Relative Something

I am stuck in the middle. I try not to be that guy that won’t ever go see a doctor, yet I hesitate to go in for every little cough or bruise. The most difficult thing about trying to be moderate about seeking professional treatment, is that you never really know whether you are making the right decision. I spend a fair bit of mental energy questioning my logic about when to make a visit to the doctor.

If I have full range of motion, and there isn’t a lot of swelling or discoloration, what is my risk? A little ice, rest, a support brace, …healing should follow, yes? It is a waste of both my time and the clinic’s time for me to go in and have them tell me to go home and put ice on it. Whatever it is I did to my hand a few weeks ago, the healing is sure taking a looong time to happen.

People have asked me if I’ve seen a doctor. “No.”

Okay, I made that first decision with relative ease. The problem comes with each successive day that passes. I guess I don’t know at what point a nagging injury deserves to be seen by a professional. Especially when it doesn’t appear to get worse. The problem is that it also doesn’t seem to be getting better. I’m stuck in the middle!

What really bums me out is that I know that college and professional athletes would have been automatically diagnosed at the first instant they noticed a problem. They would be seen by a doctor, whether they wanted to or not. No guess work for them.

I’m stuck in the middle. I wanna be that athlete that gets immediate attention from a professional, and I don’t want to go in for every little cough or bruise.