Went to the physio again today, she checked out my arm this time.

Back at the end of 2003, i went to Indonesia on holiday and in Jakarta, crossing the road, BAM - this motorbike totally collected me. My friends ("Don’t get sick - the nearest decent hospital is in Singapore.") dragged my dazed and reluctant self to the hospital for stitches in my leg, but i was too scared to let the extremely rough doctor look at my right arm, which was where the handlebar got me. It hurt. NO WAY was she going anywhere near it.

So, recently, since ive been studying and using the computer waaaay too much, my right hand and fingers have been going a bit numb at times. Not a good sign. I dreamed my hands got no blood and got gangrene and dropped off (all these pics of gangrene on cigarette packs freaked me out) but it wasnt enough to get me to the doctor. But while i was at the physio, i thought id mention it. She is pretty sure i fractured it back then and was shaking her head at me, wondering how i got thru the pain. “Did you take any painkillers?” Oh yeah, that doc in Jakarta gave me some Really Good painkillers, i’ve still got two left and im saving them up for a Really Special occasion…

At first i was kinda ashamed that i had made a mistake in not letting the doctor see it (Jean-Francois, you were totally right - but y’all underestimate the lengths I will go to avoid seeing a doctor), but then i was impressed by my pain tolerance!!!! I stomped, well, limped around Indonesia for another two weeks after that happened! And there were constant pitfalls for a one-armed girl, like trying to hoist myself onto a boat with my backpack on (i got one leg up but then a wave caught it and instinct took over, i reached for the rail with the sore arm and damn near blacked out...) and the men seated on the ground in Bali who, on discovering I was Australian, held up their hands for me to shake (it was not long after the bombings). I couldnt turn the first ones down, so i bent and offered my hand gingerly… but they both shook it hard and vigorously to make my boobs jiggle… well we soon figured that game out and I took to wearing a sling. Just even trying to lift my backpack (serves me right for filling it with shopping in Jakarta i guess), trying to write on the blackboard in class those first few weeks after getting back, trying to use cutlery, trying to catch the train… I learnt to do everything but write and use chopsticks left-handed (and i still prefer my left hand for some things).

I was lying there on the physio table and she was searching out the still sore spots, and all these memories came back with the little remnants of pain - damn im tough! And an idiot.

This idiot just got a D for one of her courses… its all good today (^_^)

• MJ said on 06/07/11 at 02:00 AM.....

  Ouchies honey.

  
  But congrats on the “D” (which I hope stands for Distinction and not a fail).

• j-ster said on 06/07/11 at 01:29 PM.....

  It does indeed! Two more results to come, the last subject will be incomplete due to the lecturer being away for a long time, but Ill get a grade sometime mid next semester… I cant wait to see how it goes now!!!

• the goddess said on 06/07/11 at 10:30 PM.....

  It has been a known fact that women are much more tolerant of pain than men….  we do learn to grin and bear it - mainly cos we don’t want to cause problems or miss out on any fun!! 

  
  Congrats on the D and get that arm fixed!

• Kristen said on 06/07/12 at 08:16 AM.....

  Congratulations on the D. I hope the broken arm set itself straight and doesn’t need to be messed with. I can’t believe you lived with and untreated fracture.

• MissSin said on 06/07/12 at 04:18 PM.....

  glad that ‘D’ thing was clarified…

  
  was really wondering why you’d be celebrating a ‘d’...but now i am wiser and know it means that you passed…

  so well done!!!

  
  not so good on the arm front - hope you can get it sorted out without too much hassle.

  
  and wow - your pain thresh-hold must be W-A-Y off the scale.  you’re like some kind of wonderwoamn or something (or just a complete masochist…)