My Broken Shoulder by Lynn Lovegreen

Something you may not know--About five years ago, I fell on the ice and broke my right shoulder (the top of my humerus). Because of the location of the fracture, they didn’t do surgery or put a cast on it. Instead, I had to wear a sling strapped to my torso to keep my arm still, and let the bone heal itself. For three months.

Thank goodness my prince of a husband did the cooking, fetching and carrying, even helped me dress and bathe until I got the hang of using only one hand. And friends and other family members pitched in. But still, it was not fun.

I was in a a lot of pain at the beginning, so sitting or lying on the couch was fine with me. But after a week or so, as the pain eased down to a dull throb, I got bored. And stir crazy, not being able to move around very much. I could read, but it was hard to prop up a book with one hand for long, so I devoured magazines and read books when I could. And there was TV and such, but what I really wanted to do was write.

Of course, I’m right-handed, and I only had my left hand free for most of those three months. I taught myself how to type one-handed, which is fine for typing letters, but awkward when using the shift and special keys. I managed to write comments online and short emails, etc. But I couldn’t manage long forms of writing. The draft I was going to revise had to wait.

Life goes on. The shoulder healed. I did PT exercises faithfully, and gained full use of my right shoulder. I finished that draft, then wrote another. It all turned out well in the end. I did learn a few things from that experience:

• Always wear ice grippers in the wintertime.
• It’s okay to ask for help.
• My husband is wonderful. (Okay, I knew that already, but it was reinforced during that time.)

May you never break your shoulder, or have any other malady that lays you flat for months at a time. But if you do, I hope your experience turns out as well as mine did.

P.S. Happy anniversary, Romancing the Genres! I'm honored to be a Genreista!

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for almost fifty years. She taught for twenty years before retiring to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest.