Hi friends,
So, if you read the comments from my post a week ago, you know I fell and injured myself. I hurt my neck, upper back, shoulder, lower arm, and my ankle. I still have pain. I've been wearing a sling for my shoulder a few hours every day. I have to be careful not to stress my left arm and shoulder. This may sound weird, but typing was stressful for my shoulder all week. It's doing better, but still gives me pain. I'm mostly better, except my neck and shoulder.
I chose not to see a doctor. I'm pretty sure I didn't outright fracture anything or tear anything badly. We're nowhere near our medical deductible for the year. So this would cost a couple hundred, minimum. The past year and a half has been extremely costly for my household. We are struggling financially more than any other year and have even dipped into our funds set aside for retirement to pay bills. A year ago we paid a family member's medical bills, we've had expensive car repairs, we needed a new roof, we still need a new furnace and dishwasher, and a week ago one of our daughters crashed our car (she's okay, thankfully). So, I don't want to hear any criticism for my decision to forgo medical attention for injuries that may just heal on their own. Nor do I want to hear how we should have set aside more for emergencies. We have and then some.
I feel very defeated right now. To help cheer myself, I went outside to see what easy work I could do to beautify my surroundings. A couple of weeks ago I potted 2 large pots with my homegrown marigolds. Today, I managed to pot the rest of the marigolds, using the seedlings I started from seeds, soil from my yard, and pots I already owned. At least I don't need to spend money to add cheer to our home.
I guess I'm just rambling. I hope you all have had a good week and weekend.
I'm so sorry you are in pain. What a difficult situation. I would feel defeated too. Good for you for potting the rest of the marigolds to bring color and cheer to your home. You are great at coming up with free and low cost ideas to improve small and big things in your life.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who is an acupuncturist and she recommends a hot/cold treatment for pain that is free and easy to do. Her husband uses it frequently for shoulder pain. Basically, involves 3 minutes of heat and then 30 seconds of cold, repeated several times. You could do it under the shower or with a heat pad and ice (the shower will probably work better though). I did this for a sprained ankle using buckets of very hot and ice cold water. It really helped.
I send you hugs and support, as much as a person can through a comment section. :)
Take care, dear Lili, your readers care about you.
Pain certainly makes everything more difficult. It's hard to find positive things when you are in pain, so I commend you for making the effort to pot the marigolds. They do look cheerful. I'm not a doctor, but several years ago when I fell and went to the doctor after a few days, they stressed that I should be taking ibuprofen on a schedule for 2-3 weeks, even if I started to feel better. You are probably already doing that. Good luck with it all. I'll be saying a prayer for you tonight.
ReplyDeleteLingering pain in the neck and shoulder can last awhile. Many years ago, a 2x4 lumber fell on my head and I didn't immediately see a doctor. But when the pain in my neck didn't go away I eventually did. An xray showed no broken bones just some arthritis (?), not sure the exact explanation but I remember the doctor saying to avoid looking up for long periods but looking down is ok. Thank goodness because I love to craft and most of my day is spent looking down. In fact so much, that recently it exasperated shoulder impingement issues that I'm finally having physical therapy treatment for (after a year where raising my arm became painful. ) The neck pain where I couldn't turn my head to look back lasted over a year before it went away completely on its own. I hope your pain doesn't last as long as mine did, but sometimes it may take awhile. I too did not seek medical help right away.
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of procrastinating especially when it comes to spending money. Just a learned frugal habit. So I can well understand your reasons for not seeking medical treatment immediately. There were years recently when we spent more than budgeted. We spent over 11K last year on medical and dental including insurance premiums. That may not sound much, but for retirees this is a huge expense on fixed income. Insurance is our largest expense, yet to do without is impossible.
I hope you will heal well and not suffer too much longer. But as you mentioned you were fortunate not to have fallen on a rock, which by the way I did too. It was a small round pebble in a parking lot while carrying two cups of hot coffee. That was a sight but I'm lucky there too.
Have a rested day,
Laura
Hi Lili, so sorry to hear about your fall. I had a few injuries this summer. I won't go into details, but they were similar, and quite painful. I ended up going to the ER for one, where I got an x-ray and a tetanus shot (that messed up my stomach for days) and a prescription antibiotic that I ended up not taking. I will qualify that to anyone who gasped - I am extremely sensitive to medications and have reacted badly to quite a few antibiotics in the past, so I want to save having to use any for more life-and-death situations. Anyway, the second injury I just suffered through the pain and swelling. I did use ice initially on both injuries. Everything has, and is, healing up nicely over time. God designed our bodies to self-heal, and I believe time really makes a difference! Please don't feel defeated! We're all out here cheering you on, and I'm definitely praying, too.
ReplyDeleteJo
You have a lot on your plate, Lili. It seems like everything is piling up on you right now. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteYou may find this helpful: https://www.bobandbrad.com/post/only-1-in-5-000-know-this-about-treating-shoulder-pain The shoulder is a complex joint and is tricky to treat. There are three bones making up the joint--the humerus, clavicle (collar bone), and scapula (shoulder blade). If any part of the joint isn't functioning properly, it throws the mechanics of the entire joint off. First off, whatever you do, DON'T fall for the "no pain, no gain" mindset with any exercises that you do. A stretch is fine, but if you are feeling pain, that's a sign to back off. You will only cause further injury if you "push through the pain".
This article gives great insight into both positioning your body better as well as exercises to improve function. I'm a huge fan of Bob and Brad. They have a YouTube channel with tons of free content, and I have used them many times over the years for various aches and pains of my own. They are very credible clinicians. You may want to further investigate their content beyond the link that I sent you. They have videos on proper positioning for shoulder health, including in bed--it isn't all just exercise! I hope you find this helpful and it brings you some relief.
I just wanted to say thank you, all of you, for your kindness and advice. I'm continuing to do my best to take care of my shoulder. I did have to grocery shop today and found it tiring and a little painful. But when I got home I asked my husband and daughters to unload the car for me. My family has been great. They harvested all of the rest of the early apples for me on Saturday. that was a chore I knew I just couldn't do. They've also taken on some of my watering chores, so I don't have to haul the heavy watering can around the yard. This is my third time injuring this shoulder. I've learned not to do too much with that arm, and put off exercises for several weeks, even then starting with baby steps. I'm grateful that this is my left shoulder and I'm right-hand dominant. At least I can still do many things with my right arm alone.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for your kind words, friends.