Delayed update (sorry)

Yeah, it's been about 2 weeks since my procedure, and I haven't posted since the night before.
My bad, you can yell at me about this when you're capable of understanding, Andrea.
Anyway, it went without a hitch, however the only wrinkle is that I've used up all of my FSA (Flex Spending Account) for the year on the previous round of Physical Therapy (8 weeks of hell) so I can't afford to do the PT (Physical Therapy) that I'm supposed to be doing - why can't I afford it, you ask?
Because of this little thing called a co-pay. Cigna considers anyone not my Primary Care Physician (PCP) to be a "specialist" and instead of a $20 co-pay, I have a $40 co-pay.
At 3 visits a week, that's $120 I don't have and can't spend.
So, I have to do exercises at home and pray that my shoulder doesn't freeze again.

On other fronts, my gardens are doing very well. I had a neighbor give me a number of canna lilies , in addition to an iris (exact variety unknown at this point) which I put in the side garden. They're in back of the elephant ear and hostas, and when they establish will provide an excellent backdrop for the plants in front.
Your Aunt Sheba gave me a number of moonflower seeds, of which at this writing I've only been able to get 2 to sprout - (I have high hopes for the next round of sprouting, as I'm trying a different technique - besides, if I get more to sprout, I will be able to trade with a neighbor for a climbing rose (unfortunately, Wikipedia doesn't have a page for them, so no link - but as soon as I get them, I'll put up a picture so you'll know what I'm talking about) )
The mints and thyme plants your Grandpa Don gave me are doing well, I'm really hoping they overwinter this year, as the last patch of mint didn't survive.
I have also started a pot of grape tomatoes, so hopes are that they'll take off and I'll get another huge bush of them this year.
Well, at work so must go for now. I'll write more later, probably during lunch tonight.

Surgery in just over 4 hours

Today is May 14th, and I'm due to be at Emory Spinal & Orthopedic Clinic at 6am to do paperwork and get my anesthesia started, for the procedure at 7am to fix the frozen shoulder.
Why am I writing this at this hour of the morning instead of sleeping?
Because I can't sleep. I've been in bed since 9pm last night, and actually managed to drop off for a few hours, but keep waking up, and now it's to the point that I can't get back to sleep.
It's sort of like when I was doing major amounts of coffee past the time I knew I shouldn't, but in this case, I think it's more nerves. (Especially since I had a total of two and a half cups of coffee yesterday, and one of those was 75% decaf).
The arm is giving me minor difficulties, by twinging and being annoying however this is definitely more related to the procedure than to anything else.
Am I doing the right thing? I think so. I've been dealing with this for over about a year now and it's time to get it fixed once and for all.
I'll write more after the surgery.
I just wanted to get this down for the record.

Further frozen shoulder update

Okay, here's what transpired on Thursday when I spoke with the surgeon.
Essentially, he and his resident both agreed that I have a frozen shoulder. (Big duh there...)
So, Wednesday May 14th, I'm going to undergo a procedure known as Manipulation Under Anesthesia,(MUA) rather than Arthroscopic Adhesive Capsulotomy (AAC).
Essentially, for the MUA, I will be given a nerve block in addition to being put under general anesthesia, most likely using a gas such as halothane.
When I'm under, the surgeon will then manipulate my arm, serving to break up the adhesive capsulitis , and then wake me up.
The reason behind MUA instead of AAC is primarily because of my diabetes, because diabetics have a higher rate of infection. And since this is technically a non invasive (read as no cutting involved) procedure, there is zero chance of infection.
Then, I'm to go back to physical therapy for another 8 weeks to make sure that as the shoulder heals itself, it doesn't heal back frozen.
Should this not work out, then I'll be a candidate for the AAC.
And no, this isn't why I'm a crabby SOB.

Squirrel update

Andrea, I'm hoping that when you're reading this, you'll understand that your Uncle Merlin cusses like a sailor when he's upset. It's not a lack of language skills on my part, it's just that somethings just require cussing.
Like this one little rat bastard squirrel.
I went outside today to check on the gardens, and as I got to the back I heard a rapid series of chuck-chuck sounds.
I looked around, finally looked up, and there was this big fat squirrel on the roof, cussing me like there was no tommorrow.
How do I know he was cussing me? Body language for starters...if you do a little research, you'll find that squirrels use their tails to communicate, in addition to making gutteral chuck-chuck sounds, and the tail motions indicate their level of upset, among other things.
It seems that I had interrupted him while he was feasting on my gladiola bulbs.
How did I come to this conclusion? There were even more leaves by the pots, and evidence of digging.
I suspect my coming around the corner interrupted his meal, and he was expressing his displeasure at that.
If I'd had a gun, I'd have shot the little bastard. Gleefully.
This is rapidly moving into war. And they're going to lose.

Rear garden pictures

These are pictures of the garden in the back.

The elephant ear in the pot is Audrey, my giant strain from Thailand.

The one in the dirt is one that I had planted last year, and is now coming back with 4 separate stalks. I've also included my lily bed, consisting of Oriental, stargazer, and what I call trumpet lilies.

Frozen shoulder update

Well, I've been at physical therapy for the last 8 weeks ever since the "official" diagnosis of frozen shoulder back in March.
I had my followup visit with the specialist today, and while there's been some improvement, there hasn't been enough.
So, on Thursday I meet with a surgeon to discuss the next step. There are two options available, however I think he'll decide to go with the surgical release rather than manipulation under anesthesia. I could be wrong, however I'm basing my opinion on Dr. Mautner's observations today.
And to top it off, I'm still more likely to have it happen in the right shoulder now that I've had it happen in the left.
I'm going to try and get it scheduled for next week, when I won't have to take as much time off work.
Theoretically, it'll be outpatient and I won't miss that much work. But miss work I will, since this is surgery.
More on Thursday.