(no subject)

I'm winding down the occupational/physical therapy for my right hand and wrist, after seeing the therapist last week and discussing how to do this. On a whim, I just tried the same range-of-motion exercises with my left hand. It's stiffer than my right hand, and I can't separate my left thumb and index finger as far, or curve the thumb and fingers as smoothly.

It looks like it would be a good idea to do those stretches and exercises with my left hand. Try once or twice a day? I'm reducing the right hand exercises from three times daily while I was seeing the therapist, to daily over the last week, and then to three times a week, "fading to zero" over three months.

masking at the dental office

went to the dentist and had my teeth cleaned this afternoon. The cleaning went well, and the hygienist was wearing what looked like an N95 mask--but ( discussion of inadequate masking )

This isn't just slacking--three months ago the same office had a sign telling everyone they had to mask, and while they weren't enforcing that for patients, the staff were all masked, and one of them quietly thanked me for having asked another patient to pull his mask up. This time, the sign was "masks are optional, please respect people who choose to wear them." In case they've forgotten, they're a medical office, and could require masking whether or not the state is telling them to. I have to take my mask off to have my teeth cleaned; the office staff don't have that excuse.

On my way into the Harvard subway station and busway, I passed a billboard saying that, following CDC guidance, masks are encouraged. I would have expected my dentist to do at least as well as the MBTA.

I made my next appointment before I noticed just how bad the dental office's masking was, and I'm wondering whether it's time to find a new dentist, possibly closer to my new apartment.