Finger update: My fracture has "healed" in the sense that the break is no longer detectable, but my finger is still very tender and swollen. I have really bad edema. It's not just a crossword puzzle word. This "Build up of fluid" or "Bodily swelling" is a very real thing. I can't quite make a fist, and if I bang my pinkie on something the right wrong way, it really smarts. I get that jolt of "electric" pain that courses through my entire arm for a microsecond.
It's really remarkable to me how long this thing is taking to get back to 100%. It happened over six weeks ago. By contrast, my son's little buddy fractured his heel three weeks ago and had to wear a walking boot for a bit, and he's already running around again. Kids are like little Wolverines, with their amazing regenerative powers, and they don't even realize it. That's one of the great ironies/tragedies of life. When you are at the peak of your physical powers, you aren't mentally developed enough to appreciate it. That's the problem with youth: It's wasted on the young.
I'm doing physical therapy for my finger, which is weird to me, but it seems to be helping. I haven't had a lot of success with physical therapy in the past. I've done it several times for my shoulder and on all occasions I ended up quitting because it's very time-consuming and expensive, and I wasn't seeing the results I was hoping for. It's possible I just wasn't patient enough, but it also was $50-$75 a session, and they wanted me to come at least twice a week. It's hard to justify paying that much for something that isn't doing a whole lot, and which I could do 90% of at my house for free. I still do daily stretches for my shoulder. It's been years, and it's definitely not back to normal, but it's probably better than it would be if I just did nothing. I don't know. I'm at the point now where trying to "fix" it is more burdensome to my life than working around it.
With my finger, however, I'm experiencing tangible improvement, and the sessions are only $5. I have no idea why it's so much cheaper. Maybe it's because it's just my finger; maybe it's because I'm doing it on-site at a little clinic in the doctor's office, as opposed to at a large center devoted strictly to physical therapy. I don't know. It's one of the many mysteries of our medical system. Unless you are willing and able to devote hours of your life studying the minute details of your insurance plan and the policies of the medical practice you're utilizing, you probably have no idea what you're paying for or why, and you don't know how much until your bill comes.
A great example of what I'm talking about: earlier this week I got a bill for $100. I asked the front desk what it was for, and they couldn't even tell me. They had to call the billing specialist who works remotely. Turns out it was for the splint they gave me for my finger. Now, first off, this thing only costs $26.99 on Amazon, so the fact that I got charged $100 for it is absolutely ridiculous. But even worse, in my opinion, is that nobody told me I would have to pay for it at all, let alone that it would be so much. The doctor just gave it to me and told me to use it. So, that's what I did.
It's all such a racket. And the thing is, if I complained to my insurance company and the doctor's office, if I made enough noise, I might be able to get the charge reduced. But at what cost? Likely a significant one, considering I put a high premium on my free-time. I'd rather be out the $73.01 than waste my time dealing with it. I have a colleague who fights everybody tooth and nail for every last cent if he feels he's getting a raw deal, and part of me admires that, but another part of me is like, that's way too much work. It's basically like having a shitty, low-paying part-time job, and I don't need nor want a shitty, low-paying part-time job at this moment in my life.
Alright, that's all for today. Pretty busy weekend. We have some friends in town visiting, we have a gala to attend later (oo la la, tres chic), and Lil' S2 and his friend have bothering me since before I got out of bed (literally) to take them to some place called House of Cards.
Until next time...
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