There Will Be No Physical Therapy

Here are three stories that are short because I cannot bear to think about it longer.

My friend’s old husband had a pace-maker for many years, and he had stopped his lifelong hobby of cycling because of it, but then a young, pretty physical therapist put him up on a stationary bike where he rode happily, saying “This is the best ride I have had in years.” He died three days later.

My old mother suffered dementia but she still had the sense to object to the bevy of young physical therapists who came to my home to exercise her legs while she sat on the couch, saying, “This is the wrong position, I shouldn’t be sitting down, it hurts.” They insisted, and she limped with a painful knee for the rest of her life.

I have been told that I have a little better than average 21st century medical insurance coverage for a senior citizen, Humana Gold Plus HMO-Advantage Plan with Medicare, but after I was rear-ended by a small truck (which hit me at 40 mph while I was stopped in construction traffic), my insurance allowed me about ten half-hour sessions of physical therapy. I still suffer massive neck, back, and hip pain, and I am often awake all night with it. If I was allowed physical therapy, would it help me?

Caption: There Will Be No Physical Therapy (self-portrait)

by Annmarie Throckmorton 2018