Week 2 after the splint removal

It's almost been a full week since they let me take the splint off. My finger is still curved inward which is really annoying, but I'm beginning to feel a little movement in it... not much. My wrist can bend backwards a lot more (see photo) which is nice. My other non-surgery fingers are moving a bit better, but they are still pretty stiff and do not have full mobility. Yesterday it was cold and my hand hurt like the dickens... kinda like arthritis. I moved my mouse back to the right side and I'm using it with my gimp hand - and that's a little odd. My wrist still doesn't bend like normal and I never realized how much wrist bending was involved in mousing. I'm typing with two hands again, but I cant use my pinky for its keys because it just doesn't "work" yet.

Check out the photos below of my wrist bending back as far as possible as well as my hand and fingers extended as far as possible. I also have a photo of my left hand extended for comparison.

Surgery hand - Hand & fingers extended as far as possible


Left (non-surgery) hand extended... this is what my right hand SHOULD be doing


My wrist bending back as far as possible (my left wrist bends backwards at a 90 degree... or at a -90degree... or something)


And finally my clinched fist... I have hardly any strength in my hand. I can barely hold a cup of coffee or even a cereal box!!!

No More Cast!!!

Well, I went to the Dr. yesterday and he said with the OT's permission I could take the cast off. Today April approved!!! So, the good news is no more cast, the bad news is that my wrist doesn't bend backwards and my fingers are SUPER stiff! My pinky is curved and barely moves which is super frustrating. They said not to lift anything heavy or grip anything tight - no problem there - I barely have any strength. I still have to wear the cast at night for a while, but I'm just so glad to have it back!!!

This is my hand now that the cast is off. I'm bending my wrist backwards as far as I can! Basically it will bend forward but not backwards.

Nothin new

I saw Dr. Powell Wed and he said he was "extremely pleased" with the progress I was making. I still can BARELY move my pinky... and the rest of my fingers only have a very small range of motion. I'm still in the same "ugly cast" and the physical therapist said it will be another 3 weeks with this cast on. I don't know what comes after that. Hopefully NO cast!

We asked Dr. Powell how long until I had somewhat normal use of my hand again and he said probably about another 2-3 months. All I want for Christmas is a working hand...

Finger Lookin' Good

Went to the Physical Therapist today... got another hand massage ;) Everyone LOVED the cast cover aka William Stitch. Everyone there knows me for my crazy casts and were SHOCKED when it wasn't decorated last week... thats why I had to go all out this week.

I also got to watch two "firemen in training" do silly things like crawl on the floor, climb up and down a latter, drag this heavy dummy, and do this weird peg test thing... it was fun. I think they said it was Ergonomics/Employment Testing or something... I'll have to google it.

This is the yukky part - not for anyone eating lunch or anyone who wants to eat in the near future... so if you don't want to hear it, don't read below:

I wish I had taken pictures of the "before" when the surgery had scabbed over, but I didn't. Anyway, today when I went into PT April took my scabbed over part off!! Now all you see instead of a yukky mess is fresh baby skin. You can still see the zig zag they cut, but it looks pretty good!! Here is a photo taken with my crappy camera phone. Its too much work to hook up the digital camera.



They let me bend it a little... it still doesnt bend too good, but she said its right on track.

Meet William Stitch

I'll keep this short because not much has changed... Still in this ugly cast for another month. PT is going good and my stitched up areas look great! (well as great as a stitched up area can be).

I'm getting really good at typing one handed... not that I would EVER want to stay this way. I still cant do photoshop well because my left hand isnt that coordinated.

Anyway... I was complaining of my u-g-l-y cast so my extremely talented mom whipped this cover up real quick... tell me this is not the funniest thing you've ever seen. I'm going to get quite a few strange looks with this one but I SWEAR I'm sane... just immature hehe

Oh! And I drove for the first time today.... its a little scary backing up and parking... but I did ok.

P.S. The Horse's name is William Stitch... Bill for short (because we just got our surprise bill from Georgia Bone and Joint) and... well I think you get the duo meaning in the Stitch part :)

Gotta love the Bills...

When we had the surgery done the front desk girl was kind enough to call us and tell us that insurance would cover all but 20% of the surgery and our part would be $160. Ok, so $160 isn't too bad for surgery... we did the reverse percentage thing and found out the surgery was only about $800 total. Hmmm... for two tendons??? It seemed pretty cheap. Oh but that wasn't the WHOLE bill. That was just for the surgery center. Today we got the bill from The Bone and Joint center.... $2750....PER TENDON. Of course I just HAD to cut both... So $5500 for Dr. Powell's fee. Nice. Our portion was $516 so including the initial two visits... medicine and therapy we are up to $806 for this freakin surgery. Not to mention all the money I'm out from not being able to work!! I wish I could sue the chicken can company for my own stupidity. I think I'm going to look into insuring my hands with Lloyd's of London.

The good news?? I have a new cast-erpiece commissioned with the world renowned smocker/knitter/hooker/sewer/quilter/crafter... Mom. It should be arriving tomorrow and I can't WAIT to show you... you will DIE!!

Until then...

Just PT and me

Ok... I have to admit - I like going to Physical Therapy. April and Kim are awesome, and we just sit back there chatting it up with my other hand-injured friends. They know all about my "pet drama" (thats a whole blog in itself) and I've made quite a name for myself with my interesting cast puppets.

This time April just basically gave me a 20 minute hand massage... and she said the wound is healing up nicely! I would show you pictures... but it's still pretty yukky.

