hot air balloon ride crash --> need advice on 1 handing a mbp 16

MareLuce said:

hot air balloon ride crash in holland
"full width rotator cuff tear"
surgery last friday back in us: rotator cuff repair, distal clavicle excision, subacromial decompression, biceps tenodesis

nerve block pain pump has 28ml left, 4 hrs maybe
in 4 hrs, lft arm pain begins
9/10 pain accrdng to YouTube
left arm/shoulder immobile 6 weeks. zero weight bearing and in this sling

mbp m1max 16" on end table to right of recliner

advice needed:
1- how to move mbp from end table to lap with least risk of dropping it? 1 handed + without help

2- how to best use dictation on new mbp keybd? normally i type 124 wpm. never use dictatn

3- any other advice from 1-armed people / someone who has BTDT with a mbp

Click to expand...

I am sorry you are going through this as I have had rotator cuff surgery and it was not fun (2 and a half tears is what the told me...had to reattach my bicep as well). I used dictation on my MB Pro 13 and it was a lifesaver. Go into settings/keyboard and select dictation. I used "press control key twice" as the shortcut and that worked pretty well so I didn't accidentally invoke it without meaning to.

As far as lifting one handed, since I had the Pro 13 it wasn't too much of a problem and I could use in my lap or on a table without any issues. I got fairly proficient typing with one hand as well. Mine was left shoulder and I am right handed so that helped. I just grabbed the laptop either in clamshell mode or in open mode in the center of the laptop and it worked fine. Granted that device is not as heavy as the 16.

Only other feedback I would give you is this:

1. If they tell you do not use the arm for 6 weeks, don't use it. That was my timeframe as well. I was very diligent to make sure I didn't use that arm. Dr. told me that the tendon is attached to the bone with very little blood flow and the biggest mistake people make is movement before the tendon heals.
2. Stay ahead of the pain. Don't over take the meds, but don't neglect to take them either. It is very painful and when the nerve block wore off, mine was extremely painful.
3. When you get the arm out of the sling, do the physical therapy. I could only move my arm up about 2 inches and I thought I would never be able to get my arm above my head again. But, with about 6 months of PT, I was able to regain full motion
4. You may experience some neck pain. This is due to the muscles in your neck compensating for the fact that you cannot move the shoulder. There is PT that can help this too.

Believe it or not, you will get used to using your MB one handed. I was able to go back to work and do pretty much what I needed, albeit slower than two handed. Hope you get well soon.