In one moment I realized that there may come a time that I may not be able to shoot my bow. This year has proven quite a challenge for me. In July my shoulder hurt so bad that it landed me in the ER while on vacation in
Montana
. I was planning on getting my new Parker Frontier all ready for hunting season during that time. The doctor that I saw said it was most likely a rotator cuff injury and that I can not shoot my bow and need to see a surgeon for an MRI. My heart sank. It took a couple of months to get the referral lined out and appointment made back in
Delaware
to see an orthopedic surgeon. My first appointment with the surgeon was not good. He told me that I may never shoot my bow again, at least without pain. I was sent for an MRI and put on steroids. The steroids did nothing for my shoulder and the MRI came back completely normal. Talk about a sigh of relief, but why was I still having such pain. My doctor said that it was most likely inflammation and that it is likely come and go. He prescribed celebrex and sent me on my way. I was excited that I was able to shoot my bow again finally. There was still a problem though, the pain. So far it is manageable but I fear there will be a day that it will become too painful to shoot. Is this really a tragedy? No. It is however something that I need to prepare myself for emotionally. Archery is such a release and thrill for me, something that I share with my husband and my kids. Right now I am concentrating on building muscle and getting in better physical shape, so that maybe I can delay any more pain. I know that there are many women that struggle with similar problems and I hope that we can all find a way to encourage each other. Keeping up with and sharing any health information that we find that works or may work for somebody else. I believe together we can grow strong and save that “moment” for another day.
