Snow Day

 It snowed, by the time we went to town for Far Guy's infusion the roads were okay,  he dropped me off at my parents.  I walked Dad down the hallways, he needs to keep up with physical activity.   He was doing pretty good.  

We ran a few errands in town.  Dropped off some old medications at the Sheriffs office and went by the grocery store to get some fresh fruit.   On the way home the roads were wet and there were some snow tornados out on the fields when the wind came up.  

Good afternoon for a nap! 

I pulled the remaining stitch that was in my thumb.  It looks much better now and feels somewhat better too. 

I felt like I should turn in my services to an Insurance Company for reimbursement.  My thumb doesn't like doing certain things...pushing or gripping movements...it all takes time.  I told Far Guy that he was most likely in charge of wood carving the Christmas ornaments this year....we will see.  At the end of a day my thumb protests all the movements during the day...

June

Twas a dreary day here in Minnesota.  Today is Tax Day and Good Friday all rolled into one.   Half the month is gone and it seems more like March than April.

Far Side

Young Robins

 Somewhere in our woods a pair of Robins raised some young and brought them into the yard.  At first we didn't know what kind of strange birds we had. 

Kinda different looking.  Yes that Oak tree is a bit dead...it is one of several "bird trees" in our yard...not many leaves and straggly looking but a good landing place for birds.

We had a busy Monday...Far Guy had an appointment for part of his pre op.   I saw my orthopedist, I have a water filled cyst on the pulley at the base of my left thumb.  He said ''we can schedule you for surgery or give you another injection."  Well you can guess what I chose...there is time enough for surgery next winter.  I am pretty good at knowing what irritates it...and will try to pay more attention.  I hate the injections...hopefully it will work! 

Far Side

Neighbors

My other baby brother called and invited us over for pizza. We had to decline...we were not feeling up to it and didn't want to make them sick.

Ever so thoughtful neighbor and fellow blogger  Leah dropped off a gift.  Thank you Leah!

Far Guy says " You know you have been out of touch when the neighbors bring you paper, pens and stamps!"

"You are never to old to set a new goal or dream a new dream."  C. S.  Lewis

I did not go to Bingo, my Mother said she would accompany Dad this week.

I slept on and off all afternoon.  The cold has settled in my head.

 I had an appointment in the morning for an injection in my left trigger thumb that has been waking me up at night.  (My thumb locks up hurts like heck and wakes me up so I can put it back in place.) Those cortisone injections hurt so terrible...but last time I was trigger and pain free for 8 months...if this injection doesn't work I will have to have surgery to release the pulley that is inflamed.  He said to give it two weeks if I have no results he will schedule the surgery...keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

Far Side

Zaps

It was a long week. 

I had some fancy smancy Nerve Tests done and there is news.

First I am ageing…who knew… better alert the press…since I am old I have a foot that goes to sleep, just the inner half of my foot and leg which sometimes makes it difficult to walk normally.  I would never be able to do a walk the line test…which the Fancy Smancy Nerve Doctor found out. (It is the foot/leg I injured back in 1980 that they could not fix and they said you will walk ten years but no more…well they were wrong…but maybe since it has been 37 years my time might be up. I may write about that whole fiasco someday. ) I could have more tests done but the result would be that I am aging and I have a bum leg and must be careful how and where I walk. Since I am older I have some spinal stenosis which makes the whole leg problem worse. 

I have carpel tunnel in my right arm and will be fitted for a brace and I get to go to Occupational Therapy.   I think I must have good insurance. If the brace and therapy don’t help I get to see the hand surgeon.  Luckily it is the same surgeon who did my thumb that went in and out of its joint a few years ago. He is an older French Doctor and knows what he is doing and probably went to a real medical school.

They said the nerve tests were painful, just like electric fence zaps, I found them milder than an electric fence…not much milder but tolerable.  The most painful part was when he did the acupuncture needles into the muscles and then did the zaps.  By that time…it was a long session 75 minutes and I had lost all of my sense of humor and asked him if he was almost done because I had reached my pain threshold for the day.  He said three more minutes…well I made it.  He turned around and sat at the desk to put his notes in the computer and I just sat on the exam table, he finally said “you can come and sit in the chair next to me.”  I replied “Are you afraid that I am behind you?”  He didn’t answer so he must have been just a little uneasy.  He said I tolerated it well, so apparently I am not a screamer or swearer…he said many women compare it with childbirth…I wouldn’t. ( I may have said crap a few times or maybe even oh shit!)

