Recovery from rotator cuff tear surgery

Hello, I have not been able to swim without a lot of pain since April. A few weeks ago, based on an MRI and needle fluoroscopy, I was diagnosed with a 50% tear of my right rotator cuff. The orthopedist that diagnosed me is having me do 6 weeks of PT before we follow up. So far the PT seems to have increased the pain, even though I am doing the very very basic. I have looked at the archives here, and some of the shoulder surgery threads are older and a lot of them have responses from people who had issues with their labrum and SLAP tears mixed in with those who had rotator cuff tears. I am hoping that I might be able to get some feedback from people who have had surgery to repair their rotator cuffs recently....things I can do before surgery to improve outcome, afterwards, etc. I should have reached out earlier. When people ask me if it is very painful, I tell them, "Only when I sleep and swim," and they don't "get" it. While breastroke is not painful, I am shealing up a tear in my MCL, so I have to be careful with my knee and breastroke kick. Signed, Sleepless (and Swimless) in Seattle