Physical therapy

Physical therapy appointments are almost over. I still need to exercise at home and still have discomfort every day, but only have to go for a real appointment once more.

Like hospitalization, physical therapy in a non-English environment has its challenges. The young woman who's been my physical therapist does speak some English, and I can usually understand her once she demonstrates something if I didn't understand her spoken explanation. The frustrating thing, though, is that we can't communicate in shades of gray. In other words, she'll ask "Half fain?" (which means "Do you have pain?") and I can say yes or no, or a little or a lot. But if I try to say "it's more like an aching discomfort when I move my arms in this direction...." she can't understand this.

I also get the feeling I'm letting her down if I say I do have pain, like it suggests she and I haven't been making progress. I may be making that up entirely in my head though. Again, because we can't communicate with any kind of subtlety, there's really no way for me to know.

I also can't figure out if her repeating what I'm doing while I'm doing it (for example, saying "scissors legs" as I move my legs in a scissors motion) means that she's simply describing what I'm doing or telling me to do it differently. Is it cheerleading or correction?

guess i'm just venting frustration at the moment....feeling a little tired of having to work to understand and be understood in addition to having to do the physical work.