@gail922 I had a marvelous surgeon at Mayo who did total replacements on both of my shoulders. The left side was done when I was 74, and as it was my non-dominant hand, recovery was easy. A friend set up a rota and friends stopped by to do do things I couldn't manage with one hand, like making my bed and doing some of the exercises. My dominant side was done when I was 78, and that was a whole different story. I'd moved to another state, so I didn't have that group of friends, and flew to Arkansas to stay with my daughter. She has a very demanding job, so I was pretty much on my own. I was really clumsy, but I made it work. I do tend to heal well and quickly, and I have full use of both shoulders with no pain. My wonderful surgeon kids me, saying that I have better range of motion than he has. He's taken photos of videos of me demonstrating my range of motion. Keep a positive attitude, and keep exercising your shoulder right up until the day of surgery, which will help greatly with your recovery. So, prepare gail922. Would it be your dominant or non-dominant shoulder? Do you have friends or neighbors who could help you? Or a visiting health care service? Wishing you the best!

I encourage you to put time and effort in planning for your recovery time. I am fiercely independent but not for recovery. There are a ton of valuable resources for planning and being realistic. Recovery is long but healing begins immediately so each week of recovery brings new freedoms and relief. Don’t try to do this alone, friend.