Hard Work Pays Off

Yesterday was a momentous occasion. Nearly 6 months after his surgery, with 5 of those months spent in physical therapy, Nicholas is finally done. So much work and commitment has been put into this. It's weird to think that a year ago, we were only TALKING about getting the surgery done.

Back in high school, he tore his labrum in his right shoulder and he was constantly in pain. It was hard to watch him because at certain times, if he even moved the wrong way, he'd have shooting pain in his shoulder. The surgery was put off nearly a year later than it should have, but when he finally had it scheduled, it was a relief. We knew it was going to be a good thing.

Surgery day came and everything went well. Except maybe putting his IV in...that was probably the hardest part for his nurses. Haha. It was a long day though. We were there a good 8 hours at least that day.

The surgery overall went well though and he was doing good. That was until all the drugs wore off and the pain kicked in. Back spasms galore and just the pain from having surgery. It was hard to watch him suffering like that. Obviously as time went on, it got better, but those first few days were hard. Plus keeping track of all his meds was the trick, which meant waking up practically every hour to give him something new or changing out his ice.

Then he started physical therapy, and that first day seemed like it'd take him forever to recover. He could barely move his arm and just was nowhere near where they thought he'd be. He continued to work hard though, going twice a week. I have to give it to the people at Sport & Spine Physical Therapy. They were so great with him, and me too. I kind of became a fixture at the place when I went to therapy with him. They'd all come over and chat with me and everything. It was nice to be there too. I got to witness his progress and learn too about what he should be doing at home.

As the months went on, his flexibility increased and his strength began to come back. He worked hard, and was just happy to not have that pain he had only a few months prior. Finally, February 2nd marked his last day. Nearly 6 months after his surgery and his shoulder is back to proper shape. All that pain and struggle he faced during that time paid off. Now, he can do what he wants without fear of pain.

It was the main reason he did this. As he would state, "I wanted this done so some day I could lift up my kids." Most people thought it was because of baseball and I won't deny that has something to do with it. Lol. He can't help himself. Heck, part of his therapy involved throwing in a baseball motion. We look back now though and are so grateful he was able to have this done. It was probably one of the best decisions he ever made. I am so proud of all his hard work and am so happy I got to be with him through this journey. Hard work does pay off. It may suck in the beginning, but you eventually get to that day where you can look back and be thankful you did it.