Today marks the first day in six weeks that I’ve felt a glimmer of hope that my shoulder is actually starting to heal. Nothing is radically different from yesterday other than the slightest of perceptions that something has changed. My shoulder still aches; I’m unable to lift anything heavier than a spoon; and even with assistance I can’t raise my arm much above the horizontal. But in spite of all that, and for the first time since surgery, I now have some degree of confidence my shoulder is healing. That is a blessing I am deeply thankful for.