It started with shoulder pain, sharp and burning as if the muscles has been set alight. Breathing became uncomfortable. I had to steel myself to cough. The damage might have come from holding up the hefty telephoto lens while photographing birds on a nearby wetland or from sitting at a desk with my left arm – the afflicted one – almost immobile for hours. Or it might have come from something sneakier that developed unnoticed until it crossed a threshold.
I was certain the pain would resolve itself in a few days – then a few more days, and a few more after that. My mistake.
