While my boyfriend and I were waiting for authorization from his insurance company, he and to a lesser extent, I were continuing to treat his wounds with the Iodosorb and a foam dressing. Although, I want to be more involved than I have been, his schedule has required him to take more of the responsibility for his usual dressing changes. At his recent wound care appointment, his doctor explained that she felt the wound on the lateral (outside) part of his foot was doing so well and had become so superficial that she felt she would be able to glue it closed and then apply steri-strips to secure the edges of it. My boyfriend and I were pleased that at least one of his wounds was beginning to come along so the doctor applied medical grade superglue. His medial (inside) wound was also looking very good and the doctor told us to continue using the Iodosorb and the foam dressing. She then asked how the progress was with his new braces, which he then explained that he had received authorization and was just waiting to make the appointment. Although, I did not say anything at that point, I did feel somewhat blindsided by the information because I had repeatedly asked him if he had heard anything and was consistently told, “no”. To say that I was peeved, is an understatement, but I tried to take a step back and understand that all of this really was his responsibility and I should perhaps try to take more of a hands-off approach, especially because I had a lot of my own stuff to deal with as far as my shoulder was concerned.
By this point, I have seen three; orthopedists for my shoulder injury. The first orthopedist disagreed with the MRI report, based on her viewing the images personally, and also on the physical exam she performed on my arm. She said that in her opinion, I had not torn anything and what I had was a case of bursitis, and some early arthritis in the top of my shoulder but that ultimately, one of my muscles was just not as built up as she would have liked. She then recommended a cortisone shot to try to help my pain. I had had one previously, in my hip and I knew that cortisone shots were painful but that it had helped my hip so I agreed. I also agreed, because I had done some prior research and knew that getting one shot in my shoulder would be okay but that getting too many, could lead to any surgical repair being more difficult. I had originally, gone into the appointment, thinking that I would just hear her out and wouldn’t make any actual decisions but all of that seemed to go out the window. I think what happened was, I was thrown for a loop when she said that I did not have tendon damage and so I may have somewhat let my guard down. My initial thought was that I of course would not have gone ahead and scheduled any type of repair of the shoulder until I had at least gotten a second orthopedic opinion but maybe I felt that, that wouldn’t be needed so I went ahead with the shot. After I got the shot I went home and applied ice to my shoulder to try to minimize the pain and swelling and took it easy for the rest of the day.
I decided to get a second orthopedic opinion on my shoulder situation prior to beginning any physical therapy as a “tie-breaker” of sorts because the MRI report had said one thing and the orthopedist’s opinion was different. I went to the second orthopedist with copies of all the imaging that I had done of my shoulder and also the patient portal app that I had on my phone that documented everything from my initial orthopedist appointment. That orthopedist viewed the images and also agreed that it didn’t look like I had torn anything. He then did an exam of my shoulder, during which he asked me to move in all sorts of painful positions. At the end of all of this he explained the diagnoses he had come up with. According to him, I had Bursitis, a contusion of the shoulder, impingement syndrome and a neck strain. After hearing all of this I asked what my options are and was told that he could give me another cortisone shot but that at this time all he would recommend would be physical therapy. I accepted the cortisone shot because by that point I was more confident that I would not need surgery. I received the shot and left with the instruction to start physical therapy in about a week.
Of course while I was trying to handle all of the pain and inconvenience of having a shoulder injury, I was also continuing to assist my boyfriend with his wound care. His wounds in my opinion were beginning to stall in the healing process which somewhat bothered me but they weren’t really looking worse at that point so we continued to treat his wounds as directed, until I noticed something different. All of a sudden, when I was changing the dressings on his wounds, I noticed that some undermining was developing on one of them. I looked into the small opening as closely as I could, with the flashlight of my cell-phone and I realized that the undermining area looked to be very dry. Of course, I had learned all about moist wound healing so my first instinct was that something should be done so that the area could gain a bit more moisture. I explained to my boyfriend what I saw and what my thought process was and asked him if it would be okay if I called the wound care center and got some input on the situation.
