Well, I think that has been fixed. This past week I have been downright irate.
First, I totaled the car. And the cop determined it was my fault. I was pulling out of the condo park where I live and I had to creek the nose of my car into traffic to see past the parked cars. This is a constant problem because there is no red zone painted at the entry/exit point so people park right up to the edge as if it were a driveway. Well, this time a truck was coming that I didn't see and he took the front bumper section and the headlight right off my car. His truck was also totaled because my car caught on the side of his truck and scraped down the side, catching the back tire and breaking the axle. He says he wasn't speeding - the speed limit on the street is 25 mph - and I was barely creeping forward. The cop who came to do the police report apologized for giving me the ticket, but he said that by law the truck had the right of way and I was technically failing to yield. The only good news is that the ticket is only $150 because the cop did list it as a minor infraction.
OK, so the crash make me cranky. It was the first auto collision I have been in since the mid 90s. I shook me up bad and I feel absolutely awful because now we need to buy a new car.
Well, I also aggravated my left shoulder. I didn't realize it at first because I had a major panic attack following the crash and those always leave me aching and exhausted for days. When I realized there was something bad with my shoulder I called my doctor's office and he squeezed me in on Thursday, a full week after the crash. I didn't go to Instacare because I rarely get good results. I need someone who knows my history. So, I go into the doctor's office, OCD on overdrive, and he determined that I had separation in my shoulder and it needs to be immobilized. He then sent me to get x-rays. I got done with everything by 4 p.m., too late to hear back from the doctor about the results. I rigged a sling with a scarf from home tried to keep my shoulder from moving too much. It did bring the pain down some, so I figure that is probably the way to go.
Well, here is where the major anger comes in. I checked the My Health site for InterMountain Healthcare, which has test results and such. My x-ray results posted by 6 p.m. I set my alarm for 9 a.m. the next morning and I called and left a message for my doctor's medical assistant saying that the results were posted and couldn't they please let me know what to do. This office is only open half a day on Friday and apparently my test results weren't important enough to squeeze into the short day. Usually I at least get a message saying they don't know yet, but I got nothing. No phone calls, not voice messages, and no messages on the My Health site.
I was getting pretty cranky by then. I went onto the My Health site and took a look at the x-ray results. For patients it doesn't show the pictures, just the technician's notes. It said that there was no significant differences compared to the shoulder x-rays taken in 2018. Now, my doctor's exam showed definite separation and my left shoulder was hanging noticeably lower than my right. So I looked up the x-rays from 2018 and it showed the damage to the joint, including the fact that the ball of my shoulder was resting low in the socked. It other words, there was separation and probable damage to the ligaments and tendons.
These x-rays were ordered by and examined by the doctor over at the pain clinic, not my primary doctor. Yes, the x-ray showed degenerative arthritis, and that is what they have been treating. But nothing was done about the other issues. I have been getting steroid injections in my shoulder for 2 years, which has helped, but every time they give me exercises to do, it makes my shoulder worse.
Now, I'm not a doctor. I'm not a pain specialist. I'm not an x-ray technician. And because my doctor couldn't be bothered to get back to me on Friday, I only have my own interpretation of the x-rays. But if there is no significant difference between the 2 x-rays that means this damage has been there for 2 years. and no one noticed. I have been getting the wrong treatments.
I am sitting here with a scarf wrapped around my arm with my shoulder aching and I am downright pissed off at this point. I have found my anger again. I am tired of making excuses for doctors being too busy for me or not getting back to me because other people might be more sick or injured than me. I am angry that having my shoulder in a make-shift sling has done more for the pain than any of the steroid shots or exercise. I just want to scream at someone, but it is Sunday. There is no one to scream at.
I am tired of this. I am angry. I just want to get the treatment I need.
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