He did a good job of explaining all my options of other fancy smancy tests that would just show how old I am.  My nerves are not dysfunctional …just old.

I was real tired after that Doctors visit, Far Guy and Chance came along for the long drive and waited for me in the Parking Lot because it was too warm to leave Chance in the vehicle by himself.  They brought me home and I had a long nap but I am still tired.  I still have some aching especially in my arm.

We will have a quiet weekend at home.

I put out a few glass ornaments.  Something to brighten up the woods.

Thumb Report

My thumb is much better than it was.  It has been seven weeks since the surgery.   I do not have a noticeable scar..but a band of scar tissue that feels all funny. Perhaps with time that sensation will go away.

There are still things I can not do. I cannot snap the snaps on my parka with my right hand..I use my left.   I cannot open anything that has cap that twists off..like on a bottle of water.  I cannot grasp heavy objects between my thumb and forefinger and pull them toward me without pain. ( think down comforters, seat belts etc..) You know those little arrow things on the cap of a bottle of aspirin..that have to be lined up and you just flip that top right off..well that is still not happening.

What can I do? I can now use a can opener, for months I would haul the can to be opened and the opener to Far Guy. If I didn’t ..he would be brought into the kitchen by my screaming because my thumb would be stuck out of joint, and the stupid can would still be unopened.   Most of the time I can get a jar opened..sometimes not..but that  happened before my thumb went to pot too.

I would not be able to carry three gallons pots filled with plants at once or weed like I used too..but perhaps those are the things that wore out the pulley in my thumb in the first place.

The pain is mostly gone..but I still sleep with my hand elevated at night…out of sheer habit..I can go to sleep with my hand down and wake up an hour later and it is safely elevated above me.  My hand hurts if I get it cold..that must be the arthritis. So I am not 100% yet but 90% and it is getting better everyday.

It was twenty something below zero here again this morning..spring seems so far away. Thanks for asking about my thumb:)

Thumb Report Thursday

I finally got to have the stitches removed from my thumb.  When I complained that my thumb was still hurting the PA explained that yes indeedy I have lots of arthritis in the base of my hand and thumb.   It may have been aggravated by the surgery..duh?  It may get better all by itself..it may get worse..I can have as many cortisone shots as necessary to keep me comfortable..or I can have a very painful long to recover from surgery where they take out some of the bone…NOT.

Right now I am just waiting for it to get better..there are certain things I cannot do.  WELL I can do them..but the motion sends shooting pains up my arm all the way to my shoulder..and that pain is exhausting.  Some things are simple motions..pulling on my boots..so I switch and do it with my left hand.  The one that I cannot seem to retrain myself to do occurs in my sleep..grasping the quilt and pulling it up..I am instantly awake.  Any grasping with my thumb will cause pain. I will just have to be inventive and learn to do things differently.

Yesterday I suffered through emptying the paper shredder.. twice..it has a very heavy top and it requires two good thumbs to empty it.  I was very busy cleaning out some old files..ALL BY MYSELF.  Someone who will remain nameless complained the day before that anyone that is a compulsive shredder should empty the shredder once in awhile.  That someone then emptied it..and got shred all over the floor. 

I can finally do my own hair again..no more Far Guy hair styles.  Far Guy offered to make it all easier for me..he would shave my head and we would match. He was grinning from ear to ear..a kind of evil smile.

This is the snow stick..it is at 21.  Steve (next door neighbor) asked last night what it was at..Far Guy and I both though it was at 23..nope it is still at 21.  Many people in our area say that we got way over a foot of snow in the last two snowstorms..our stick says eleven inches. It may not be a good indicator of the entire area..it is just meant to show us what is on the ground in our yard.

I took this on January 03, 2011.  It is a photo of a sundog that was visible through the clouds.  We get them in the winter..usually on really cold days. 

