Typing with nine fingers

[JBillyGirl]

(I was gonna title this "Typing With One Hand," but that's not quite accurate, and I didn't want to give Skippy the wrong idea.)

My left forearm is now sporting a splint that has immobilized my thumb, so typing is an iffy thing, though I have to do it anyway. I've been having considerable pain in my left wrist for about a week now, to the point where routine tasks with my left hand gave me serious trouble. So I went to a hand orthopedic specialist today, and he set me up with this new arm accessory.

A few weeks back I'd slipped on ice and come down hard on both wrists (and my butt), and that was painful but it went away. I did feel some soreness again later, but it wasn't until the last week that things got really bad. My mom worried it might be carpal tunnel syndrome (maybe from the way I use my laptop on my bed), but the doc said no, it's probably tendinitis resulting from a mild sprain I got in that fall. The X-rays revealed no breaks, thank God, so I escaped having to wear an actual cast.

I'll see the doc again in 2 weeks to see if things have improved, which I hope for because I'm going to New Zealand in just over 3 weeks, and I'd rather not have to bring my splint along, as fashionable as it may be. In the meantime, I have to get used to many changes, such as wearing a watch on my right arm (which feels really weird!), eating and brushing teeth with my right hand (fortunately I'm mainly a rightie), and doing all sorts of things one-handed. You may pity me if you so desire.

[mrkelley23]

Try to avoid slicing meat or veggies for the next coupla weeks, too (cf. Kay and PSM.)

You could try hanging wallpaper, I guess.

Oh wait, you wanted SYMPATHY, not sarcasm.

Sorry 'bout that.

[silvercamaro]

Good heavens!

I intend to wrap Annie and Lizbit in bubble wrap. I'm going to use all the leftover wrap to encase the hands of you, bbking, kay, and psm.

Everybody else, step away from slippery places and sharp objects!

[MarleysGh0st]

(I was gonna title this "Typing With One Hand," but that's not quite accurate, and I didn't want to give Skippy the wrong idea.)

LOL!

You have my sympathy. Except for the anticipation of flying to New Zealand part; there you have my envy...

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

I am very sorry. I hope that you heal quickly and I am glad that you don't need a cast.

[peacock2121]

Ouch.

Hope you are a quick healer. One knows when one's hand is not working so good.

[kayrharris]

I'm glad you had it checked out and are on the road to recovery.
Maybe you'll be just fine by trip time. I hope so anyway.

[etaoin22]

Hurting in hands and area isn't fun, especially since we all remember being eight or nine or ten, and if there wasn't a broken bone, we felt better in 72 h, and we'd still like that. Vibes and good thoughts.


However, since tongue-in-cheek wishes are also within the norm of this theread, I will also suggest getting a mirror-image grand piano, to play all that left-hand only music, with your right hand.

[tlynn78]

Ouch, JBG - heal fast!

t.

[geoffil]

Ouch! I hope you feel better quickly. I broke my right hand and when I got the cast off, I had to do OT for over 3 months. It reallly helped. Will you have to do OT or PT when the splint comes off?

[T_Bone0806]

Yikes! Hope your ouchies go away soon!

[JBillyGirl]

My goodness! I just tracked down Kay's and PSM's tales of woe, and I think I will get only restaurant chili from now on. I hope your fingers heal up well and soon. (What happened to bbk? I looked but couldn't find any recent ouches for her.)

Thanks, all, for the good wishes. The doctor didn't say anything about physical therapy after I get the splint off, but he did mention the possibility of a cortisone shot (and he said it would hurt). We'll see what happens in a couple of weeks; I think I'm a good healer in general. In the meantime, I am optimistic; the splint really does seem to be helping in terms of the pain, though it's making my life more difficult, of course. Typing is iffy, and little things like rolling down the car window are unexpectedly tough. I'm hoping that when I go to New Zealand, I won't have to wear my splint all the time, if at all. I want to swim with dolphins without regret!

[moonie]

Jess

wishin' you lived near me. I could perhaps do something for it. Meanwhile, methinks you should ice it often, like every time you use the laptop. Wrap it when you can and take lots of Vitamin C for the healing process.

