I see it all slipping away....
 

Okay, this is long, so bear with me.

As some of you might remember me saying before, I retire on 30 November after 24 years in the Navy. An excellent opportunity has arisen for me to walk right into an open Government Service position with a bit more pay than I was drawing on active duty.

Background: Back in February when I first bought my bow, I was shooting it for the first time in the indoor range. On the second shot, my right shoulder made an audible “pop” and I almost dropped the bow. I mean, it really hurt. I shrugged it off, like I always have, and kept on going….. until now.

As a part of my retirement physical, I mentioned that I had injured my shoulder and it still gave me trouble when I lifted something over my head or took a pull over shirt off. As it turns out, I tore my rotator cuff in my right shoulder, and I’ll need to have surgery to repair it.

So, it’s looking like I’ll probably have to have the surgery soon, and they’ll want to keep me on active duty for another six months on medical hold until I recover. Yep, there goes the job. Also, that means that I won’t be able to use the shoulder at all for the first month (in a sling), then I’ll be on physical therapy for a few months. Yep, there goes the ENTIRE hunting season.

There’s one possibility, and I’m investigating that now. If I can get the problem diagnosed and the VA will pick up the tab for the surgery, I can wait until March for the surgery. That will let me take the job and hunt also. I’m REALLY hoping that will work.

If any of you have been through this and have any positive inputs, or any input that would contradict what I’ve been told, I’d like to hear it.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

Lose your new job, hunting season and have to extend your enlistment....man talk about your bad days. Hang in there...sorry...you can't do that with your shoulder.:( This too will pass.

Reid
Ret. USAF

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

Depends.

Summer of '99.....I was playing a LOT of competitive softball (250+ games a year). We won a National Championship, that year.....and my cuff had suffered a 50% tear due to a slap lesion.

First ortho was gonna slice me open. I opted for a second opinion from an ortho I trusted from my golf days.....who happens to be the lead ortho for the (then) Charlotte Hornets; Davidson Wildcats/Charlotte Knights. He said he'd do everything in his power to perform the surgery arthroscopically.

He was successful in his scoping. 4 TINY incisions.....and the repair was made. Full debried of the labrum.......removal of a type III bone spur.....and all that was left was physical therapy.

I wen tin for PT on the monday after my Friday surgery.....and went every weekday for 3 weeks.......3 times a week for the subsequent 3 weeks.

At the end of the first 3 weeks.....I could swing a bat. At the end of6 weeks.....I could play with MINOR discomfort.

All may not be lost. get as many people as you can to give you an opinion. The difference in recovery (from the first assessment to the second, for me) was almost ONE YEAR.

Get more opinions. That's my best advice to you.

Good luck.....and thanks for your service.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

I'm retired military, and even though I hate Navy guys :D, I'd be reluctant to advise you to let the VA take care of your surgery. I'm lucky in that I can use Johns Hopkins Tricare in the area that I'm in and I'm not relegated to using military treatment facilities anymore. If you have a good primary care physician on the outside that can refer you to agoodorthopedic surgeon....I'd opt of that and just suck up missing hunting season. But if it means an extension and missing out on a cush civil service job.....that definitely makes the decison tougher.

And just kidding about hating the Navy....I'm glad we have you guys out there doing what you do. Best of luck to ya.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

I have had this surgery 3yrs ago.
I did almost the same thing you did! I was shooting my bow one afternoon when i felt something pop? I just shrugged it off as i thought it would go away? But it didn`t it just got worse over time.
I was also going to the gem about 4 to 5 times a weeki could pick up any weight i wanted tobut i had trouble just taking off a t-shirt? Pain[&o]Like a spike was driving down through my shoulder everytime i lifted my arm up above my head or just shoulder height? So i went to the doctor luck would have it he also bowhunted:)I told him my story on what had happened.
He sead let me guess? He put his hand on the top of my shoulder and pushed down?Thepain hit me harder than ever! "I sead thats it"!
He sead you need surgery to fix it?
Well i put it off for about a yr and halfuntill i couldn`t take it anymore.
So i called the doctor back up and told him lets do it.
After the sugery the pain was bad i am not going to lie about but it.
Buthealing was much faster than everyone told me it would be.
Believe it or not i was back in the gem about a month and a half after the surgery. I had to take it easy of coarse but no more pain!!
and i shoot my bow just as good if not better than before.
I know what your feeling about the surgery but believe me if i knew how it would turn out i would not have waited a yr to do it.
Other guys that i have talked to say the same thing i did about if they had any idea how it was they would have had it donesooner.
I hope this helps.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

