So this is the long-ago promised memento from my visit last week to the doctor. This is the initial x-ray from which they made my diagnosis. They process and evaulate all their x-rays on computer now, and he had a piece of ordinary paper with a copy of it for me. I had a hell of a time getting it into a format that I could use here, but The Best Brother in the Whole Wide World flexed some of his geek prowess and helped me figure it out.
The arrow I inserted points to that skiiiiiny little line running diagonally across top portion of the bone -- the greater tuberosity of the humerus, in case you were wondering -- which is where the actual break is. Such a little thing, so much trouble. From what I've read, it's a fairly common injury when people fall with an arm outstretched; but that's our instinct, to catch ourselves.
Today marks the start of week three in the sling, and I have to say I'm pretty tired of wearing it already. They can't really keep you in it for much longer than three weeks without risking a frozen shoulder, which can be even more of a pain in the ass, I understand. So next week it's back to the doctor for more x-rays and the start of physical therapy. I'm wondering whether they'll want to see all the little tricks I've learned in manipulating my arm without causing pain, but allowing me to do the things a girl needs to do on a daily basis. Ponytails don't just make themselves, you know, and I've found that it's very difficult for someone else to learn how to do it for you if they've never had to do it before. No, you're right, they probably won't want to hear about that.
So, I've more or less mastered driving one-armed (including parallel parking!), one-armed dressing and grooming, one-armed eating, and getting through the workday one-armed. I'm still struggling with one-handed typing, though, and at this point I'm pretty regularly cheating because I just can't stand it. (Like now.) It's like being forced to crawl after you've become a master runner.
Anyway, the best parts of my day are when I get to take the sling off and do some little exercises, and just give it a little break (no pun intended) from being strung up like that for the rest of the day. If you think kicking off your shoes at the end of a long day feels good, follow that with shrugging out of piece of cotton that can feel like it's strangling you, and you will know joy.
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