Nancy, Rotator Cuff & Dislocated Bicep

Life was good, actually awesome, as I took a vacation day on Friday December 4. I was on the way to my best friend’s daughter’s ultrasound appt at 8th & Walnut to see if her very first baby would be a boy or a girl. As it turned out, it’s a boy.

Took the Patco speedline and got off at 8th and Market Sts. We turned down 8th street and all of a sudden I tripped on the sidewalk and down I went. My best friend for 40+ years Roseann, felt bad she could not catch me in time and there I went, hitting the concrete pavement, and landing on my right shoulder. We hurried along to the appointment as I surely did not want her to miss the big news on her first grandchild, but I knew something was not right.

That Tuesday, I got xrays which did not show anything broken; you see I was most concerned as I have osteoporosis. Not getting any better at all, I asked my family doctor to submit the paper work for the MRI. On December 24 I got the MRI and was told to go see an orthopedic surgeon as not good news. I was devastated.

We looked into doctors at Penn and Rothman as both have excellent reputations. My husband had back surgery few years back by an excellent Rothman doctor, Dr. Vaccaro so we looked more into Rothman. Boy, am I glad we did. I was afraid getting an appointment with such a prestigious doctor would take weeks if not months, but I was lucky. We got an appointment fairly quickly for January 11 with Dr. Joseph Abboud and from the first moment he walked into the room, my husband, my son and I knew we were in the right place. He immediately put all of us at ease and explained in great details what my injuries were and the best way to fix it. Unfortunately surgery was the best option for the three massive tears to my rotator cuff and a dislocated bicep. Being age 60 and never having had any operation or anesthesia, my anxiety level was quite high, and especially from what I have heard from close sources about rotator cuff surgery and the pain associated with such. At that very same appointment, they were able to set up my surgery date, an appointment to get measured for the sling I would have to wear for six weeks and even scheduled my post-op appt; nothing left uncovered at Rothman. I was on my way to getting better.

I had surgery on January 26 at Methodist Hospital and I cannot say enough about the staff there. From the ease of parking in the garage, to the person who checked me in, to the marvelous many nurses who took such great care of me, to the wonderful anesthesiologist,and of course my surgeon, Dr. Abbound and even the man who wheeled me out later that day, all were extremely professional and great to deal with. I would recommend Methodist to all. I have to say that ALL the staff at Rothman are equally as great including those checking you in, my great physician assistant, Jen, as well as the valet service who are most polite and genuinely caring.

I am on the road to recovery and am sure in due time and with therapy, I will be able to do all the things I enjoy such as getting back to work, getting my big mixing bowls out of the cabinet for the baking I love to do, to gardening, mowing the lawn and working on our boat this spring, as well as some volunteer work. I am so optimistic, thanks to the good work of Dr. Abboud. They list him as one of the top 29 shoulder surgeons in the country, but I have to differ: he is one of the best in the “world”. Thank you Dr. Abboud, Rothman, Methodist, and all the staff.