The Sling: Week Two

Yup, one week down and, as it turns out, another two to go. That kind of sucks, as I was really hoping it would be only one more.

I had a follow-up appoinment today and it was so quick it almost made my head spin. The doctor was very nice and, first thing, fixed The Sling that, apparently, I hadn't been wearing properly. No one told me there was a right way and a wrong way; they strapped the sucker on and sent me on my Vicodin-induced way. Kind of would have been nice to have been doing it correctly from the start, but that's water under the shoulder at this point, I suppose.

He gave me a few other tips, talked about pain meds and exercises to keep the arm from stiffening up, ordered a course of physical therapy for me, told me what to expect in terms of regaining my range of motion in that arm (it will never be 100% again), and said see you in two weeks when we'll take some more x-rays.

He never actually made me feel like he was rushing me, but I swear, it was over so fast that I can't say for certain that I could pick him out of a lineup mere hours later. I do remember he was good-looking, but that's about all. Welcome to healthcare in the 21st century, eh? I have no issues with my provider (I really like it overall), so it's not like I'm griping about it. I just wonder about the little things...like someone taking the time, oh, say, a week ago, to adjust the strap on this thing so that it was doing the most good...and where they've gone when it comes to our health. It's as though we've been trained over time to expect less and less.

But I digress. I did get a little momento from my oh-so-brief checkup today, and if it pans out I may be able to share it with you tomorrow. I'd hoped to do it tonight but that whole "work" thing kind of got in the way, and now hopefully we'll all just have something to look forward to.

Well, "look forward to" more than your next physical at least , I promise.