The World Is Full of Uncaring People

A little more than three weeks ago I sustained a shoulder injury which I thought to be more moderate than severe. I dislocated (and relocated) it during a football game. Then last Monday I reinjured it, so I figured I should go to the doctor to get it checked out. Finally on Friday, appointment time came around, and my guess was that it was a partial separation of the joint. Turns out I was completely wrong. X-rays showed a break in the scapula (that's a fancy word for shoulder blade) and I was set for a referral to orthopedics for Monday (yesterday).

Referral time came around and the orthopedics doc examined my shoulder and confirmed from the X-ray that there was indeed a break. The treatment for this is at least 3 weeks with a very annoying arm sling and a total of 6-8 weeks without heavy lifting or sports and strenuous activities.

So today came the first day of classes with the sling, and I must say it's a pain in the butt. The injury is to the right shoulder which sucks because all the desks in my first class are right handed desks. AKA I'm screwed and can't have my shoulder rest comfortably anywhere. Or use my laptop. So I scrambled around to find a left handed desk and switch it out with my chair. Meanwhile, everyone in the class watches me do this and does nothing to help even though I only can use one arm to pull this thing over to my area. It's not that the desk was heavy, it's just that when you see someone struggling with something, shouldn't you offer help... especially to someone with an injury?

Now I'm not saying that everyone is doing stuff like this because so many people have been helpful by holding doors open and offering to carry things for me. But there's some other people who do a half-ass job of it, such as the girl who (kind of) held the doors open for me on the way to Meteorology. Here, read held the doors open as held them about halfway so I was left helpless to kick the door the rest of the way open. I had my laptop in one hand and the other arm in a sling, so there was not much I could do.

This experience in a sling, though short for now, is going to teach me some things, but mainly the importance of helping people out when they need it. Holding doors all the way open when someone can't do it themselves, not only in the physical sense but in the metaphorical sense, too. Helping people carry their burdens. Those types of things. And this injury has made me realize just exactly how short-sighted people are, and how being short-sighted is not a good thing.

I'll keep you all posted on the rest of my recovery. By the way, I did the calculations for 6-8 weeks since the appointment, and that puts me at late April or early May for a return. With such an uncommon injury in a sensitive area, though, that timeline could very well be extended.