When I called I spoke with the nurse that I communicate with very well and explained to her what I felt was going on. She then asked me what I wanted to do based on the supplies I had available. I told her that I would like to use Hydrogel in the new area and she said that if I felt it was too dry to go ahead and stop using the Iodosorb and to apply the Hydrogel. When I hung-up with the nurse I explained to my boyfriend what she had said and he said to go ahead with the new plan. I then had to figure out a way to apply the Hydrogel, which comes in a tube similar to a toothpaste tube, into a very small opening. After thinking it over for a minute, I decided that I could probably put some of the gel into a syringe and push it in that way. I was unsure if it would work completely as the diameter of the syringe was slightly larger than the opening I needed to squirt the gel into. I gave it a try and although I wasn’t sure if the gel went down as far as was necessary I knew that what I was able to get into it, would most likely help. Afterward, my boyfriend went home and I wasn’t going to see him or his wounds for a few more days. It ended up that I didn’t even get to see his wounds until the following wound care appointment. When we got there I was happy that we got the nurse that I had spoken to on the phone so I wouldn’t have to explain to a different nurse why we weren’t following the written orders. The doctor came in and told me that she had heard all about what was going on and what I had done. When she examined him she saw the part I was talking about and because the Hydrogel that I applied had done it’s job she told us to discontinue that and to go back to the Iodosorb, she also took a culture of his wounds because it had been awhile since one had been taken and she wanted to make sure that the new undermining area wasn’t caused by an infection.
The doctor called me a couple of days later and told me that some infection had shown up in the culture and she was considering putting my boyfriend on a topical antibiotic ointment. I said that it was probably a good idea based on what I had been seeing and gave the information for the pharmacy my boyfriend uses. I then called my boyfriend and explained to him what the doctor and I had discussed. He then told me that if we needed to do daily dressing changes while using the antibiotic, new supplies would need to be ordered because as it was he barely had enough to get him through until his scheduled visit to the wound care center. I was slightly peeved that he had forgotten to mention it at the appointment and though I voiced this annoyance to him, I also called the wound care center and asked that new supplies be ordered. It took several days for the pharmacy to get his antibiotic in stock so while we waited we stuck to the dressings schedule that we had been using.
By this point I had been going to physical therapy to try to decrease my neck and shoulder pain and to increase my range of motion. After a few sessions that consisted mostly of stretching, my physical therapist determined that in her opinion my first rib was slightly out of whack and she wanted to adjust it. Without entirely thinking it through, I allowed her to manipulate me so that my rib would go back into place. I went home afterward and actually felt somewhat better, almost like she had loosened something and although moving was still painful, I felt like I was able to move slightly farther. All of this continued for several weeks when I noticed that I wasn’t really getting any more improvement or pain relief. I had a follow-up appointment with the orthopedist after seeing my therapist for approximately seven weeks. During the appointment, we discussed that my shoulder pain was improved slightly but that my neck was still really bothering me, I also asked him if he thought my rib had been out of place and explained that my physical therapist had been doing some adjustments to it. He said that he didn’t feel that my rib was out of place at all but he recommended that we take a neck x-ray to determine a cause of my neck pain. When my orthopedist pulled-up the x-ray images on the computer, I myself was able to see that something didn’t look quite right. The orthopedist explained that I had a slipped disc in my neck. I was somewhat relieved that I had a real reason for being in so much pain and yet I was concerned because a slipped disc didn’t sound like a minor diagnosis. When I asked what should be done about it, I was told to continue therapy and that he would see me again if I felt I was still not improving after awhile. I continued physical therapy for about another week when I decided perhaps it was time for yet a third opinion. I called the orthopedist that my wound care surgeon had recommended and was able to get an appointment relatively quickly.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Sunday, February 22, 2015
I am Sick of Being Confused and Frustrated
It was approximately, two weeks later when finally the day of my shoulder MRI arrived. I went to the MRI a whole lot calmer than I usually am, due to a mild sedative that I had asked my primary doctor to prescribe. Ordinarily, I do not take any medication prior to an MRI but this time I decided that it was a good idea because I had been told that I had moved during the one I had on my wrist and I did not want any potential movement to distort the images. After the test I tried to relax for a few days and focus on celebrating the holidays with my friends and family. When my primary doctor’s office got in touch with me to discuss the findings of my MRI, I was told by my doctor’s Physicians Assistant (PA) that one of the tendons in my shoulder was partially torn and another was completely torn and that a third may have been involved. As such it was my doctor’s recommendation that I be evaluated by an orthopedist. My initial reaction to hearing that I had torn tendons was unfit for print but let’s just say it was rather loud and colorful.
