…and I said yes! yes! yes! (to MUSCULOSKELETAL REHAB!)

Actually, whenever I hear that song I will forever think of a trauma patient I once had who we bent over backwards to get into a rehab facility and then once we had achieved that stout, nigh impossible goal she vehemently refused to leave the hospital.  So as we would walk up the stairwell to her room everyday someone (ok, usually me) would burst into humming or singing this song.

As it turns out I am the polar opposite of that patient.  I am in rehab overdrive right now trying to get this little wing on the mend.  And it seems to be paying off as I am less swollen and more mobile by the day.

It’s interesting what being just a little older does to the injury experience.  I feel less frantic and less impatient than I have in the past.  Don’t get me wrong, it still sucks bigtime- no running, no climbing, no biking, no intubating, no fun!  And not being able to work is it’s own stressor.  But I have, dare I say, a little more perspective this time around.  I feel more comfortable with the idea that this will pass and that I’ll be able to heal well.  I feel gratitude that I still have my legs to take me up into the mountains, and for friends and family that have really, really gone out of their way to show me love:

Phil for dealing with my acute stress reaction (“We have to go. Call someone! I’m drunk on ketamine.”); Lizbet for doing the singular thing that I needed most– washed my hair; Dew for a long, long drive to check on me; Ayj for reading everything there is to know about elbow dislocations and then advocating for me in clinic; Tim for his hot hot Subie cruiser and Juice for brightening my day with the real juice; Mom and Sal who showed up and cooked me food and put up with my grumpy shit; Dad who provided spiritual support; my program for giving me the understanding and leeway to figure out the details of the injury and rehab.

This all may seem dramatic given that this injury is really not terrible in the scheme of things, but you don’t realize how important an arm is until it’s out of commission!  So overall I am feeling more blessed than cursed, and that counts for something in this chaotic world.  I return to work tonight and am pretty nervous about it, nonetheless.  Maybe I’ll dispo someone to rehab?