I saw Dr. Rahman after a wrist fracture, and which had been tended to (casted) about 10 days prior at an emergency room. She certainly struck me as experienced and capable. Over the course of a few months, I went back to her office maybe 5 times, either for periodic check-ins/X-rays, to see how the bone was healing, and also to go into a shorter cast (before the final cast removal).
I didn't like that even though my appointments were made with 'Dr Rahman', that in I think 3 of my 5 appointments, I ended up seeing her assistant. I can't say I was a fan of her assistant, as any time I expressed concerns, or wanted to ask a question (say in between appointments), I was made to feel that I was being overly-concerned and/or a bit of a nuisance. As a result, I was not made to feel welcome to ask questions.
After my final cast removal, for whatever reason, Dr. Rahman didn't think I should have another follow-up visit with them for another SIX weeks. I was handed a prescription for P.T. and essentially sent on my way ('good luck with your recovery...').
Since I did not feel especially supported by Dr. Rahman's office, I made the (very sage) decision, shortly after my final cast was removed, to get a second opinion from a well-reputed orthopedist/hand surgeon in Manhattan. And thank god I did. When I saw him, two weeks after the cast removal, he indicated that he was very concerned about how swollen my hand and wrist were, and seemed to suggest that the longer we took to address the swelling, the longer it would take my wrist to heal, and that it could even impact my long-term prospect for a full recovery. He also said I needed to be moving my hand/wrist more, and immediately. (You see, I'd never broken a bone before. As they say, you can't know, what you don't know. How was I to know if or how my wrist should be recovering...at what pace...if the amount of residual swelling was normal or not, etc? And as I said, I certainly couldn't ask any of this of Rahman's office, as I was not made to feel welcome to do so. And sure, maybe Rahman's assistant made a casual comment to me - when my cast was removed - of 'you should start using your hand for light activities', but again, how do I know what that really means? Using my hand, how? To what degree? How would I know that if I did not use my hand, and sufficiently, that it might actually impact my recovery? When my cast was removed, my arm looked like that of a little chicken....my hand was all stiff and swollen. And, I was petrified of moving anything...fearful that I might somehow negatively impact the only-recently-healed wrist fracture.)
Anyway, this second doctor scared me enough that, I immediately began trying to use my hand as much as possible. I also appreciated that he took the time to sit down, directly across from me, and explain everything, and answer all my questions. In other words, he made me feel 'supported'. He put me on a six-day medication, to take down the swelling. And boy, did tha...
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