It was a couple of days after speaking with my doctor’s office, when I was finally able to think clearly enough to process what the PA had told me, when suddenly, what she had said didn’t seem to make sense. I contacted my doctor’s office via the patient portal and asked that my physician call me so that I could speak to her directly for clarification. When she called me back, my primary question, was how the method of injury corresponded with my diagnoses; because to me it didn’t seem like banging the back of my shoulder would have actually torn a tendon, let alone two and potentially three. My doctor, told me that I was asking a very good question and the only thing she could come up with was that I had slightly and only momentarily dislocated my shoulder, which had damaged the tendons, but that I should ask the orthopedist that question. I made an appointment with the orthopedist that my doctor recommended for the following week. While I was waiting for the day of my appointment to arrive, it occurred to me that if I had actually torn tendons that the usual treatment is surgery. I have finally learned though that second opinions are useful and so I reached out to my former wound care surgeon to see if he would be willing to recommend an orthopedist. It may seem strange that I contacted my wound care surgeon for an issue with my shoulder and maybe it is, it’s just that I have such a level of trust with him and obviously, he knows surgeons that have other specialties, my theory, was really, what did I have to loose?
During this time, boyfriend and I have continued to use the Iodosorb to treat his wounds and although they are not healed yet, his cultures haven’t shown any infection that needs to be treated. While this is clearly, good news, the doctor has suggested that he get evaluated for new braces because perhaps the fit is contributing to his wounds. While my boyfriend agreed that the evaluation seemed like a good idea, he kept putting off being evaluated. By then of course I was frustrated that my boyfriend’s wounds were not closed but I was more frustrated by his failure to be evaluated for new braces. My thought process was, if there is something that could potentially help his wounds heal and also prevent more from forming in the future, why the heck isn’t he getting it done? During his wound care appointment a few weeks ago, my boyfriend’s doctor, asked him both what was stopping him from having his braces evaluated and what they could do in order to help facilitate it. My boyfriend said that making an appointment that corresponded with his work schedule was a challenge but that he didn’t really need anyone at the wound care center to do anything to make getting the evaluation any easier. The doctor, told us to continue treating the wounds as we had been but that she really wanted his braces evaluated. She also turned to me and I think half-jokingly told me to make it happen. While she may or may not have been half joking, I took her seriously, because I understood where she was coming from in explaining that nothing she could do would help him if he didn’t take care of the root cause of the problem.
I let all of this go for a couple of days, hoping that my boyfriend would step up and do what everyone felt needed to be done. While I was waiting, I was also stewing to myself and talking to the therapist that I have been seeing for approximately a year and a half. After hearing her out and really considering all that she had said about my boyfriend and I each having different “roles” in our relationship that we tend to excel at, I decided on a plan. I determined that pleading with him to make his own appointment hadn’t been successful, which in my view left me with two options. I could both sit and do nothing about it and potentially, “let him fall on his ass” metaphorically speaking, Or I could offer help. I chose the latter, which I am pleased to report that he took me up on. Knowing, his schedule and all of our commitments for the near future, I was able to call and make him an appointment so that his braces could be evaluated. My boyfriend also allowed me to speak with his wound care doctor to request that she call the place where he gets his braces adjusted so she could give her medical opinion on his wounds and what adjustments may potentially help.