I saw Dr. Powell yesterday and he said he was really impressed with the progress!! The cast is the same but April rounded it up a bit so I could create another cast-erpiece ;) Want to know what I have in mind??? You'll just have to wait!

This is getting rediculous

Well... looks like ill just have to get used to typing with one hand for a while. I went back to the doctor Thurs and they took my stitches out (which hurt like crud!!) I also had the first of my WEEKLY physical therapy sessions... and they put me in yet another cast.

This one is the most uncomfortable of them all and i was instructed not to use my right hand at all except for the exercises on my pinky. After getting my hopes up two weeks in a row I asked them HONESTLY how long I would be in a cast and she said it will probably be for another two months...

SO.... Im going to switch my mouse to the left side of my keyboard and learn how to design with my left hand. I never would have imagined that a chicken can lid could cause this much damage!!!!

Oh... and many of you have suggested that I get one of those "safe" or "hands free" can openers.... so you will be glad to know that just the other day my cousin in Colorado mailed me a Calphalon Safety Can Opener... and one of my client's mailed me a One Touch Can Opener a few days later!! I should be safe from injury from now on!

A new cast - A new face

Well... went back to the dr today. He took off my cast long enough for me to stretch my arm and check everything...and then put another one right back on!!

This one stops at my elbow thank goodness... I have been dying to move it. He said everything looks good and i have another appointment Thurs. The next appt ill get the stitches out and start therapy and then see Dr. Powell afterwards to get a splint on and FINALLY free up my working fingers!!!! (by that i mean my index finger and hopefully a thumb and an extra finger haha)

Anyway... a new cast means a new face... so enjoy the photo of my new friend "Blossom"

Meet "Pinky"

Well i went to the Dr. Tues and i still have my cast on :(

I see the surgeon next tues (he has been out of town so i saw one of the other guys tues) so HOPEFULLY he will take it off then. I'm going nuts over here - I'm one of the few people who ENJOYS work so this is making me miserable!!!

I'm typing with one hand and it takes FOREVER...so the posts will be kept short from now on. Enjoy a photo of my new friend - i call him Pinky. Im trying to find him a hat or hair but i cant convince chris to drive me to Michael's or walmart (but i cant complain - he did dry and straighten my hair for me!!) hehehe

After surgery and with LOTS of drugs

Hey everybody just wanted to show you my new trophy!!! Surgery went well. It took about an hour and twenty minutes. They completely put me under. The first thing I said when I woke up was, "I dreamed about web sites". :)

I'm in a little pain now but I have a very good care-taker at home with me. By the way, notice the very sophisticated "exercise device" they attached to the cast. It's a rubberband tied to my fingernail with sutures. Nice, huh? The doc who did the surgery is great...I was glad we had him.

Photos right after surgery:







Allie and Wyatt sent me a picture on my phone:



Check out my new cast... tiny huh?

More than JUST a cut

Well... I now have surgery scheduled for tomorrow. No, I'm not kidding... surgery. It seems as though I have cut BOTH flexor tendons in my pinky. The doctor's words were "I'm going to be honest with you... this is NOT a good injury to have. " Then he talked about 2-3 months of casting with a LOT of physical therapy. I hope he's not serious. Then he so graciously added "you cut an area that most doctors refer to as 'no man's land' because no man should ever have to go in there and because stiffness is such a common problem after injuries in this area. Freakin Great. well... looks like work is going to have to be put on hold for a while...

A Stiff Pinky

My pinky still wont bend... typing has been pretty hard. I have a doctor appoint tomorrow with a specialist. Wish me luck.

The Chicken Bit Back

Well... today I cut my pinky on a chicken can lid. Yes, you heard me... a chicken can lid. Why was I eating chicken from a can?? Well... It all started when we had NOTHING for lunch. I decided on clam chowder... Chris wanted pasta with marinara. Trying to be a good wife I decided to "fancy up" my hubby's pasta with a recipe similar to one I saw on the back of the pasta box. It had olive oil, basil and other seasonings, Parmesan and... CHICKEN. Well knowing I didn't have any chicken de-thawed (un-thawed?), I opted for the Tuna of the Land... aka Canned Chicken.

Everything was going fine and well... The pasta looked Gourmet and the hubby was pleased. I returned to the stove to serve up my clam chowder and decided to do some quick cleaning before I sat down to eat. I washed out the pasta pot, returned the leftover marinara to the fridge, grabbed the can 'o chicken to thro....ooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh $#!^...%&*#, %&*#, %&*#, %&*#, %&*#, %&*#!!!!!!

The lid on the chicken had sliced through the middle bend in my pinky finger on my right hand. I cant remember if it hurt or just freaked me out when i felt it hit "something" but I was saying enough dirty words to put Dove out of business.

Shortly after hovering over the sink and holding my hand under water... I was thanking God I hadn't eaten my clam chowder. My morning Crystal Light was coming back up. Not good. So Chris and I bandaged it... I sat down... and then realized - I CAN'T BEND MY PINKY!!!!!!!! WTF?? Chris said it was probably in shock... Dad said he was more worried about getting an infection... I was worried about not being able to type!! So after about 20 min when I still couldn't bend it we headed to the Urgent Care center.

Of course the doctor was just a general practitioner so he said he didn't see anything and stitched it up with three stitches. He was concerned with it not bending so he said if I still cant bend it by Monday, I should make an appointment with a specialist. See photos of the stitches and bandage below (they were taken with my camera phone... bear with me).
This is probably the worst injury a web designer can have!