Episode #854
June 14, 2025
Fortune smiled on Paula recently.
Paula’s shoulder has been sore and aching for about a year. The pain was constant and severe enough to wake her up in the middle of the night. She was unsure of the cause, but repeated extension of her rotator cuff is an unavoidable feature of skydiving.
Our general doctor referred Paula to an orthopedic surgeon. He was competent to give her cortisone shots and physical therapy exercises. Nothing alleviated the pain for long. Eventually, the surgeon ordered an MRI, which revealed a torn anterior supraspinatus and its tendon. In plain English, she had a torn rotator cuff.
The orthopedic surgeon suggested that she have surgery, but declined to do it because he was a knee guy. The clinic’s shoulder surgeon had a months-long wait time for appointments and even longer to schedule the surgery. Paula wondered why she wasn’t seeing the shoulder guy in the first place.
In high school I got to know some really great people. They became professionals in every field. One of these friends is the director of heart attack recovery at Scripps. I called him up.
My friend told me that different specialists at Scripps make referrals to each other. He referred Paula to a world-renowned sports medicine shoulder specialist. She had an appointment within the week. After a thorough exam and review of the MRI images, Paula was scheduled for surgery in a few weeks.
The repair was accomplished using arthroscopy. Screws and sutures were used to reanchor the tendon to the bone. This was done in about 1.5 hours.
Paula’s recovery has been notable. She was off pain meds in a few days and into physical therapy five days post-op. Healing will be slow since the scar tissue bonds at about 10% per month.
No skydiving for Paula for 8 to 10 months. She is OK with this hiatus. The exchange of time off from her favorite activity weighed easily against the pain she had experienced from the shoulder injury.
Paula is glad she sought out the expert surgeon she found.
It is a testimony to good research and enduring relationships.
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Glad to hear it went well for Paula!! Yay! It’s always good to have connections!!
Good to hear. I have wondered about my rotator cuff and likely will have to follow Paula’s example
Ask me for a referral to Paula’s surgeon if you like.
I have had rotater cuff repair on both shoulders now. The first one resulted in a 2″ scar on my shoulder. When I got home and the anesthetic wore off, i experienced the worst pain I have ever felt. The recovery was brutal also. When the right shoulder starting shouting out for surgery, I went in for arthroscopic surgery, and this time the pain level was a fraction of that on the left shoulder. Rotater cuff surgery is something I would not wish on my worst enemy. I am glad Paula is doing well.
I am sorry you had to experience that first surgery. I am thankful that Paula had the arthroscopy. How do your shoulders work now?
Best wishes to Paula for a great recovery! What a beautiful photo of her, looking so fit and strong after surgery! I’m sure she will be back to her amazing skydiving sport soon!
We are all expecting the best.
So glad to hear that Paula’s surgery was a success and that she’s doing well. Good to have good connections! Best wishes to you both.