I had ‘frozen shoulder’ and am reminded of it when I travel. I won’t check my suitcases, and can usually put it in the overhead bin by myself. There are times, however, that I cannot raise my arm and have the strength to push it into the bin.
Frozen shoulder is when “The tissues around the joint stiffen, scar tissue forms, and shoulder movements become difficult and painful.” [http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/frozen-shoulder-topic-overview]
I went to an orthopedic specialist to satisfy my primary care physician. The specialist looked over my x-ray and, quite seriously, asked “How long have you had this?”
“Oh doctor!” I wailed, “FOREVER!!!”
Still very seriously he asked “How many years?”
“Oh” I replied rather sheepishly, “about two months”.
To me, two months with limited mobility in my left shoulder was forever. It hampered me when I travel by plane, when I get dressed and when I want to carry anything over my shoulder. It even affected me when I’m trying to sleep! In my mind, and in my reality, I had this ailment for ‘forever’. In the doctor’s mind, ‘forever’ was measured in years.
Let me ask you, how long is your ‘forever’? And is it the same as your listener’s ‘forever’?
