I (Jennifer) had arthroscopic shoulder surgery recently. I thought it would be fairly minor, but the surgeon found more to fix than he had expected once he got in there, and now I need to keep my right arm immobilized for about 6 weeks in a very bulky sling.
Living temporarily with just one usable arm definitely requires some adjustment! Here are a few things you need… maybe you could make it without these, but it would definitely be much more difficult:
- Someone to help with getting the sling on and off without using the muscles in your immobilized arm, showering, dressing, opening jars so you can close them not very tightly and get them open again, cooking, cleaning, driving, etc. I’m truly grateful for my wonderful partner Zach, and for all of his patience and help.
- Adaptability and extra time. When you switch from doing something with both hands or with your dominant hand, to doing it with your non-dominant hand only, the “muscle memory” that you have always relied on to do the action without thought cannot be used. Instead you have to figure out a new process and think about every step. In addition, doing things with one hand often takes twice as long, or even more, than if you have both hands to use.
- Patience, acceptance, and maintaining a sense of humor about the whole situation. All the work with therapy and mindfulness that I’ve done over the past couple of years has helped with that. (Check out this article on my website for more information.)
Besides these essentials, I have found a few practical tools and adaptations that are making my life easier.
Here’s a list:
- A recliner for sleeping (a power recliner is best, because it stays where you set it for stability overnight; I kind of wish we had gotten one with a remote, because the controls are on the right and they’re a bit difficult to reach for me right now, but it’s okay, and I probably will be glad again to not deal with batteries after I get through this). Sleeping in the bed is difficult when you have an injured shoulder and have to keep your arm in a sling — at least in my case, being flat on my back is not comfortable for my shoulder right now, and sleeping on either side or my stomach would be very problematic. I recommend putting a twin fitted sheet over the recliner, because it’s easier to wash than the recliner itself and you’re going to be spending a lot of time in it.
- An airline neck pillow for sleeping in the recliner. I use a pillowcase over it to keep it clean (see photo above; I really like the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Traveler inflatable pillow).
- Update Feb 6: The recliner I am sleeping in is fairly new, and it tends towards firm rather than cushy. I’m currently sleeping in a somewhat upright position, and I am off the pain meds except for an occasional dose of Tylenol. Accordingly, my sit bone area was starting to feel sore before the end of the night, so I have added an inflatable sleeping pad meant for backpacking under the sheet. This has improved my overnight comfort considerably.
- A pillow for resting your arm on when you’re sitting, to give your shoulder that holds up the sling a break. It turns out that arms are quite heavy! The shoulder that’s holding the sling can get tired. The pillow also makes a good lap desk for a phone, tablet, or book.
- Dental flossers, because you can’t use regular dental floss with one hand (see photo above). The interdental brushes, toothbrush, and water flosser I was already using work fine with one hand (I have gum issues).
- Card holders, for playing games that use cards. We are avid gamers, and card holders really help if you can only use one hand. Zach got some wooden ones that work well (see photo above).
- Speech to text technology. I couldn’t get this working on my computer, but it works fine on my phone (not completely accurate, but pretty good — check it over before you hit send!). When I need to do something on the computer that involves typing, I use a Google doc for input via speech on my phone, and then I can open the same document on my computer and copy and paste into whatever I’m working on (that’s how I wrote this). I can make small edits on the computer or phone keyboard with one hand without too much trouble. I had to shift the mouse over to the other side.
- Pill canisters with non-childproof lids. Childproof lids are nearly impossible to open with one hand. Get someone else to open them and then pour the pills into a canister you can use.
- Shirts with buttons or snaps in the front, socks that aren’t super tight, and pull-on pants, for easier dressing.
- A warm shawl (see photo below). It’s winter, and none of my jackets will zip over the sling. You can find shawls in the women’s accessories section of your favorite discount clothing store, with the scarves, or you could probably also make a shawl from a small fleece blanket and some safety pins. You could also get a jacket that is about 3-5 sizes larger than your normal size (3X is what I would need) so it will zip over the sling without putting too much pressure on your arm.
- For a windbreaker you can use a poncho and a belt (see second photo below), if you happen to have a poncho (which I do; I like ponchos for rain).
