Dislocation diary: Day 27

Seems like now that I'm no longer disabled and can function like before, I've failed to update my dislocation diary.

I'm not completely healed yet, but think I'm probably 85 per cent of the way there. Several major things have happened over the last week or so since my last update:

• Stopped wearing the strap completely.
• As of today, arm straighten/bending degree is probably 170-20 (180 being completely straight and 0 being completely bent)
• Visible bruising still present, although the icky green-yellow ones are fading, being replaced by smaller purple-blue ones.
• Can now use right arm to feed myself, do light lifting, tie my hair back in a ponytail (with some pain), dress and undress in the usual manner and tie shoelaces properly! Seriously, besides the fact that I cannot completely straighten and bend, the arm is pretty much fully functional.
• Went snowmobiling two days ago. Probably not the wisest thing to do with a recovering dislocated elbow, but . . . D did most of the driving. I tried, but doing tight turns was a little difficult when you can't straighten/bend completely. For the trip, I strapped my arm, but could certainly feel the strain by the end of the day from holding on. So for anybody recovering from a dislocated elbow, avoid snowmobiling if you can until you are completely healed.
• Sleep is mostly back to normal. I don't have to just sleep on my back now, although when I'm on my side, I find it useful to have another pillow/cushion to hug or rest the arm, otherwise it gets a bit sore after a while.
• Started applying Voltaren (anti-inflammatory gel) to the area before I went to sleep (and sometimes after I wake up, if I remember/felt like it), which has been amazing. While the arm hasn't been really sore, I had been waking up in the morning feeling a little pain and tightness in the arm. Remembered reading somewhere that's an indication of inflamed body parts and so decided to apply Voltaren. What an amazing difference! Pain not completely removed, but definitely reduced and I think it has aided in my ability to straighten/bend.
• The actual elbow area still feels sore when pressed, as are the forearm and bicep muscles.
• Shoulder back to feeling normal.
• Can mostly walk around with arm hanging down by the sides, but if I try to bend it after a while, I can feel a slight pain (signs of inflammation again).