No, it won't hurt

When I had the tarsal tunnel syndrome in my foot that was being treated as faciitis, I had several very painful cortisone shots in my foot. They were really bad. I almost broke a piece off the doctor's table trying to squeeze with my hands so as not to budge my foot even a fraction. I can't understate how it feels to have something thick as Jello injected into the bottom of your foot, and then have the needle dragged along the bone.

So, on that thought, I went back to the shoulder doctor today, MRI films under my left arm because it hurt to carry them with the right one. We looked at them together. The last time I did that it was to have the clinic doctor prove to me that yes, I did have a bone in my hand broken all the way through.

We looked at the films. I do not have arthritis in my shoulder, but I already knew that. I do have a partial tear of my rotator cuff, which was a relief. Partial isn't so bad. I have a bone spur, and really icky bursitis.

He said a cortisone shot should help. I said I heard my mommy calling me and I had to go. Actually, I expressed concerns regarding the pain based on previous experience. He assured me, as did the nurse, that it would not be as bad. I honestly didn't believe them for a second, but agreed to it.

The doctor came back into the room and said he had a first year medical student in the hallway who had never done a cortisone shot and would I mind? The doctor will probably recover full use of his eye.

He was joking. I knew he was. If he really had an inexperienced student, he would not have admitted it. He would have just offered my shoulder to any old fool off the street and still projected great confidence.

He told me he was ready to do it, and I braced myself. I felt the anesthetic injection, but not as badly as on my foot. He then said he was doing the cortisone. It went in the back of my shoulder, so I couldn't see what he was doing, but I felt it. He expressed surprise that I did not swear, squirm, tense up, or question his ancestry.

I waited for it to get really nasty. He said he was done.

Huh. It wasn't that bad, not at all. Much closer to a B12 or antibiotic shot than what I have had done to my foot. The nurse told me it was because I have more tissue surrounded my shoulder than on my foot.

I asked her if she were calling me fat.

She offered me all the pain medication I wanted. I said no thanks, I didn't go there for drugs.

If I need the other shoulder done, I will be fine with it. This is a good thing, since it's getting gunky from trying to take the pressure off the right one. I go back in 8 weeks. I am to take it easy for 24 hours.

Yeah, right. I went right from there to the nursery and bought a few flats of flowers. I carried them to the car and from the car.