Basically it said I should wear my protective sling day and night, avoid crowds and take care not to fall or bang into things.
Easier said than done.
The first thing we did was to attend a Maya experience at the Natural History Museum with lots of little kids barreling in every direction.
Then I went grocery shopping only to discover people drive their carts like combat vehicles, taking the corners at high speed and colliding without apology.
I closed the car door on myself and walked into walls.
I dropped the iPad and reached out to grab it without thinking about the consequences.
I found that even my husband - who loves me and has the best of intentions, would hit potholes and veer around corners throwing me into the arm rest, appear suddenly and startle me, wrap an arm around me and pat me on the shoulder and back up in the kitchen without beeping.
He tried to be supportive. He made meals, did dishes, hauled laundry and even rigged up a little seat-belt grabber from a bent coat hanger so I could buckle myself in once I could drive again.
It became a daily challenge to keep my shoulder safe.
We found ourselves choosing our ventures into the outside world carefully but we couldn't stay home all the time.
We would both go bonkers.
So we went to a few movies. The chairs in the theaters are comfortable and once we were seated it was fairly easy to stay away from people who might bump into me on purpose.
My sling fit right in.
So there we were happily engrossed in a show about political intrigue and complicated relationships when a bomb went off in the story.
It startled me and I jerked back and back again reflexively
Ow. Ow!
That hurt, so much so that for the rest of the movie I held onto myself and tried not to cry.
My physical therapist said not worry unduly. "It's probably a sprain," she said as she tried to work out the muscle spasms in my arm. "It happens."
It's feeling better and I'm feeling hopeful.
I'll just add movies to my list of no-nos.
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