If you've gone this long with the injury why can't youretire, take the new job and let the insurence from that job take care of it?

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

It seems like quite a few members on here have had shoulder problems at one point or the other. I actually go to the ortho doc tomorrow to have my left shoulder checked. Its been almost 2 months after my motorcycle accident and it still bothers me when I move it in certain directions. I can still pull my bow back thankfully w/out any pain.:)

Anyway, I hope everything works out for you man.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

Could you get qualified as disabled?? In the State of Oklahoma that would allow you a cross bow.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

This reminds me of joggers talking about their knees! [&:]

Anyway, best of luck Little Chief. Let us know how it turns out.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

I can't offer any suggestions,but I definitely hope things work out for you.I think what GMMAT said makes a lot of sense,and yes thank you for your service!

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

Were you planning onnot taking advantage of Federal Employee's Health Benefits because you will be covered medically as a retired service man? I would think that you could probably hold off on the surgery until you get your new job, apply for FEHB, and let the insurance handle the cost of the surgery. You can probably change your election during open season (health benefit season, not deer season :D) in the Nov-Dec timeframe if you really didn't want the benefits. As mentioned earlier, you could probably get a crossbow permit for this season if you wanted to. If you have a good opportunity to get into the govt now, who knows if you'll have the same opportunity later? I'm sure there's someone you can talk to regarding benefits that could help you figure out how to get the surgery paid for and not miss the opportunity. Anyway, good luck to you.

RE: I see it all slipping away.... UPDATE.
 

Thanks for all of the input, guys.

I was sitting at home thinking about this last night, and I remembered a good friend of mine works at the Limited Duty desk at the Bureau of Naval Personnel. I called him, and I'm glad I did.

I found out that if I did have the surgery before I retired, they would probably NOT let me stay past my retirement date of 30 November. I would be temporarily unable to work and at the same time looking for a job. Not good.

As long as I get this documented in my medical record, I can still elect to have it repaired later, so the most intelligent thing to do seems to be to wait until I'm settled into the new job and then have the procedure done. The new job is a "cushy" GS-11 desk job, so I wouldn't be out too long, plus, I'll still get to hunt this year.;)

RE: I see it all slipping away.... UPDATE.
 

Sounds like a plan, glad you've got it figured out. Where's the new job at?

RE: I see it all slipping away.... UPDATE.
 

The new job is literally just across the street here at Millington, TN at the Navy Manpower Analysis Center. I'm going to be here at least another 5 years until my youngest kid is out of school. Then I want to move..... maybe to the Cascade Mountains in Washington State.:D

RE: I see it all slipping away.... UPDATE.
 

I'm sure you covered everything but just in case not. Disregarding the retirement (look at that in a bit), if you had the surgery now while active would you not get a minimum (at least 30 days) period of conv. leave (free leave vs. using what you have accrued) and at the same time collect a full military check?? Electing to wait then what is the situation(I'm not familiar with how the GS system works)? Would you have a period of conv.lv/sick that would be charged to you since youprobably won't have accrued many sick/lv. hrs. by then? As a GS would you fall under a workers comp. type situation where you only collect ??%of your pay?As for not letting you stay past your retire date?? Do you mean they'd boot you as soon as you hit your (RCP) date whether you are healed and released by the Dr. or are you saying you have ret. papers that take you past your date and that once recovered they'd want you out asap? I quess this is more questions than advise but some things I'd recommend folks to look at. I'm also looking atthe active duty situationfromthe Army side of the house and not the Navy. GS situation will all fall the same. Good Luck

RE: I see it all slipping away.... UPDATE.
 

