On October 15, 2012,
one of my 4 year old students had a temper tantrum and did a “run, drop, and
twist” while I was holding her hand. This, as I later learned, resulted in a
torn rotator cuff. Specifically I tore one of the muscles in the cuff. Thus
began my journey into The WTF? Zone and consequently, today’s rant.
The 15th was a busy day since one of my friends
(Yo Jasmine!) went into labor right as school was dismissing for the day. The
pain in my shoulder had been mild after the 11am incident so I had popped 400mg
of Ibuprofen but I was getting more uncomfortable as the day wore on. As
arranged, I picked up Jasmine’s daughter after picking up my housekeeper,
dropped them at my flat, and continued onto grocery shopping. By the time I had
taken my (or shall I say OUR since she is Jasmine’s as well) housekeeper home,
I was in monster pain. I popped another 800 mg of Ibuprofen. That didn’t help
and I popped .5 mg of Xanax, usually enough to put me in the ozone for a good 5
hours. I still was unable to sleep. Thus, I was awake to receive the photo and message
that Zofia had been born a little after midnight.
I called out from work, dropped Belle at the hospital to
meet her baby sister and headed to Oasis Hospital because they have an American
Orthopedic Surgeon. He was, however, in Thailand at the time. After waiting a couple of hours, the clinic
staff decided they didn’t want anything to do with what they assumed was wrong.
WTF #1. I was sent onto New Medical Center (yes that is the name) and arrived to learn
that the 3 Orthopedic Surgeons were on lunch and would not be back for 2 hours. Insha’Allah. At this point I broke down
in tears. I was immediately sent to the Emergency Room, where I got a really
nice female doctor. Initially she was going to give me a shot of Voltaren, the go
to medication for all that ails you here. When I explained that I had already taken
100 mg of Voltaren AND 800 mg of Ibuprofen, she agreed to give me a “decent”
medication. After determining that it was not a fracture but a sprain with a “likely”
tear, I was given a whopping 6 Tramadol and 3 days off work. Since it was hump
day, that gave me 5 days off work. Later, I learned that the normal recommendation
for this injury is 10-14 days. WTF #2. But that is getting ahead of the story……….
I returned to work the following Sunday to nobody having
any clue why I was out or why I was wearing a sling. I had been in regular
contact with my LSA (Teaching Assistant) and the HOY (welcome to the British
system of alphabet soup acronyms-Head of Year). WTF #3. Luckily it was only a 3 day week
followed by a 5 day weekend due to Second Eid. By the time I went back to work after
Eid, my shoulder was starting to feel a little better. After working that week, NOT. The
following week I saw an Orthopedic Surgeon at New Medical Center, who
determined that I had torn the rotator cuff. He gave me prescription for 600 mg
of Ibuprofen and said the word surgery several times. When I asked what
medication I would be given for pain following surgery, his reply was Voltaren.
I laughed and then left. I was in more pain at that point due to the
radiology tech moving my arm around and could not sleep that night. Needless to
say, I was out the next day. I didn’t get a note but submitted my appointment
record from the day before. That was enough for HR who allowed it as a paid
sick day but……….I was summoned to Administration for a “come to Jesus” meeting
regarding my excessive absences. They too were shocked to learn that it was a
work related injury. So much for communication between my HOY and
Administration.WTF #4.
I finally managed to see the American orthopedic Surgeon on January 6, 4
days before he left the country, again. The good news: the tear had healed on its
own. It is, however, still bruised and located right under my bra strap. The
bad news: The pain was at that point being caused by a pinched nerve and muscle
spasms. This was caused by being up and around too quickly after the injury
(Duh!) and too little time on medication (Duh! Again). The medication problem
he resolved, and gave me a muscle relaxant and another NSAID. Yay! For the
muscle relaxant since I respond quickly and loopily to them. Boo! To the NSAID
as he apparently did not listen when I told him that I am allergic to Sulpha,
Sulfites, and Sulphonomides. Since I had been able to take a Sulphanyl compound in the
past and I was unsure what kind of bond this was after looking online, I gave
it a shot and watched carefully. Yup! I started seeing hives after the second
dose. Anyone out there want some FREE Arcoxia?
BTW it hasn’t been approved by the FDA.WTF #5.
So I move onto Physiotherapy. It is not called Physical Therapy
here. I still do not get why Americans and the British cannot agree on words and a
system of measure. Wait a few minutes while I go take my rubbish from the bin to
the scowl. WTF #6. Medications don’t even
have the same name. Tylenol is Panadol; Biaxin is Klacid. Oops, I think I
digress.
 |
| All taped up!! At least it's a good color. I should have put on my hot pink bra for the photo. This apparently "fools" my arm muscles into contracting and puts less pressure on the shoulder and neck muscles. |
So I started therapy on January 8 but my insurance CARD expired
on January 6. Thus, after the 2nd appointment I had to pay cash
until my new card comes in. They cannot call and verify coverage. WTF #7. Nope, still don’t
have it on January 20th. The policy was renewed but everything requires a dozen
steps and a few stamps here. To facilitate renewal, copies of our current cards
and our Emirates ID had to be sent. Didn’t they already have that? WTF #8. Some staff members apparently decided this didn’t
apply to them, and therefore the entire process was delayed. BUT one appointment
cost 184 aed ($50 US) and the other cost 136 aed ($37 US). I don’t even want to
think about how much this would have cost in the US. Unfortunately getting
reimbursed is likely going to involve extra stamps and steps that I don’t know
about yet. Here’s hoping that I get it back sometime this year!! Hope springs eternal.
