Six Months to a Year - a Different Kind of Sentence

I'll admit that when I hear things like six months to a year, it makes me think of prison sentences. In a way, this is.

My six months to a year is the recovery time for my arm. It still boggles my mind that I bump my arm on a door jam and my life changes so much. My left arm is starting to be painful at times now, because I'm using it much more than normal. It's kind of like when your shoulders hurt because you've been on crutches. Because I'm using my left arm so much, the muscles actually ache at times. But we'll make it through.

The good news is that the nerve I traumatized, the radial nerve, doesn't require surgery for healing. I'll need physical therapy, possibly a TENS unit (oh joy, more electrical shocks going through my body) and medications specific to nerve pain and two weeks off of work to get it all going. Whew!!

Six months to a year seems like a long time, but I'm praying that if I follow instructions and take care of myself in all ways I know how to, that the healing will be even faster. I know there are many others praying and I'm grateful.

In all of this, there are many reasons to praise God. First of all, I didn't break any bones. Secondly, God has sustained me through having one bad arm and being the back up for all the other office employees who are going on their summer vacations. A friend was able to get me a quicker appointment with an orthopedic surgeon and I was able to get the EMG (Electromyogram) done before Dr. B. went on vacation for the summer. Some people were afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep working the rest of the day after the EMG and all of the electrical shocks and needle readings, but again, God sustained me.

One problem with a long recovery is that people forget I have a bad arm. Someone patted me a church, FIRMLY on my right arm and I about hit the ceiling. Then my daughter doesn't quite get it either. Even my sister forgot and meant to give me a sisterly tweak and did it on my right arm. She felt so bad and I asked her if this made up for all the times when she had a broken toe when we were little and I kept running through the house and squishing her sore toe.

We had a good laugh over the toe story, but in the end, I'm glad Susan didn't keep score and try to pay me back. I'm also glad that God doesn't keep score in order to "pay us back." I suppose I'll learn a lot about God's ways over the next six months. I pray I'll be open to His leadings and let this experience mold me more into the person He would have me to be.