To exercise or not, that is the question

Good news! Just when I thought I'd never be able to sleep comfortably again, I had a restful night, relatively pain free. Picture this, lying on your back, arms at your sides. The part of your arm that touches the mattress, from shoulder to elbow, burns like the dickens. Like you are actually suffering from a real burn. Imagine lying a real burn on a mattress. On anything. It doesn't matter how soft the material is, it still hurts!

Ok, so that's why I'm encouraged today. The burning is better.

Also the pulling sensation is better.

I keep wondering if I'm supposed to be doing any exercise. I find a few, very few, articles on-line addressing this topic. Mostly it says you should be doing something by day seven--not that it mentions anything specific. On top of that, the amount of exercise advised seems to to vary by surgery type, including how many lymph nodes were taken, whether any muscles were cut, etc.

In other words, kinda sorta maybe do this or that. My advice? Don't trust the web in this instance. I'd about settled on driving myself to the book store to try and find some information. Look out fellow road warriors!

Luckily, I heard from Yvette, a constant source of good information, and she'd spoken to Todd who is the best doctor in the world, and no, I'm not biased. :-) They tell me I should be moving the arm gently so as not to freeze up my shoulder, but not using it enough to create scar tissue during the healing process. Scar tissue doesn't stretch, and tissue that doesn't stretch doesn't stretch. Ever. Got it.

My dear sister. She always knows just what to say. Usually, she can say it with song. I told her how I feel frustrated by the lack of information, and really by my own physical limitations. And she said--Just a rat in a cage. I said, Huh? She clarified:

Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage. Sang it, nasally Smashing Pumpkins voice and all. It was just what I needed to put a smile on my face. Thanks, Babette. :-) Love you tons and tons, could not love you more, muah!