Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Hand Report

My hand/wrist/arm is still painful.  It is improving slowly.  I can use a can opener now and every once in a while I can open my own bottle of water.  I can drive the lawn mower, one of the levers is difficult to engage but I can manage.  I cannot rake leaves with a rake.  I have become more left handed…and can squeeze the water out of my hair now…

My wrist/ hand swells and I still have two spots that feel as if they have been burned.  During the last cold spell my whole arm ached.  I ice it every night…poor Chance sleeps near me and he has been iced on ocassion.  Lately I take an ice bag, wrap it in a towel and then ace bandage it all to my arm…safer for the dog that way.

Shaking a rug may be a thing of the past at least with my right hand.  I am still taking a break from woodcarving.   I take along my Christmas Cards and work on them while everyone else carves.  I miss carving. 

It will just take time. I am following the medical advice I was given…don’t over do… ice it and rest it so it stops swelling and can heal.  I had hoped that the recovery time would be shorter than it is. This Friday I will have seven weeks toward recovery. I must be patient!

Daylilies and Echinacea last July.

Purple and Yellow

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19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Connie, Sorry the recovery is slow. I know you really miss carving. Tell Chance "hi" from us. Take care.

Blogoratti said...

I hope you recover fully with time, hang in there and warm greetings to you.

Meggie said...

Hi Connie... I have read that rushing your healing process can lead to scar tissue building up...so, please give yourself a break and take the time for healing... I can't imagine how difficult it is for you, especially with the activities that you love.

linda m said...

Sorry to hear the recovery is taking so long. I think my patience would be wearing thin by now; at least you still have some. Just don't ry to rush it but let time do the healing. You are on my daily "healing" prayer list. Thanks for the update, was wondering how you were doing.

DJan said...

Lovely picture. I was also hoping that by now it would be better, but it does sound like it is slowly improving.

Pauline Persing said...

I'm sorry recovering from the surgery is going so slowly. I hope another month brings noticeable improvement. It is hard to "hang in there" and I am impressed that you are doing as well as you are. I remember it was easier to feel optimistic in the morning and that by evening I would be discouraged. Morning always comes.

Tired Teacher said...

Healing can't be rushed: it just takes time. It sounds like you're doing everything right, so stick with it.

My knee is still achy in one spot and it's been four months since my surgery. The surgeon told me full recovery would be six months to a full year. Patience is necessary, but difficult to practice.

marlu said...

The picture is beautiful. Glad you're following doctor's orders! (Some folks don't.)

Terry and Linda said...

I would just thinking last night about your hand and how it was doing. Thank you for your update. I hope you start to heal faster now. HUGS!

Rita said...

I just googled--recovery time can take from several weeks to several months. That's a bummer in one way, but good news in another. You still have a huge window for improvement, are following doctor's orders, and will probably be shaking rugs again one day. ;) Seems like you've been able to do more the past couple weeks. Slow progress is hard. I'm sure Chance will be glad when he won't be getting ice therapy, too--LOL! Love and hugs!! Beautiful picture, BTW.

Jan said...

I have a friend who needs to decide whether to have the surgery. Would you do it again?

Red said...

I'm surprised that this was such rough surgery.

Granny Marigold said...

It must be very hard to continue being patient when you'd like so much to be doing what you love ( carving, for one). Keep taking care of your hand/wrist and hopefully all will be well soon.

Shirley said...

I hope you continue to improve even if it is too slow to suit you! It's tough not doing all the things you love, but kind of offset by not having to do the things you don't. I'd be happy to not have to do housework, but I would be really upset to not be able to do horse work!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Yes but I would have sought out a Doctor that specialized in surgery of the hand. I was in so much pain before the surgery that I was impatient to get it done and chose the general surgeon. I should have had the surgery six months before I did, but I kept putting it off:(

Linda Reeder said...

That is a long recovery, but then you had a complication that made it more than carpel tunnel surgery.
Sure hope you continue to improve - Faster!

Jacqi Stevens said...

I've been wondering how you are doing. Sorry to hear the recovery is so slow! I remember from my husband's shoulder surgery that it seemed he had to ice it forEVER! Hopefully, you'll hit a spot where you need to ice it less and less, and this will all be behind you.

Sam I Am...... said...

Don't feel bad. My son had shoulder surgery (I don't think he should have and neither does he now)....he is in chronic pain, there is nothing they can do and now he has to find a new line of work...no more physical labor and he is young....just approaching 40! I think if he had waited he would have healed naturally but what do I know? I have never had surgery and don't plan on it unless something really goes wrong...like a gall bladder or something. I pray your hand heals and gets better with time but like I said...at our age it takes longer and longer to heal...be patient.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Bring patient when recovery from any surgery is usually the hardest part. Hopefully things will get easier in time.