About a dozen years ago, I had a cycling accident (totally my own fault) and seriously separated my shoulder. I’m not a fan of surgery, particularly the anesthesia, so I initially resisted the orthopedist’s recommendation to repair the soft tissue which had been shredded when I hit the road, right shoulder first.
For a year or so after the injury, I was mostly ok. I had almost immediately started getting massage therapy monthly with a real focus on regaining mobility and strength on my right side. That really helped. Coupled with yoga, massage taught me how to isolate parts of my body and to combine movement and breathing. I think body work has been beneficial in many ways and I always look forward to my monthly massage.
My flex spending benefit allows me to pay for my monthly session pretax, a small but welcome savings. In order to have this expense qualified, I need to obtain a yearly recommendation or prescription from my primary doctor. This year, the letter got kicked back because it didn’t have the correct language or enough detail to justify the claim. My physician’s office requested a tele health appointment.
In the days leading up to my appointment, I started to consider all the ways I’ve injured my body. The stitches, the scars, the stories…my skin and bones have definitely lived a life. From my first emergency visit at the age of 3 (stitches, left ankle) through my most recent surgical procedure (last year’s meniscus repair), my body has collected evidence of a life actively embraced.
Although I’m in no rush, I’m excited to imagine what the future med students who will study my physical remains will think. Will they understand that the puckered skin around a healed wound is a sign of being able to put things back in place after they have been torn apart?
Do you think they’ll recognize the mild hernia in my belly and know that I sometimes carried more weight than I should? After they observe the three surgical scars on my neck, what are the chances that those premed students will correctly guess my own odds for each of those incisions having revealed a malignancy?
While I’m quick to boast that I’ve never broken a bone, I think the med students will note that my pinkies are oddly shaped and bend in weird places. I’m pretty sure they were, in fact, broken, unlike my left ankle which I managed to permanently jack up (jumping out a second floor window to go to a party) while managing to keep the bones intact.
See, it is possible to be damaged without necessarily being broken!
In anticipation of the appointment, I considered all the activities in which I participate – running, X-country skiing, walking, biking, yoga…and how sometimes doing the things I enjoy hurts.
My left Achilles has been pretty awful, and I know skiing isn’t helping, but the season is so short that I can’t stop myself. The arthritis in my hands challenges my dexterity and the cramps I get in my abused feet, complete with plantar fibromas, hammer toes and bunions,* sometimes make me gasp, but I’m just trying to keep myself moving as long as I can.
The marks left on my body are proof that life includes pain, the need for help and care from others and the ability to heal. A monthly session with a massage therapist only affirms that message.
What have you done for your body lately? What kind of stories will it eventually tell?
*How hot is that image?!
