Shouldering on JEANETTE'S PRIVATE PAIN

THE RADIO STAR’S NEVER BEEN IN SUCH AGONY

- Leena Tailor

Bidding farewell as her eldest child, 18-year-old Charlie, jetted to remote Kure Atoll to do conservation work in March, Jeanette Thomas knew it was going to be an “odd year”, adjusting to her firstborn flying the nest.

However, the 48-year-old radio host was oblivious to just how different 2020 would be, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic rocking the world, followed by a debilitating health curveball which left her mentally drained, unable to sleep and in excruciating pain.

“It was horrendous. I would give birth six times in a row with no pain relief over that pain,” says Jeanette, who was eventually diagnosed with a frozen shoulder. “I’ve never known pain like that.”

Having always been in good health, Jeanette, who co-hosts The Breeze’s breakfast show with Robert Rakete, wasn’t concerned when she felt a “niggle” in her right shoulder in March.

Wondering if she’d pulled a muscle, the discomfort worsened over following weeks, but she was reluctant to visit a doctor’s office amid COVID-19.

However, the condition began impacting all aspects of her life. At work, right-handed Jeanette typed with one hand, while at home, she soldiered on.

“Like most women, you find other ways to do things – like vacuuming with my left hand!”

Getting dressed became “near-impossible”. She recalls, “I had to put my bra on around my waist, do it up, then swivel it around.”