Do you ever have those days where you feel bad for saying something? I’m having one of those days right now. Yesterday afternoon I had to get sutures on the backside of my left shoulder. The numbing process burned, but for the rest of the procedure, I didn’t feel a thing. Later that evening though, I began to have growing discomfort. As the night progressed, the pain in my shoulder grew, until eventually I was to the point of uneasiness. Apparently discomfort is totally normal- something the doctor had conveniently forgotten to mention. After learning it was normal, I calmed down and took some Ibuprofen, thinking this was the worst it would get. The challenges continued however when I remembered the doctor said I wasn’t supposed to get soap in the wound during a shower. Yeah. Try showering without getting your left shoulder wet. Far easier said than done. I swear my stitches are in the most awkward spot possible; I can’t lug my backpack around on my left shoulder, I can’t sleep flat on my back or while laying on my left side, I can’t tip my head back to finish the last few sips of a beverage…and I realized that all this had occurred, and I haven’t even had these stitches for more than 24 hours yet.
This is the point where I start to feel bad for complaining. There are people in the world that have far worse injuries, people who are in far worse condition than I am, yet I have the guts to complain about a small wound on my shoulder. Yes, it hurts. Yes, it is uncomfortable. No, I am not the most unlucky person out there in the world. I volunteer at the biggest hospital in my city; every time I volunteer, I meet people who have pretty severe wounds. Some have to have surgery and end up spending a night or two at the hospital. I didn’t have to do that. My sutures were put in, and then I went home. The procedure took 20 minutes, tops. In a week I will get them removed. There are people out there that wished that’s all there was to their injury, but here I am grouchy and upset over this one trivial wound.
Working in a hospital environment, helping others with their medical incidents has better prepared me for what was to come. It’s different being on this end, where others are helping me with my medical event. Thank goodness I’m alright! Everything in the last day has shown me that you really can’t take anything for granted (sleeping a certain way, drinking the last few drops of a drink, showering without worrying about getting soap on your shoulder). Anything could happen at any given moment, and it’s times like these that I appreciate the little things in my life.
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