Hospital Blues

Last night I took Thing 1 to the mall and had a good hard fall on the ice in the parking lot, and today I have one hell of a sore shoulder. The result is a day off work and a trip to the hospital this morning. (The irony is, I gave up running for the winter because I was afraid that I might slip and fall and have to take some time off work.)The nurse said she figured I would be the first of a parade of such injuries, since it rained and then got cold yesterday.

The hospital was pretty efficient; we have a "sort of emergency" room at one hospital, for people who need attention, but it's not life threatening. I got the Mister to drop me off there on his way to work, because after a fairly painful night, I thought I might have done something serious and we are leaving for Florida in a few days, and the last place I want to spend my holidays is in Orlando General. Not to mention, I spend allllll day with my hands up at shoulder height, anything that interferes with that compromises my paycheque mightily.
After some x-rays and a couple of hours at the hospital, the diagnosis was "you have a sore shoulder", which was fine with me, at least it wasn't a fracture or a torn rotator cuff or Dutch Elm disease.

Hospitals are miserable places, what with being full of sick people and all. But the people watching is truly fascinating...I just wanted so much to be able to ask everyone around me "so, what are you in here for?". (And it does not escape my notice that I would be asking the very same question if we were all in jail.) I did bring a book, but mostly I watched everyone else:

• Naturally, the vast majority of the patient population is elderly. Getting old is not for sissies, and lots of people do it with more grace and humor than I think I am going to muster.
• Being significantly overweight makes your life very much harder. And mobility problems as a result of being overweight makes every little action that much harder still. Note to self: lose ten pounds before it is sixty pounds.
• People who work in hospitals really do care. Every single person I encountered was efficient but friendly, and made sure I was getting what I needed done as soon as they could.
• Sick people are cranky and impatient. It's just as well I'm not a nurse, can you imagine me dealing with that all day?
• The number of pregnant women who smoke is surprising, given all the information on the subject.
• When you have three people in a waiting room with the same first name, hilarity ensues.

My right wing is still sore, but after a nap and some chocolate, I think I'm on the mend. But I'm staying away from that damn mall.