According to Malcolm Gladwell, "The ventromedial prefrontal cortex...works out contingencies and relationships and sorts through the mountain of information we get from the outside world, prioritizing it and putting flags on things that demand our immediate attention." In short, it is the part of the human brain responsible for our ability to make decisions. Located behind the nose, mine must be damaged.
Life is full of tough decisions; some of which could have life-changing outcomes and others that aren't important in the long run at all. Making a decision to wear flip flops instead of closed-toe shoes to a movie is hardly important but deciding to have a surgery performed or hope that the injury heals on its own with time could have a different impact. The latter has been the contemplation I've been tossing around for the past few weeks.
The first doctor I went to in regards to my injury told me to get surgery. The second doctor gave me some anti-inflammation pills and told me to wait it out; which is what I've been doing. The first doctor told me I would not regain full motion of my finger after surgery. Did that mean no more rowing or baseball? My finger still hurt like hell.
What to do? Wasn't this Orbital 47's cue to come to my rescue? Yes. Get the surgery, do the rehab and get back to slinging tacos. No. Wait it out. You're getting paid to miss work. Watch some movies, read some books, play some video games. I wasn't getting anything. I've been leaning more toward surgery which, according to the book I'm currently reading, would suggest that was the route I should take. I needed to "Blink" and schedule my appointment. But what if the injury just needed time to rest and heal by itself?
Mom and Dad came to the rescue. As I drove through the bare Texas landscape on two hours sleep from Denver I found myself weighing the pros and cons with my listening parents. I felt more comfortable with the first guy. Pro. The second guy took his time and told me it wasn't his goal to perform as many surgeries as possible for maximum profit. Pro. No mobility after surgery. Con. There was a communication and cultural barrier with the second guy. Con. The first guy personally called me and left his cell phone number. Big pro. My finger still hurt just as much as it did before I took the cortisone. Con. As I listed off all of the aforementioned items to my parents, my ventromedial friend woke up. Call the doctor and express your concerns about the loss of mobility. Ask for his opinion on being active after surgery.
I guess in the end, I'm the one that came to the conclusion. I'm the one that looked at the options and weighed their relevance to my needs. My parents offered their support and suggestions. They told me what they would do given the information I had provided, but it was Brandon that needed to decide. The surgery is set (which could affect this 365 Days of Brandon thing) for tomorrow and if it fails to work, I'll have no one to blame but myself; which is why I didn't want to make the decision in the first place.
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