My boyfriend and I went to his braces evaluation together approximately one and a half weeks ago during which he and I did our typical “dance” of him explaining what is happening and me sitting silently and just observing. I think this tends to be my modus operandi because I have very strong boundaries when it comes to people speaking up for me and therefore am hesitant to do it for others, yet in this instance I do not think it was a wise decision. What ended up happening was little more than a colossal waste of time. Two things were done during this appointment, one of which was for a portion of his brace to be smoothed out so that it didn’t cut into his skin anymore. Of course that was a wise decision because his skin under that area of the brace is starting to wear down but it is not on his feet where his actual wounds are, although I do realize that smoothing that portion may help prevent his skin from breaking down further. The only other thing that happened was that my boyfriend was told that the company needed to contact his insurance company so that they could obtain authorization for new braces. It is my belief that this could have been done prior to his appointment because now he will have to go back at some point after insurance approves new braces so that he can be measured and casted for them. We are now waiting to hear back from either the braces company or his insurance company with either an approval or a denial of his new braces. Personally, I am not worried about his insurance company denying his request because he hasn’t gotten a new brace in several years and this one is clearly not fitting properly, I am just frustrated by yet another delay.
It was a couple of days after speaking with my doctor’s office, when I was finally able to think clearly enough to process what the PA had told me, when suddenly, what she had said didn’t seem to make sense. I contacted my doctor’s office via the patient portal and asked that my physician call me so that I could speak to her directly for clarification. When she called me back, my primary question, was how the method of injury corresponded with my diagnoses; because to me it didn’t seem like banging the back of my shoulder would have actually torn a tendon, let alone two and potentially three. My doctor, told me that I was asking a very good question and the only thing she could come up with was that I had slightly and only momentarily dislocated my shoulder, which had damaged the tendons, but that I should ask the orthopedist that question. I made an appointment with the orthopedist that my doctor recommended for the following week. While I was waiting for the day of my appointment to arrive, it occurred to me that if I had actually torn tendons that the usual treatment is surgery. I have finally learned though that second opinions are useful and so I reached out to my former wound care surgeon to see if he would be willing to recommend an orthopedist. It may seem strange that I contacted my wound care surgeon for an issue with my shoulder and maybe it is, it’s just that I have such a level of trust with him and obviously, he knows surgeons that have other specialties, my theory, was really, what did I have to loose?
During this time, boyfriend and I have continued to use the Iodosorb to treat his wounds and although they are not healed yet, his cultures haven’t shown any infection that needs to be treated. While this is clearly, good news, the doctor has suggested that he get evaluated for new braces because perhaps the fit is contributing to his wounds. While my boyfriend agreed that the evaluation seemed like a good idea, he kept putting off being evaluated. By then of course I was frustrated that my boyfriend’s wounds were not closed but I was more frustrated by his failure to be evaluated for new braces. My thought process was, if there is something that could potentially help his wounds heal and also prevent more from forming in the future, why the heck isn’t he getting it done? During his wound care appointment a few weeks ago, my boyfriend’s doctor, asked him both what was stopping him from having his braces evaluated and what they could do in order to help facilitate it. My boyfriend said that making an appointment that corresponded with his work schedule was a challenge but that he didn’t really need anyone at the wound care center to do anything to make getting the evaluation any easier. The doctor, told us to continue treating the wounds as we had been but that she really wanted his braces evaluated. She also turned to me and I think half-jokingly told me to make it happen. While she may or may not have been half joking, I took her seriously, because I understood where she was coming from in explaining that nothing she could do would help him if he didn’t take care of the root cause of the problem.
I let all of this go for a couple of days, hoping that my boyfriend would step up and do what everyone felt needed to be done. While I was waiting, I was also stewing to myself and talking to the therapist that I have been seeing for approximately a year and a half. After hearing her out and really considering all that she had said about my boyfriend and I each having different “roles” in our relationship that we tend to excel at, I decided on a plan. I determined that pleading with him to make his own appointment hadn’t been successful, which in my view left me with two options. I could both sit and do nothing about it and potentially, “let him fall on his ass” metaphorically speaking, Or I could offer help. I chose the latter, which I am pleased to report that he took me up on. Knowing, his schedule and all of our commitments for the near future, I was able to call and make him an appointment so that his braces could be evaluated. My boyfriend also allowed me to speak with his wound care doctor to request that she call the place where he gets his braces adjusted so she could give her medical opinion on his wounds and what adjustments may potentially help.
