Get well, Juliet

WZZM 13's Juliet Dragos had shoulder surgery on January 13 and after a short comeback, her doctors recommended that she take an extended time off. You can watch her message below and then scroll back to all her previous blog posts about her recovery.

3/25/15

Juliet is cleared to drive.

3/16/15

The latest on Juliet's recovery.

2/2/15

Juliet Dragos returned to air Monday. Watch her return below.

1/30/15

It's been a little more than two weeks since surgery.

As I'd mentioned earlier, it ended up being much more extensive and complex because Dr. Matelic was able to repair part of the massive tear of my rotator cuff, and the part that he couldn't sew up he put a tissue graft, so we're hoping that my body will accept that.

Now, he says the normal at-home recovery for a person who's had this type of surgery is 12 weeks, but I don't want to wait that long. So, he is allowing me to return to work part-time on Monday -- yes, three days from now. We're going to see how I do. He said he doesn't want me to overdo it, because there's a chance that it could prolong my recovery or undo the repairs that he's done to this damaged shoulder.

So, I'm going to come to work on Monday. I'll be doing the 5 o'clock, 5:30 and 6 o'clock news, and then I don't start my physical therapy until the week after next, so we'll see how that goes.

There are some logistics to figure out once I get back to the station, and I'm looking forward to getting back in the saddle, and seeing everyone once again. See you Monday.

1/22/15

1/21/15

Resting comfortably and watching some reality shows on Bravo. Something I rarely have time to do.

I am also reading and trying to keep up with the many good wishes and advice on social media. I really appreciate them all.

Watching the beautiful floral arrangements from my co-workers bloom and open.

It's finally sinking in that I'm on the road to recovery and looking forward to a pain free future.

Yesterday, the pain from the procedure is now much more under control. Doctor is staggering three different drugs to make sure there is always an adequate amount of medicine in my system.

I get dizzy, have some nausea and no appetite. Get very fatigued when I sit up or walk around.

Early Thursday evening, neighbor and friend Wanda brought over homemade potato soup and freshly baked bread.

I had one and a half bowls and a slice. Later we removed the surgical bandage and I took a shower. It was a challenge but I felt so much better afterward. Clean body, clean hair and clean pajamas.

The cool pack on my shoulder feels more effective without the thick barrier from the bandage.

Now all I want to do is sleep.

Back Home - 1/14/15

Now matter how ready to think you are, nothing can prepare you for the pain following rotator cuff surgery. I took the pain medication on schedule and as prescribed, but between doses the effect wore off. I awakened early Wednesday morning in excruciating pain. On a scale of 1-10, this was 1,000. I was nauseous and light headed and nearly passed out. Good save by my husband.

Took more meds and eventually the pain started to subside. Also getting benefit from a Polar Care Cube machine that continuously circulates ice water through a pad on my shoulder. Still feeling a lot of discomfort, off and on. The doctor's office prescribed an additional pain medication and the combined effect is providing more relief.

January 13, 2015

Juliet has had her shoulder surgery and her husband, Phil Dawson, has been tweeting updates and photos throughout the day. You can follow him on Twitter attwitter.com/pmdawson.

The surgery was scheduled for Tuesday morning and Phil reports that the surgery was successful. Afterward, she met with doctors to discuss how the procedure went and how the recovery process begins.

Juliet wrote on her Facebook page, "Surgery went well. So relieved. All those well wishes and prayers worked! Thanks. Nap time."

Juliet sent in this information Wednesday night about her surgery:

Following a sleepless night went to the OAM surgery center in Grand Rapids. Everything leading up to the surgery went smoothly. After consultation with the anesthesiologist decided to have a nerve block. He said it could control pain for up to 24 hours and would reduce the amount of general anesthesia he would need to use. I was wheeled into the operating room between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. At about 12:45 p.m. I awakened in the recovery room. The surgery took longer than expected. Dr. Matelic was able to repair part of the massive tear in my rotator cuff, but there was still about a 2 centimeter gap. He created a bridge with a donated tissue graft, a relatively new procedure. Now it's up to my body to accept and grow into the graft. The surgeon says recovery will take about 6 months. I can't drive for 4 weeks and must keep my arm immobilized in a sling for a month or more. Because of the nerve block I felt very little pain immediately after the surgery. At 2:00 a.m. the block wore off.

Day Before Surgery – January 12, 2015

I know quite a few people who've had shoulder or rotator cuff surgery. I'm about to become one of them.

My right shoulder has caused me mild, nagging pain for years. My mother has arthritis and shoulder problems, so I figured it was genetic.

But two years ago, I slipped on the wet floor of an airplane lavatory. As I tried to catch myself, I pushed both arms out on the narrow walls. I heard and felt the pop in my right shoulder. It really was the worst pain I've ever experienced. I thought I pulled a muscle. I iced it and took lots of Aleve and after a couple of days was able to function again (even though I was still in a lot of pain). I've been working out with free weights for years. I had no doubt I would be able to work through this. I have strong arms, a high tolerance for pain and knew I could ride this out.

I couldn't resume my rigorous weight workout, so I switched to lighter weights and fewer reps and worked through the pain. But it got to the point I couldn't even do that anymore. Even trying to run hurt my shoulder. In August of 2014, I finally faced reality. I couldn't live like this anymore. I had an MRI in September and still thought it would be an injury that could be fixed. I was completely wrong. I have a massive, chronic tear in my rotator cuff. My muscles had atrophied and there was nothing that could be done to repair the damage. Orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Thomas Matelic, gave me a shot of cortisone and I went home. The cortisone was a miracle drug! It started working right away. For the first time in a long time, I slept without pain. My shoulder hadn't felt this good in years. I started working out again. That lasted 3 weeks.

On October 20^th I slipped on oily pavement and fell on that shoulder. It felt just as bad as the first time I injured it. I thought it was broken. I saw Dr. Matelic that afternoon. X-rays showed no breaks but the doctor wanted me to have another MRI. The second fall made my shoulder even worse. My bicep tendon is in the wrong place and is slowly fraying. It eventually will rip. The pain has been unbearable at times. I remember standing at the anchor desk one night, bending over and putting my head down to cry during a commercial break so I wouldn't ruin my makeup.

I made it through the holidays and had an appointment to see Dr. Matelic on January 5^th. He said it was time to get into that shoulder to see what can be done.

So tomorrow, I'm having surgery. At the very least Dr. Matelic will "clean it up"; smoothing out the frayed edges of the torn rotator and cutting my bicep tendon to release it (which he believes is causing my current pain). Best case scenario is he can fix part of the tear, which is what I'm hoping for. At the very least, he thinks he can relieve some of my pain. Eventually I'll need a reverse shoulder replacement, but that's down the road.

Why did I wait? How could I have done this to my body? I ask myself those questions every day now.

I'll be off the anchor desk for a couple of weeks. But I will be checking in regularly during the newscasts and plan to write this blog; as well as on my Facebook and Twitter pages every day.

I've been told to expect pain even worse than I've ever had. I will be in a sling for weeks. That means when I come back to work, I'll be wearing it on the air. I have no idea yet how I'll get dressed and do my hair and makeup. (Yes we do it all ourselves)

But today, on this day before my surgery, I'm not going to think about that. I'm going to think about how confident I am in Dr. Matelic. I going to think about how nice it would be to not to be in constant, stabbing pain. I'm going to think about what a good patient I'm going to be and how I'm going to rest my body for two weeks and let it heal. I know it's going to be difficult, but I'm always up for a good challenge. I'll continue to keep you posted on my journey.