A bit over a week ago I was happily going about my business after a routine GP visit. Pisces and I went shopping, getting home at about 1:30 PM when I started to feel very tired so I skipped lunch and went to lie down. Within an hour I was in agony with shoulder pain that quickly accelerated to excruciating with any movement.
Pisces took me back to the GP who thought I might have torn a tendon, gave me strong painkillers and referred me for a MRI. I didn't sleep that night because of the pain but next morning my pain level was still increasing.
Finally I succumbed to Pisces's pleadings and agreed to go to the ED. Turned out this was a good decision because within 5 minutes of getting in the ED doctor had diagnosed an infection in the joint and I was blood tested, x-rayed, CT scanned and seen by the orthopaedic registrar in short order. By now it was midnight and I was to be admitted for observation with further investigations in the morning.
When I got to the ward everything changed. There the orthopaedic consultant examined me and decided I needed emergency surgery as soon as possible, telling me I'd be next on the operating list. The operation went well but I had to stay in hospital for a week.
I'm now home but still in some pain with a physio regime to stop me developing a frozen shoulder and am well aware of how lucky I was that it was picked up when it was or the result could have been very serious.
The whole thing has reminded me - not for the first time this year which has been a series of trials as far health is concerned - to be grateful for the fact that I live in a country where we have an efficient public health system where I received timely and effective treatment and spending a week in hospital has not left me with an enormous bill at the end.
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