the upper right pneumo does not communicate with mediostinum. It looks like, however, that the pain pump cath tracked air there. It could have, in a very quick succession, caused cardiac tamponade, then cardiac arrest, and then good bye sweet world! God was kind to me, though, and I chose to be monitored, and it sealed on it's own without even a chest tube!

Anyway, enough ranting. I am glad that I am not the only one that is treated so poorly (not that I'm not sorry for your experience), but you know what I mean. )

How are you doing right now?

Right now, I am still in physio, it seems I have developed a secondary complication called frozen shoulder. This has happened through no fault of mine. When I saw the surgeon yesterday, he said that in 6 weeks I will probably be put back under the anaesthsia and have some aggresive manipulation done. At this point I don't know if the manipulation will be surgical or manual. I have been in pain since my injury in Feb 2006 - I am giving myself another 9 months for a full recovery, don't know if it will happen or not, but it will be something to look forward to.
It is important to keep a copy of all communications you have with your treatment teams. If you don't need them at a later date, then good, but at least you will have them when they are needed.
You are lucky to have a husband that will be your pillar during your "un-stitch" appt. Good that your pneumothorax is somewhat resolved. As for the crepitus - maybe you can make a "Snap, Crackle, & Pop" commercial for Kellogg's - Just kidding!! hee hee. It will dissipate with time. Isn't there a saying to goes something like....life is like a bowl of cherries? Well it pretty much is, there are some real sweet juicy parts but there will always be some pits to get in the way!
I do hope your recovery is in full and it is speedy, we have paid enough.

Spike,
I have heard horrible things about the medical and doctors in Canada, well their system and the way they do things. I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I know about a bit about frozen shoulder as I have done all kinds of research. That is not a good thing to have. I know a couple people that live in canada and they constantly scream about the medical system there. Hang in there, hopefully after he puts you back under it will be all good. Did they not move it enough in therapy?? How did you get frozen shoulder?
Chykcha, I did some research on the pneumothorax and I couldn't believe what I was reading. People can die from this!! And the way the hospital treated you I am still fuming from this!! I don't blame you for being nervous about going back there to have your stitches taken out. I would be frantic. Keep us posted on your situation.
Colleen

Yeah, that's why I had the crash chest tube cart parked right outside my door. I am thankful, though, that I didn't require it. I am not afraid of getting my sutures out, just don't feel safe going into the establishment by myself. Weird, huh?

I am, however, experiencing a whole lot of back pain, which wasn't an issue with the previous surgery. The pain is on the right side of my back, all the way to my spine. When I move my head, I feel like my spine is bruised and is really hurting.

Does anyone know if this is a common thing with either R. cuff repair or subachromial decompression?

Hi Chykcha,

I had both those procedures plus a labral repair. I didn't experience any back pain after surgery. It could be from the position your body was in during surgery. Every doctor has their own preference whether it's sitting or lying on the surgical table. Glad to hear you are doing better.

Karen

Chykcha,

Is the pneumothorax any better yet? I agree with Karen, that the back pain could be caused by positioning during surgery, but you should get it checked out regardless. Did you get the stitches out yet?

I am not in the mainstream medical system, because this is a workplace injury. I have been covered by a compensation act for workers, which (if you can find anyone to listen to you) will "fast track" you through your treatments. When I finally got approval for the MRI, I only waited 2 weeks, had I been in the government medical system I would have waited approx. 6-9 months for the MRI.

As for the frozen shoulder, I have been told it can just happen, maybe physio wasn't aggressive enough, but I also worked the shoulder on a home program.