SOME OF THE STORY

Prior to 2018 . 2018 I was 59 . It was September 2017 when i ripped/tore my left rotator cuff .

My right one was already tore for over 5 years .But still with both rotator cuffs torn . I had to keep working . No other way to generate income .

I had a slam dunk Workers Comp case . But that would take a year . My lawyer supposedly the best Workers Comp lawyer in Az . Had never lost a case . I had witnesses and went through all the proper protocol .

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I didn't let anything stop me . I have been working construction since 1976 . For 45 years I have worked in the SUN . Never did it bother me . I was hydrated . In top shape . I thrived on the heat of the summer months for decades . It is a state of mind as well . I've seen thousands of people completely miserable always because they think they have to be .

When I quit high school and became a carpenter .

Doing conventional roofs for custom and semi custom homes in Lehi , Az . Conventional roofs is when you build the roof from the top plate up . You use a speed square for your pitches for all your rafters for the hips and valleys . It was fun , challenging and fucking hot completely exposed walking top plates and catwalks all day long .

After that I went to production type housing projects . With trusses instead . All I had to do was walk the top plate backwards to lay out the catclaw marks ( ^ ) on centers to lay each truss on .
Then the forklift would lay them up there and all we had to do was run them down , stand them up and nail them down . With a real 16 penny nail and a rigging axe . The framers choice of a hammer . Mine had a Vaughn head and a Plumb handle . 28 ounce .

After that I slowed up on the framing and took decking jobs . That is covering each floor with plywood .

In between all of that . Of course I framed a few walls . Tore the skin of my thumb and fingers on my left hand to hell with the corregated head of my rigging axe .

I remember one time I was furring out some block walls . That is nailing 2" x 2" fur strips ( actually probably pine ) lol . On center every 24" or 16" whatever the specs . This furs out the wall to be able to put strips of insulation on and then screw the drywall to the furring strips .

Anyway it was winter . And cold . It can actually get down to 28° to 38° in Phoenix . Believe me , that is fucking cold for this southern Az boy .

So here I am pounding cut nails into these hard ass fur strips . ( cut nails are tapered wedge type nails used for hammering into concrete ). Nowadays they use powder actuated guns/tools to shoot the nail right in BAM , BAM , BAM .

Not back then in the 70's and 80's . It was all still manual .

I took a big ass swing at this damn cut nail in the cold , my fingers were numb . I missed the whole fucking nail and crushed my thumb with that corregated head . Tearing the rest of what was left of my thumbnail completely off . FUCK , FUCK , FUCK , FUCK , FUCK !!! Ouch . Bled all over the place .

I threw that fucking rigging axe as far as I could out in the field .

I spent the next half of the day asses and elbows searching that field for my hammer .

All to the GR8 amusement of the entire jobsite . All laughing their fucking asses off .
Fuck that hurt .



The point of all of this is to show or justify my 47 years years straight of 8 , 10 , 12 hour days of complete sun exposure . Working various trades in  constuction all of my life .



Until 2018 . That is all I did . that is all I knew .



But with both rotator cuffs torn . I couldn't move either arm very well . Much less pick up a tool or work or any fucking thing .



Having been an Electrician for 20 years at that point . I needed use of my arms .



During the course of the rest of that year . I had first a failed surgery attempt to repair the tendons in my most recently torn and worst overall left arm .



That led to the practical decision to have a full reverse shoulder replacement . Reverse simply means that the ball and socket are reversed .


The operation basically entails cutting your arm off .



Then they drive a spike down the center of your humerus bone . In the reverse surgery ( like I had ) . That spike is the socket . The ball is then screwed/anchored into my carcass .

As shown in the x ray below .



That is a frontal view looking straight at my left arm .( see the staples on the right ? )



Anyway they pull back what is called a muscle cap . Then they chop off your old shoulder .



Put in the new ball and socket . flop the muscle cap back over your new shoulder . Then staple you back together .



YEE HAW wasn't that fun ?












So the healing begins . Without all those tendons that used to make your arm move up and down and back and forth . And round and round . Not going to happen with tendons .



That is what that muscle cap was/is for .



You learn to strengthen those muscles to learn how to move your arm again . The muscles do what the tendons used to do .



And they eventually do . With heavy therapy .



I was told that i would get 70% range of motion and movement back if I tried .



I started physical therapy exactly 6 weeks after the operation .



My therapist had 29 years experience . and she was gorgeous . I mean BINGO . I could handle this therapy .

She was so tough . In a sweet but encouraging way . She pushed me hard each session . At the end of each session she would spend 10 minutes massaging and rubbing out and stretching my arm .



After 6 weeks of this intensity . It finally paid off . I had over 90% range of motion and mobiliy and strength .



She said that in 29 years she had only 1 other person with more determination . He was a body builder .



Nice .



So now I can almost begin my story . Lol and you thought I had already started . Nope . That was just the back story .







After my physical therapy . I was released for work . I continued as the Electrician for the piece of shit trailer park I ended up in ( excluding the managers ). After my wife and I were evicted from our 13 year house . By a family member who didn't believe I had torn my rotator cuffs . And was just trying to get out of paying rent . Have not spoken to that senile 90 year old family member since .



I paid my accrued debts to the trailer park . Just as the trailer park was sold to new owners . Who on the day of change of ownership . The new owners fired me the Electrician , Dave the Plumber . And the 2 wonderful lady managers who didn't know my wife and I from Adam . Took us in and set us up . Even though my left arm was in a sling . And we were broke and unable to work .



It was then that I lost my unlosable workman's comp case . My fucking employer at the time . Who told me everything would be fine . Was the fucking prosecutors in the case with all their fucking teams of lawyers . Beat the shit out of my lawyer . Was his first case loss .



That fucking sucked .



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Time to move on .



Joe the owner of the convenience mart up on the boulevard . Referred me to the owner of an Electric Company that he knew .



He immediately hired me . Gave me a company truck . And paid me the big bucks . $30.00/hr . Big enough for me .



That was 4 years ago August 1 2019 .



Things went GR8 for the first 2 years . Then Covid . Now my boss can't land a contract to save his life .



Dead standstill for me . For a year now .



Behind on everything and completely out of shape .



So last week . I agreed to do a side job . Starting on Saturday August 26 2023 .



Fairly big job . The convenience store owner bought himself 2 / 480 volt A/C's .



Slight problem . He has 120/240 volt service .



I told him to get a transformer .  He could only afford a 30KVA .



So Saturday I worked 11 hours . Installing and wiring ( reverse engineering to step it up to 277/480 volts . To run just 1 of his A/C's .


Then another 5 hours on Sunday to finish it up .



I went home after the 5 hours on Sunday . And proceeded to get Heat Exhaustion .



Every muscle on my body locked up . I was twisted in knots . Top to bottom .



I had tried to hydrate . I had been drinking gallons of water , electrolites , mango juice and more water .



But it wasn't enough . I was/am so out of shape . The severely unused muscles could not handle the heat .



I was just short of passing out , vomiting , losing my senses . I'll bet 10 more minutes I woulda had heat stroke . I barely stopped in time .



I couldn't move for 2 days . I worked Tuesday night ( last night ) . Moving a 400 lb. sign for the famous Lamar .


Fucking hurt my arm . 


Worked 4 hours this morning .



That heat is no joke . I'm hurtin for certain .



This Sunday was a close call .



People die in droves all over this state and this country everyday from the heat . People in better shape than I am .



I was/am very lucky it wasn't worse .



End of story .

End of story .