My boyfriend and I went to his braces evaluation together approximately one and a half weeks ago during which he and I did our typical “dance” of him explaining what is happening and me sitting silently and just observing. I think this tends to be my modus operandi because I have very strong boundaries when it comes to people speaking up for me and therefore am hesitant to do it for others, yet in this instance I do not think it was a wise decision. What ended up happening was little more than a colossal waste of time. Two things were done during this appointment, one of which was for a portion of his brace to be smoothed out so that it didn’t cut into his skin anymore. Of course that was a wise decision because his skin under that area of the brace is starting to wear down but it is not on his feet where his actual wounds are, although I do realize that smoothing that portion may help prevent his skin from breaking down further. The only other thing that happened was that my boyfriend was told that the company needed to contact his insurance company so that they could obtain authorization for new braces. It is my belief that this could have been done prior to his appointment because now he will have to go back at some point after insurance approves new braces so that he can be measured and casted for them. We are now waiting to hear back from either the braces company or his insurance company with either an approval or a denial of his new braces. Personally, I am not worried about his insurance company denying his request because he hasn’t gotten a new brace in several years and this one is clearly not fitting properly, I am just frustrated by yet another delay.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Can Things Get Anymore Absurd?
I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have updated, things got kind of hectic for a while and I temporarily needed to focus my mind on more pressing things than on updating you all. That said; buckle your seatbelts because I am about to unload just some of the absurdities of my situation to you all.
Approximately a week later I got the chance to look at my boyfriend’s wounds again and discovered that it had changed how it was responding to the treatments we were using. When I attempted to remove the Calcium Alginate from inside the wound I realized that it was sticking, as opposed to easily disengaging. To me that was a sign that the wound was no longer moist enough to warrant using Calcium Alginate and something else needed to be used to care for the wound. I then told my boyfriend what I felt like was happening and that it was my opinion that we should again put the Iodosorb in so that some of drainage would be absorbed but that a portion of it would react with the iodine and form a gel so that the wound wouldn’t become too dry. My boyfriend at that point said it was okay with him if I again changed what we were doing because his wound care appointment was a couple of a days later and we would be able to get professional advice then.
When my boyfriend and I were on the way to his appointment I asked him if he wanted me to explain to the doctor why we were no longer following her directions to care for his wounds. My boyfriend said that he absolutely wanted me to explain our thought process to the doctor so I went into the appointment with him ready to explain and yet also somewhat nervous that the doctor would be upset that we weren’t listening to her. When we got to the appointment my boyfriend and I explained what had changed and what we were doing to the nurse so that she could document all we had done as well as photograph the wound for my boyfriend’s records. When the doctor came in she told us that she had seen a picture and that we were right it did look different. I then told her what it had looked like the previous week and hesitantly, the steps we had taken to take care of it. The doctor told me that she liked the change I had made and that it was okay that I decided that because I, “know wound care”. I was relieved that she didn’t feel like I was overstepping and also that she agreed that what we had decided to do was the right decision. She then told us that she was somewhat concerned that its wet and somewhat macerated appearance was due to an infection although we all felt that was unlikely because my boyfriend had no other signs of infection. A wound culture was taken and we were told to continue treating the wounds as we had been and that she would call if the cultures showed anything that “impressed her”. We made a follow-up appointment for two weeks later and left hoping that we would not receive a phone call saying that he needed to start antibiotics.
