TheBanyanTree: The Shoulder

[Margaret R. Kramer]

We had our first frost advisory last night into this morning’s early hours.
All of our plants are still alive, so I’m going leave my houseplants outside
for another week since it’s going to warm up and be in the 70s and maybe an
80 or two next week.

The weather in Minnesota has been superb for early fall.  The temperatures
are warm, but not overly so.  The sun has been gracing us with its presence.
The trees are beginning to get that funny shade of green before giving in
and letting golds, yellows, reds, and browns take over.

Ray and I are taking advantage of that weather and are walking the dogs most
evenings before dinner.

Except for one evening . . . We were walking along, usually I’m in the lead,
because Shadow wants to move at the speed of light, while Axel, being the
nose dog and having much shorter legs, plods along behind.

Well, Shadow was ahead and I turned around to see where Ray and Axel were.
I saw Axel had stopped and was wagging his tail at one of our neighbors, and
I turned back around, and then I felt something pop in my shoulder.
Suddenly, I lost my balance and gently fell on the sidewalk.  I really did
fall gently.

I was on my back, clutching tight to Shadow’s leash, trying to figure why I
was on the ground.  Ray came up and tried to take Shadow’s leash from me,
Then a couple of my neighbors came over and asked if I was OK.

I must have looked pretty ridiculous on that sidewalk; a big, fat lady
trying to imitate a turtle on its back.  But what I was really doing lying
on the ground was trying to decide if I dislocated my shoulder.  I moved
around a bit and then sat up.  My shoulder was sore, but everything felt in
place.

I got up and Ray and I continued our walk home.  I felt really weird, almost
sick, the kind of sick you get when you fall or get hurt unexpectedly.  I
couldn’t move my right arm very much.  It didn’t hurt; I just had no range
of motion.

I took some ibuprofen when I got home.  I tried to decide whether to ice it
or heat it.  I can never remember which one to do.  Then Ray suggested going
to the doctor.  So he drove me to urgent care.

The doctor said I probably pulled or strained my rotator cuff.  She showed
me some exercises to do when the swelling went down and told me to keep my
shoulder active otherwise it could freeze up.  She prescribed a muscle
relaxant, told me to keep taking ibuprofen, and ice the injured muscle.

So that’s what I did.  My shoulder feels much better this morning, three
days after the accident.  I’m still sore, but my range of motion is coming
back and I’m using my right arm and shoulder for more things again.
Hopefully, I’ll be back to normal in a couple of weeks.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can
steal.
~Author Unknown