humility & respect....

a broken man made whole again.... ok. so maybe patched, and partially mended.

i'm learning both (humilty and respect). it's amazing how much you do everyday that requires both hands. and there's an equally large number of things made easier by two hands. having only one usable arm is a bit of a challenge - even with the other strapped firmly into place, the hand can be used to occasionally cheat (holding, grasping, typing). but even that minimal use causes the injury to flare - so you learn to avoid it.

i'm glad i taught myself to mouse left handed years ago. but i'm quite out of practice with my 'hunt & peck' typing. i started to keep a list of things that were difficult, but the list was one of them. take it for granted if it involves the bathroom. from top to bottom. hair. teeth. you can guess the rest.

there's also those things that are impossible. like washing the back of your hand using only that hand. and sleeping well. actually, as you toss and turn because it's impossible to get comfortable, and any move makes your shoulder and then entire arm scream in pain - make that sleeping. period. things got better once my doctor gave me a prescription. to be honest, he didn't seem impressed with the treating doctor telling me to take a couple advil either.

things that were heard too often:

• what is the sound of one hand clapping?
• are you going to sue?
• what did you do? (ya, like it was intentional.... try 'what happened?' instead)

this became a sort of retrospect post - as i couldn't bring myself to type any more than i had to. on late tuesday afternoon, i had a follow up doctor's appointment - where a medical professional assured me my arm was still attached.

"will i be able to play the banjo?" i asked. "well, yes... of course" was the doctor's reply. "great! i've never been able to play before!" says i.

you get the picture. no additional damage past the normal soft tissue damage (muscle, tendon, ligament, nerve). No fractures, breaks, or other really bad things to worry about.

so the sling is off. no cast. some physiotherapy prescribed. the range of motion continues to improve, and the pain gets a little better each day. once physiotherapy starts, that should improve vastly.

and life begins to get back to normal.

sort of.