Field Report #4

This past week's been a bit bumpy. I was feeling some pain and tingling in my wrist and fingers and had to go and see a doctor. I went to specialist in RSI (repetitive strain injury, as that's what I thought it was) and was turned off immediately by finding that it would be $150 for the initial visit, up to $100 for each consecutive visit and that 10 to 15 visits would be needed. AND Seven Corners did not cover it. So... I went and got a wrist brace, visited and acupuncturist (which i paid for out of pocket) and made a visit to UCSF. Which happens to be in my neighborhood and is also one of the top medical schools in the nation. I was given a prescription, suggested a stronger wrist brace and given some exercises to do.

The same day, i went and saw an acupuncturist who did AMAZING work on me (I live bordering a very culturally rich Chinese neighborhood). It was actualy in conjunction with acupressure where the nerve medians on your body are stimulated by intense pressure. The guy was really good and i felt pretty relaxed afterwards...

Back at the office, they've been very supportive, ordered a new keyboard and today, I'll be looking for a new chair. I've also gotten some anti-inflammatories for my arm which help with the pain until I heal. All visits to the doctor + anti-inflammatories were covered. The acupuncturist however, was not.

Consequently, on Saturday I had to go to the emergency room for getting bitten by a wild mouse. Was seen by a nurse, than doctor, given a shot (for tetanus actually, rabies is pretty rare in SF and even then, mostly transmitted by bats) and a prescription for some antibiotics. All this was covered, save for a $25 emergency room visit co-pay.

In the meantime, I found some great resources on RSI/ergonimics. Check em out here:

http://web.mit.edu/atic/www/disabilities/rsi/index.html

http://www.ergonomics.org/