To remove all the emotion from the situation which seems to have reached an almost volatile point think of this scenario...
In Aug. of 2006 I fractured my patella (that is fancy for a broken knee, lol!). I wish I could tell you I was doing something super cool and adventurous when this happened but I wasn't. I was walking home from the market, I was wearing flip flops and it started to rain. I picked up my pace and my flip flop hit a patch of slippery pavement and down I went. The pain was so intense it almost didn't hurt if that makes sense.
A few days later I saw my orthopedic dr. After reviewing all the images he gave me two options and I didn't like either of them. Option one was to wear a very heavy and invasive immobilizing brace that went from my hip to my ankle for EIGHT weeks and essentially be on "bed rest". My fracture was "clean" and this method is usually the first line of treatment. Yes, it sucks but it is far less severe than having surgery right off the bat for a problem that can correct itself with the right tools (tools = brace and staying off my feet).
To me, the idea of being confined to a bed or sofa for EIGHT weeks was horrid. In fact, my family took turns babysitting me while my H was at work because they knew I could not sit still for two months.
I told my dr. that and he looked at me and shrugged and said "do what you want, I really don't care what you do I am just telling you what will work and what will not". He then said "your knee will heal eventually if you do nothing but it won't heal properly". I thought to myself what a huge prick this dr. is. You know, the DOCTOR that went through med school and has been in practice for 25 years. Certainly I *must* know more than him, right? WRONG.
My point? Somebody "in the know" can tell you what will work and what won't work to heal. And sometimes the option you have to heal SUCK. Who wants to choose between EIGHT weeks of bed rest or surgery that could result in an additional EIGHT weeks of bed rest? Nobody! Both options stink! Sometimes though the option to heal DO stink and we have to choose the one that stinks less. The key being to CHOOSE *something*.
