Counting My Blessings, One by One

As I sit here in a little pain, I am reminded that the pain I am experiencing will go away.  However, that is not the way it is with a lot of people I know.  

Yep, I have a torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder.  It is a pretty bad tear, thus the significance of the pain.  I went to my orthopedic surgeon today, the one who operated on my right rotator cuff back in 2011, and he showed me the x-ray picture of the tear.  And, you can plainly see the tear, or as he put it, some "degenerative" wear and tear.  My doctor explained to me that the tear is probably not a result of an injury.  Yes, he used the word "degenerative", which is a fancy way of his saying the tear is due to old age.  In other words, I have lived long enough that the repetitive use of my rotator cuff has caused the tear.  Old age is just wonderful!

But, as I sit here I realize that in this case having a degenerative cause of pain is a blessing.  I have lived, and continue to live, to the point that I am eligible, for the lack of another word, for such an ailment.  I have had several friends who were not as lucky as me, God rest their souls.    Their ability to have an ailment caused by old age was interrupted by death.  

I am also reminded that there are so many of my friends still living whose health is impacted by disease, not a degenerative ailment.  I have a loved one who has ALS.  While she is an older person, her disease is not a result of old age.  I have another friend who is probably dying from cancer.  His cancer was not brought on by his just being old.  And, I could go on and on about the people in my life who have pain that is not degenerative.  Their pain is caused by unrelenting disease.

Yes, my shoulder is hurting.  The shot of cortisone I was given has not taken affect yet.  But, once that kicks in, about 5 to 8 days from now, I should be relieved of my pain, at least for a while.  But, if the pain comes back I can always have surgery and get rid of the pain for good.  That's not true for my friends with disease.

So, I am counting my many blessings, while complaining of my pain under my breath.  Never realized there could be a silver lining to pain!

Until next time...
Becky

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