Wedesday evening, I slipped on some ice coming around a corner and broke my upper left arm, near my shoulder. I got to ride in an ambulance and now my arm is in a sling.

I feel like an invalid. My left arm is practically useless (I’m typing this one-handed), I can comfortably walk only about 1/4 speed, and everything is a balancing act to keep stresses off my shoulder. Aside from wanting me to stay in bed all day, Claudia’s been indispensable (I’ve been trying to do everything for myself, but I was in tears from not being able to get the medicine bottle open until she could help me).

This morning I’m not doing so well. I took vicoden, but the pain is still mind-numbing. Like being punched hard in one spot all the time. But at my better stretches, I get to explore some fascinating aspects. It’s like a window into the delicate interconnectivity of my skeleton– I can raise my right arm and feel all the strains occurring on my left. And, though I’m suspicious of this, it feels like I can move my shoulder “just on the inside”. I’ll feel a strain in my shoulder and realize that while my arm is hanging by my stomach, my shoulder is positioned at an angle away from it, and I have to bring it back. Zany stuff!