I can still use my camera..but I am thankful that it isn’t any heavier or larger than it is:)

Chance: The Best Part of Christmas

It is I the handsome blogging Border Collie.  Far Side is not fit to talk to anyone today.  I betcha wanna know why?  Well..you see some nurse called her yesterday and CANCELLED her appointment to get her stitches out.  It seems the other nurses from same day surgery have no clue what their Doctors want. This clinic nurse who bossed Far Side around does and she is in charge of the appointments.  So the itchy bothersome stitches that are not supposed to get wet will stay in until Monday.  That was not a pretty phone call..afterward when Far Side started to bawl..Far Guy said “Sweetie, I can always remove those stitches if they get to be too much for you.”  I guess I could always chew them off …might be a bit messy..

On to the best part of Christmas. Food..oh yes a few leftovers..the BBQ Ribs that Far Side made were to roll over and die for..and Cheesy Bread..and corn that came out of the local fields last summer…and cookies..my sister made cookies.

Presents..Miney got a bag of Tennis Balls and shared her good fortune with me!

I got my very own Hockey Stick!! Now we have two..so we can really play hockey in the the driveway now. There was some confusion when it was purchased..apparently it goes by the height of the player..one of my girls said “It doesn’t matter it is for a dog.”  Now there will always be two sticks on hand..we play with a tennis ball..so we can play all year round.  I also got this..

a spidery looking ball that squeaks..I can’t take it outside because I might lose it in a snow bank.  This was a gift from Lisa J who lives in Washington State..she has Trigeminal Neuralgia just like Far Guy..and reads Far Sides blog everyday. She also sent a few ornaments …

  The most beautiful little Goldfinch..the State Bird of Washington.

Now get ready for a drop your socks off one of a kind ornament..Far Side thinks it is one of the most beautiful ornaments she has ever seen.( This was picked out especially for her by Lisa’s husband Doug..he  has really good taste:)

Far Side is reminded..that whatever silly discomfort that she has with her thumb is just a minor irritant…it will be all better in a few more days.. Trigeminal Neuralgia never goes away. Thank you Lisa and Doug J for thinking of us!  Presents, food and friends that understand make for a perfect Christmas for this handsome dog:)

The Third Day of Winter

It snowed here..not sure how much yet..  It snowed the night before I had surgery.  The snow stick says three inches..but I know it was more than that because it was over the top of my boots..

Snow stick on Dec 20 and Dec 23

The surgeon is a cute little French Guy..pleasant for a surgeon.  You know sometimes their bed side manner sucks..but this guy was okay.  He thought he knew Far Guy..I don’t know what is up with that lately everyone seems to think they know Far Guy.

The anesthetists name was John..I got some kind of a block..where they put a tourniquet on your arm and then they wrap it with a blue elastic bandage and then tighten everything up till it hurts and your whole arm is cadaversish looking..I looked..then they injected something that really burned and hurt like the devil..then they knocked me out..

When I woke up I was talking about blogging and they were all laughing..who knows what I told them. They bandaged my hand and I had a nap in the hallway..I cannot for the life of me remember how I made it from the operating table to the gurney..

I am not supposed to get my hand wet.  I am supposed to keep it iced and elevated and keep the bandage in place till next week when the stitches come out. 

The stupid bandage leaves alot to be desired..it shifts and is irritating.  This morning I had to rewrap it myself.  The pain is much better today. I think I have three stitches ..maybe four.

It seems you have four pulley systems that work your thumb..you only need two to function. I asked the question why do we have four then?  The Doctor said that it has something to do with growth and needing more as we are growing.  So he went into the base my thumb and released one of those pulleys..and my thumb will be perfect again once it heals.

Far Guy has bronchitis…he got really sick on Tuesday night while taking care of me.  I made him a Doctors appointment.  He didn’t want to go..I made him..I went without pain pills so I could drive him there..the Doctor gave him antibiotics..thank goodness..because all the way to town he whined “it’s a virus they aren’t going to give me anything for it anyway, this is just a big waste of time.”  Yada Yada Yada..

I am at the mercy of Far Guy for help bathing and for fixing my hair..I have an interesting new style..I have long hair and it is all caught up in a pony tail holder at the top of my head..kinda…it’s good thing the messy look is in.

Jen, Andy and the boys are here now, they arrived last night, Little Elvis and Miney are here too.  Tonight the girls will be here and they can help me finish decorating the tree upstairs. 

December 23, 2010 Miney, Chance and Little Elvis.

I didn’t get quite everything done..but at this point it is what it is.  It is a good thing Far Guy and I work well together I can help him wrap packages with one hand..and he can apply liberal amounts of scotch tape and help tie beautiful bows:)