This morning was an early one, as I had to be at Georgetown University Hospital for an examination by an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Carroll was great. He had three x-rays taken of my shoulder (and was a bit perplexed that the ER hadn’t filmed the area), and everything looked normal. I’ll start physical therapy on it after I return from England in late-September, and I may be able to ride again by mid-October – yay!

He then checked my range of motion, which was almost 100 percent normal. It hurt in certain vectors, and the shoulder still feels “loose.” But he says that I fared well, given the accident circumstances. I’m still going to be sling-bound for a couple more weeks – Dr. Carroll issued me a much lighter-weight sling, which isn’t as constrictive and lets my arm move around a bit (good for keeping the supporting muscles in shape, though it means a bit more pain as I move).

I’m also getting a MRI next Wednesday at Washington Open MRI. They have a new-fangled MRI unit that is “open format,” as opposed to the old torpedo tubes that induce vertigo and claustrophobia. Not like I’m averse to such situations (very zen), but it’s kinda cool to be going with the cutting edge stuff.

One thing I’ve learned through this whole thing: medical insurance is a very good thing – especially the PPO kind where you don’t need to go through layers of doctor visit red tape.