ANCHORED (25-Sept-2021)

Anchored - How can I be?  I’m not a vessel floating along the waves on a pristine river or a raging ocean to prevent further drifting by anchoring me to a firm bottom.  A half-a-century ago my parents could’ve chided me for a surfeit of mischiefs and enforced ‘grounded’ to punish me; or into the future a non-existent ride since I’m not yet a picture frame to be nailed for posterity, and hence remain unanchored.  Last but not the least, I do not have the exposure or the experience to anchor a television show, more so as a news anchor to pull off a mesmerizing effect on my audience to impinge their mindset.

My story of an impingement is of a varied stance.  The twists and turns to my narration will reveal the truth, but until then I need your patient read.  The patient state into which I made a grand entry from a good healthy predisposition is the driving force for my story.  Three months ago, a little niggle in the right shoulder made me believe that I can self-administer pain killers and rub some relief cream for respite. Boy was I wrong?!

A few days of this self-treatment proved futile, and the doctors clinic beckoned me with open shoulders and a broad smile.  Orthopaedician made me swing my arms into a few variant poses to quickly diagnose my uneasiness; I must have looked funny in those comical poses since my doctor smilingly handed me a prescription for painkillers and physiotherapy treatment.

My pain started to intensify, the physiotherapy notwithstanding.  Normal sleep posture either flat on my back, or a right-side position was most painful and made the act of sleeping a torturous affair, despite a fortress of pillows around.  This mandated a revisit to my Ortho who sensing my discomfort prescribed an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) procedure.  The conclusion as ‘impression’ was tricky to decipher due to the medical lingo.  The sense I got was my right shoulder area was a mess with a RC (Rotator Cuff) tear, inflammation, tendonitis, and bursitis in adjacent areas with aggravated pain that radiated into the neck region. 

The MRI experience is worth a little paragraph.  I was asked to lie down for precise imaging, the very reason I went back to my Ortho was ironically the position I had to lie still on my back for almost 25 minutes.  With my right hand stretched and held tight by an attendant to prevent any movement, and shoulder rested against a support for a better image it was a journey in eternity.  The claustrophobic feeling during the time inside that tubular construct with a high-decibel noise and very cold temperature was exasperating, however my meditation regimen kept me calm and composed.  An experience worth an erase from my memory!

Ortho concluded an arthroscopic surgery as a logical next step, and with all medical tests normal I was led to the Operation Theatre (OT).  A few holes in the shoulder area with probes fitted with miniature cameras to provide the best view of the inside mess, the Ortho sutured the tear and effected the mend as I lay sedated.

The final report of the operation steps, among other things revealed that a suture to securely bind and ‘anchor’ the torn rotator cuff was carried out. 

Meanwhile, in a pandemic-induced fear psychosis I stand ‘Anchored!’