There Was No Pain
There is no pain. Not when I keep my arm still. It has only been eleven days since the accident. I’m sure it’s all part of the healing process, even the sharp pain felt during lateral arm movement. My Doctor thinks that it is just a slight tear in my rotator cuff. Nonetheless I’m going, today, to get the x-ray he ordered.
I sign in and sit in the waiting room at the entrance to the x-ray place. It is not long before they call my name, if only to verify my information and insurance. I sit, again, to wait. It is not long before I hear my name called, again. This time I am walked to the back where they verify more information and I am told to sit in a secondary waiting room. Another short period of time passes and I hear my name again, but this time I am lead to the x-ray room.
The tech has me flip my collar up, rather than remove my shirt. She asks, “How did you put on a tie if you can’t move your arm?” Ignoring the reply, she positions me for the first shot. She raises her voice as she moves behind the protected partition used for operating the x-ray. “So you’ve had a previous injury on this shoulder?”
My perplexed reply: “Not that I’m aware of”, as she has me reposition for another shot.
Her voice still raised and clear, now sounds perplexed, “Oh, well it might not be anything”. Another position and another shot. “I know they’re looking for a tear, but I need the radiologist to look at this”.
Now concerned, I ask “What is it?”
She responds, “Go ahead and sit in that chair, I think you have a broken bone, but they have to verify”.
While waiting for verification they have me return to the first waiting room. Though it feels longer, it is a short time later that the woman at the front desk yet again calls me over. “We have your doctor on the phone”.
I have only spoken to my doctor in the confines of his patient rooms, so this feels strange. He informs me that I am indeed broken and he is working on a reference to a specialist. He suggests I stop by his office to retrieve the required information.
The receptionist provides me with a digital copy of my x-rays and sends me on my way.