Pulling Sticky Taffy - Carrera 14

I finally have a date scheduled for the rotator cuff surgery. But, I don't think I'll go.

The double-time physical therapy paid off. At our last consultation the orthopedic specialist declared that I was indeed ready for surgery. But, no actual appointment was scheduled until the end of this week. This means I could, in theory, undergo the operation the day after tomorrow. Despite that I finally have this date I think I'm going to wait another two weeks until I'm back in Seattle to get a second opinion.

I didn't make this decision to defer the surgery out of any distrust of the diagnosis or the medical system here. It's largely scheduling factors.

PT Liliana Pulls Arm to Painful Point

If I underwent surgery here it would mean traveling back to the U.S. with my arm in a sling. Even before that flight back up to North America two weeks from now I have other travel scheduled: Professor N. is presently finishing the semester back up in the U.S. Before the severity of my injury was diagnosed the two of us fixed a week of travel together around Colombia. That will be pretty much the only travel I see over these months in South America. Before the shoulder injury I had planned to explore far more widely across the continent.

Another good reason to defer treatement: the physical therapy has been showing results. I now have a far greater, if yet limited and painful, range of motion with my injured arm. If I'm to have surgery and be laid-up in recuperation over a number of weeks, it might as well be in a familiar place filled with the people I care most about in the world.

So, Christmas with family is on. Back to Seattle in two weeks. But before that:

Next stop: Medellín.