Dangerous Shoulder

Oh dear. It seems the Lord of the Manor needs surgery. Over the years he has put his shoulder to the wheel too much; restoring old sailboats, remodeling old houses, installing signs, lifting, hammering. All that has taken a toll on his shoulders and now he has a torn rotator cuff. As I understand it this means the end of his shoulder muscle's tendon is tearing away from its attachment to the head of his arm bone. Doctor used the term severe to describe it.

He has complained of shoulder pain for years, but always shouldered through it. I first remember a problem in 1984 when he was working on Tilly Whim our old Laurent Giles cutter. Then occasionally over the years he'd feel like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and just ignore it. But lately the pain has increased, accompanied with weakness and drooping. A few weeks ago he was nearly brought to his knees just lifting his arm to close a door!

So last week's MRI confirmed the worst: his arm is literally going to fall off his body if he doesn't get it fixed right away! Ok, maybe it won't fall off, his skin will keep it attached, but this is serious and it needs to be repaired. So within the next few weeks he will have to square his shoulders and have outpatient surgery. He'll have to stay home for a few days, then he can go back to work with a sling to immobilise his arm. Thankfully now he's at a desk all day and writing and computer work will be allowed, but there will be no lifting or heavy work for 9 months!

No lawn mowing. No hoovering. No painting. No installing signs. No pruning trees. No lifting of any kind. No putting dishes away. No putting luggage in overhead bins. Can you hear me, LOM?

We will stand shoulder to shoulder with him and take care of the garden. And we can do the housework without help, but LOM is going to be bored out of his skull! What will he do to entertain himself? Let me speak straight from the shoulder: I think he'll drive us batty here Amongst The Oaks.