It was around this time that I experienced a freak accident. I was getting into the passenger side of my boyfriends car as I always do when somehow I managed to bang the back of my shoulder incredibly hard on the doorframe. My boyfriend who was outside of the car at the time actually heard the impact and was at my side seconds later asking what had happened. After a minute, when I was able to get words out, I told him what had happened and that I was in a considerable amount of pain. My boyfriend then quickly put my wheelchair in the trunk and got in his car so that we could decide what needed to be done about my shoulder. I explained to him that the point of impact was on the back of my shoulder in the area where the arm meets the shoulder but that I also had pain radiating up my neck and down my arm, about half way to my elbow. My boyfriend then looked at my shoulder to see if it looked swollen or was beginning to bruise. He told me that it looked fine but that it was up to me what I wanted to do as far as treatment. I decided that we would just go back to my house where I would apply ice and take some ibuprofen. I did that, knowing that it was important to try to prevent or at least decrease swelling. A few hours later, before my boyfriend left, he asked me what I was planning to do as far as my shoulder because the Ibuprofen and ice hadn’t really helped my pain. I told him that I was just going to go to bed and would reevaluate it in the morning. I went to bed anticipating feeling muscle soreness the next day but not really anything more than that. Unfortunately, after five days of regularly icing my shoulder and taking ibuprofen on a schedule, my pain had not gotten any better. I knew it was time to make an appointment with my primary physician.
I was able to get an appointment with my doctor for the next morning, which my boyfriend brought me to. When I saw her I explained to her what I had done and also handed her a rough drawing of my injury. She found my drawing helpful and after examining me she told me that she could feel a very severe muscle spasm and said that she was going to give me a prescription for something stronger than regular ibuprofen. My doctor also told me that she wanted an x-ray of my shoulder, although she felt it was highly unlikely that I had broken anything. As it was much more likely that I had done some damage to the tendons or ligaments, she explained that she was going to have her office staff contact my insurance company, regarding authorization for an MRI.
After I left her office my boyfriend and I dropped my prescription off at the pharmacy and proceeded to get an x-ray. When I went to get my x-ray, the technician asked me how I felt like it was going to be easiest to get the views they needed, while also trying to prevent my pain from getting worse. I explained that while I understood it was unlikely to work, that I would prefer to stay in my wheelchair. The radiology technician was unsure if that would work so she asked one of her coworkers into the room so that we could brainstorm. Ultimately, we decided to try it with me in my wheelchair and see if the images were clear, I was happy to hear that they could view what needed to be seen and that I was not going to have to transfer out of my wheelchair. I waited a couple of days for the results of the x-rays before I heard back from my doctor. I was told that the x-rays had come back negative for fractures and also for signs of a separation. At that point, I wasn’t being told anything other than what I already assumed. Then it was just a waiting game, while I waited for authorization for the MRI. For a few days during this time, my mind did start to wander into the “land of pity party” while I do not like it when other people pity me, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat sorry for myself. Here I was, still in a splint months after injuring my wrist so my mobility had already suffered when I suddenly injured my shoulder causing me to be nearly completely immobile. Luckily enough, I do have a support system in place so I was able to rest and let other people take care of me to a certain extent, all the while, helping to monitor my boyfriend’s wounds.
Approximately a week later I got the chance to look at my boyfriend’s wounds again and discovered that it had changed how it was responding to the treatments we were using. When I attempted to remove the Calcium Alginate from inside the wound I realized that it was sticking, as opposed to easily disengaging. To me that was a sign that the wound was no longer moist enough to warrant using Calcium Alginate and something else needed to be used to care for the wound. I then told my boyfriend what I felt like was happening and that it was my opinion that we should again put the Iodosorb in so that some of drainage would be absorbed but that a portion of it would react with the iodine and form a gel so that the wound wouldn’t become too dry. My boyfriend at that point said it was okay with him if I again changed what we were doing because his wound care appointment was a couple of a days later and we would be able to get professional advice then.