[kayrharris]

BB was walking through the parking lot at work, slipped on some wet leaves, found herself on the ground with a twisted right ankle and a broken left wrist that required surgery.

She is out of her cast now and hardly has a scar, but still has pain and suffering. Check out her blog sometime...Frothing at Le Mouse....you can read all about it there.

[a1mamacat]

Jess Jess Jess

be more careful.

On a relative note, did you get travel insurance?


(spoken as a mother lol)

[fantine33]

Thanks, all, for the good wishes. The doctor didn't say anything about physical therapy after I get the splint off, but he did mention the possibility of a cortisone shot (and he said it would hurt).

It will. A lot. Plus the later 'cortisone burn'. I've had multiple cortisone shots from my shoulder down to my wrist and the most painful was the epicondyle one (right in that little dip next to your elbow bone), but the wrist ones were a close second. Mine was for de Quervain's, so it was a really tender spot on the wrist (right where your hand meets your wrist underneath the thumb), if it was more towards the top it might not be so bad. It feels like fire being injected and then they move the needle around to get it into as large as area as possible, so it's moving fire! Try to avoid doing it if possible. But, if the pain is really bad, it will do the trick, albeit temporarily.

The watch thing is so funny. I always wore mine on my right wrist and after I had the right hand surgery I tried to wear it on the left, but it bugged me so much that I just stopped wearing one altogether.

[kayrharris]

OMG, that sounds about as close to torture as you can get!

I've had a cortisone shot in my knee, but he deadened it a little bit first and it wasn't so bad, but I have a very high pain tolerance, so maybe it was bad and I didn't know it.

[Snaxx]

I'll respond to the good news in your post... enjoy New Zealand! What an awesome trip that must be.


___________________________

[JBillyGirl]

I can't believe I missed BB's ordeal! I guess I've been even more out of it than I thought. Heal up good and quick, BBK.

Thanks for the advice, moonie. I don't know if I'll be icing it, as I need to keep my splint dry (and I intend to keep my splint on as much as possible in the next two weeks). I will, however, be careful when I use my laptop, and I'll try to get good amounts of Vitatmin C.

A big OUCH on Fannie's coritsone-shot description. It makes me want to avoid it; I think the relevant spot on my wrist may be sensitive. However, with the New Zealand trip coming up, I'll probably do it if the doctor recommends it, because I want to minimize splintage and such as much as I can while I'm away.

I am slowly getting used to wearing a watch on my right wrist. (Unfortunately, though, I think I won't be wearing necklaces where I have to fasten/unfasten a clasp; it's just too awkward.) And yes, Saucy, I and my folks have taken out travel insurance, but I'm not going to let my wrist stop me!

[peacock2121]

Take care of that hand/arm. Do not rush it. It will come back to haunt you.

[fantine33]

OMG, that sounds about as close to torture as you can get!

I've had a cortisone shot in my knee, but he deadened it a little bit first and it wasn't so bad, but I have a very high pain tolerance, so maybe it was bad and I didn't know it.

I need to rag on my doctors to find out why they didn't numb me first! I need to stop being such a tough girl. I don't think it would be quite so bad in the knee. Kind of like tattoos, if it's a thin skinned place it hurts a lot more. The ones I got in my shoulder were in the scapula (the front point by the joint), but they didn't really bother me at all (except for the afterburn). The inside of the wrist is a whole different ballgame. Of course, it doesn't help that it hurts already, ha!

A big OUCH on Fannie's coritsone-shot description. It makes me want to avoid it; I think the relevant spot on my wrist may be sensitive. However, with the New Zealand trip coming up, I'll probably do it if the doctor recommends it, because I want to minimize splintage and such as much as I can while I'm away.

From what I recall, only some people are really affected with the 'cortisone burn'. Naturally, I'm one of them. If you do get the shot, try to get it several days before you leave in case you get the burn. It usually lasts a couple days and then the sweet, sweet relief of cortisone nectar takes over. It can also play with your blood sugar, so let your orthopedist know if you have glucose issues.