I have torn both of my rotator cuffs and the advice I have always received from the best surgeon I know, my father, is just to put up with the discomfort until I can't anymore and then have the surgery. It has been 6 years at this point and still no surgery. To draw your bow without hurting your shoulder keep your elbow down and at your side and pull it back that way. It doesn't strain the shoulder and has kept me bowhunting.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

Sounds like you may qualify for disabled hunters permit and use a crossbow. Id look into that, hope things work out well for you and thanks for your service.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

I currently am contemplating the shoulder surgery as well, and so far, it is going to wait until after deer season. SOrry to hear about your other determining factors, best of luck with your decisions and circumstances.

RE: I see it all slipping away.... UPDATE.
 

Actually, it seems strange to me that while it was drawing a bow that caused the injury, I can draw my bow with now discomfort at all. It's only when I raise my right arm over my head that I have a problem.

As to being able to use a crossbow like some have suggested, I wouldn't mind using one eventually if it comes to that, but here's a list of what I've done getting ready for this first season:

I've bought the following:

Mathews Drenalin
Viper H1000 5 pin sight
Convertable HD Dropaway rest
Tru Glo Stabilizer
Mathews Arrowweb quiver
Scott Sabretooth release
Tru-ball release (gave to a friend)
Nikon Rangefinder
ASAT 3D suit (thanks, Buckeye)
1 dozen Carbon Express arrows (gave to a friend)
1 dozen Gold Tip XT Hunters 5575's (gave to my son - too weak)
1 dozen Gold Tip Pro Hunter 7595's
Bitzenberger Jig
$80.00 worth of Feathers
$40.00 worth of Duravanes
Fletchtite Platinum glue
Goat Tuff Glue
G5 Squaring Device
Arrow Spinner
D Loop pliers
Serving thread (that stuff is expensive)
Summit Viper SS climber
Two Morrell bag targets
Two broadhead targets
Pre season Montecs
G-5 Montecs
Sharpening kit
Grim Reapers (discarded)
Grain scale

Add to all of that the fact that I've learned so much since February when I started. How to set up and tune my bow, how to build/fletch/tune my own arrows, what proper FOC percentage is and how best to achieve it,how to determine proper spine, the advantages of a heavier arrow, how kinetic energy and momentum affect penetration, and most importantly (to me) how to shoot accurately.

I've learnedother important things, like never press your fingers together whenyou have Goat Tuff on them,"spooning" takes on a whole newdimension when referring to Germ, never walk onto Bwanajim's property without his permission, and never try to get the best of Atlasman, GMMAT and a few select others ina debate thread.

I've invested a lot in this first season, and I'm not about to miss out on it. I'll take my chances with the VA if I have do, but to be honest, I'm not worried about it. I'm sure it'll all work out.

RE: I see it all slipping away.... UPDATE.
 

LittleChief, Sorry to hear about your dillema there. That is a very tough chioce there.I have been very lucky and not hurt my shoulder YET! Knees are a different story. Almost missed last season because while going thru rehab a lot of little problems surfaced which is very rare. Ended up doing six months of rehab and finished two days before opening day. Congrats on retiring, I was medically retired after seven years. Always glad to hear from navy people. My nieces husband is currently serving his second tour in Iraq with the USMC. That is always fun when we are tigether. PM me and let me know what you did and where you were stationed. And definitly thank you for your sacrifices.

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

go for the new job and the huntin season...hope everything works out well and you shoot a monster for you pain and trouble...thanks for the service

RE: I see it all slipping away....
 

Having been on both sides of the house, civil service and now back on active duty. I would recommend that if you can tolerate the pain wait for as long as you can to have the surgery. This will allow you to take the new job and hunt! But more importantly it allows you build sick time while in the GS-11 slot, which unfortunately is slow to build. Good luck with everything.