When my boyfriend and I were on the way to his appointment I asked him if he wanted me to explain to the doctor why we were no longer following her directions to care for his wounds. My boyfriend said that he absolutely wanted me to explain our thought process to the doctor so I went into the appointment with him ready to explain and yet also somewhat nervous that the doctor would be upset that we weren’t listening to her. When we got to the appointment my boyfriend and I explained what had changed and what we were doing to the nurse so that she could document all we had done as well as photograph the wound for my boyfriend’s records. When the doctor came in she told us that she had seen a picture and that we were right it did look different. I then told her what it had looked like the previous week and hesitantly, the steps we had taken to take care of it. The doctor told me that she liked the change I had made and that it was okay that I decided that because I, “know wound care”. I was relieved that she didn’t feel like I was overstepping and also that she agreed that what we had decided to do was the right decision. She then told us that she was somewhat concerned that its wet and somewhat macerated appearance was due to an infection although we all felt that was unlikely because my boyfriend had no other signs of infection. A wound culture was taken and we were told to continue treating the wounds as we had been and that she would call if the cultures showed anything that “impressed her”. We made a follow-up appointment for two weeks later and left hoping that we would not receive a phone call saying that he needed to start antibiotics.
It was around this time that I experienced a freak accident. I was getting into the passenger side of my boyfriends car as I always do when somehow I managed to bang the back of my shoulder incredibly hard on the doorframe. My boyfriend who was outside of the car at the time actually heard the impact and was at my side seconds later asking what had happened. After a minute, when I was able to get words out, I told him what had happened and that I was in a considerable amount of pain. My boyfriend then quickly put my wheelchair in the trunk and got in his car so that we could decide what needed to be done about my shoulder. I explained to him that the point of impact was on the back of my shoulder in the area where the arm meets the shoulder but that I also had pain radiating up my neck and down my arm, about half way to my elbow. My boyfriend then looked at my shoulder to see if it looked swollen or was beginning to bruise. He told me that it looked fine but that it was up to me what I wanted to do as far as treatment. I decided that we would just go back to my house where I would apply ice and take some ibuprofen. I did that, knowing that it was important to try to prevent or at least decrease swelling. A few hours later, before my boyfriend left, he asked me what I was planning to do as far as my shoulder because the Ibuprofen and ice hadn’t really helped my pain. I told him that I was just going to go to bed and would reevaluate it in the morning. I went to bed anticipating feeling muscle soreness the next day but not really anything more than that. Unfortunately, after five days of regularly icing my shoulder and taking ibuprofen on a schedule, my pain had not gotten any better. I knew it was time to make an appointment with my primary physician.
I was able to get an appointment with my doctor for the next morning, which my boyfriend brought me to. When I saw her I explained to her what I had done and also handed her a rough drawing of my injury. She found my drawing helpful and after examining me she told me that she could feel a very severe muscle spasm and said that she was going to give me a prescription for something stronger than regular ibuprofen. My doctor also told me that she wanted an x-ray of my shoulder, although she felt it was highly unlikely that I had broken anything. As it was much more likely that I had done some damage to the tendons or ligaments, she explained that she was going to have her office staff contact my insurance company, regarding authorization for an MRI.
After I left her office my boyfriend and I dropped my prescription off at the pharmacy and proceeded to get an x-ray. When I went to get my x-ray, the technician asked me how I felt like it was going to be easiest to get the views they needed, while also trying to prevent my pain from getting worse. I explained that while I understood it was unlikely to work, that I would prefer to stay in my wheelchair. The radiology technician was unsure if that would work so she asked one of her coworkers into the room so that we could brainstorm. Ultimately, we decided to try it with me in my wheelchair and see if the images were clear, I was happy to hear that they could view what needed to be seen and that I was not going to have to transfer out of my wheelchair. I waited a couple of days for the results of the x-rays before I heard back from my doctor. I was told that the x-rays had come back negative for fractures and also for signs of a separation. At that point, I wasn’t being told anything other than what I already assumed. Then it was just a waiting game, while I waited for authorization for the MRI. For a few days during this time, my mind did start to wander into the “land of pity party” while I do not like it when other people pity me, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat sorry for myself. Here I was, still in a splint months after injuring my wrist so my mobility had already suffered when I suddenly injured my shoulder causing me to be nearly completely immobile. Luckily enough, I do have a support system in place so I was able to rest and let other people take care of me to a certain extent, all the while, helping to monitor my boyfriend’s wounds.
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