Hey everyone! Well I've had yet another surgery, this time on my hand.
For the past 2 1/2 years or so, I've had a problem with the joint by the thumb, in that padded part of the hand below it. Arthritis had developed and had become progressively worse over time, preventing me from doing things like opening water bottles (the twisting motion), holding a golf club and more.
I tried things like arthritis cream (Voltaren) and massage, stuff like that, but nothing worked. Sometimes it didn't bother me too much, other times the pain was more noticeable, but I always felt something.
I finally decided to see a specialist about it when we moved to South Carolina. The doctor and I discussed options.
I could have cortizone shots. The first one could last 3-4 months if I was lucky and during that time there'd be little to no pain. The length of time the shots would last would decrease with each one.
The other option was surgery. It involves removing a little square-ish bone that the thumb attaches to, I guess, and the thumb is secured using tendons and stuff. Surgery was pretty standard but there was a 3 month recovery period with physical therapy.
We had a busy summer coming up with our grandkids so being out of commission for a 3 month period was not an option. I went with the cortizone shot.
Unfortunately, the shot lasted only about 5 weeks, maybe 6. Bummer! That took me to early-to-mid June. We had a summer with grandkids, we traveled some, and life just kind of got involved, as it always does.
I didn't go back to the doctor until early December. We decided that surgery was the best next step. Now Jose and I have a pretty busy travel schedule in 2025 and the doctor was super accommodating. We arrived home from our New Year's cruise on Jan 4th and I had surgery 2 days later on the 6th.
Surgery itself only lasted about an hour. I was given general anesthesia but they also blocked my right arm. That just means they numbed it. I had to have a shot by my clavicle (not the most pleasant) but within minutes my arm was numb. I couldn't lift it or anything. Such a weird feeling. :)
When I woke up, I had this contraption on my arm up to my elbow. It prevents me from moving my thumb and allows the healing to begin. It will be removed, along with the stitches, on the 17th.
As I mentioned above, my arm had been blocked so I couldn't feel my arm. The idea was to delay any pain being felt. By the time I had to get up and get dressed, with Jose's help, I had completely forgotten about my arm. I stood up to dress and my arm flopped around hitting my thigh and bouncing off it, like a fish flopping around out of the water. It was so funny! The first day and night was full of silly moments because of that block. Kept us laughing all day.
The block had worn off by the next morning so at this point I am feeling some discomfort but it's not bad. I'm managing it with Tylenol.
Starting on the 17th, physical therapy will begin and I'll work on building strength back into my thumb and hand.
Interesting times for sure and all is good. I look forward to playing golf again with Jose (I haven't played in over 3 years!) and to having a hand that has no pain.
Silver linings exist everywhere and while there are challenges working with 1 hand, I'm grateful for the skill of my doctor and the nursing staff, for feeling minimal pain, for working in PT to restore strength to my hand, and especially to my husband for his support and love. Jose is cleaning dishes, tying my shoes, buttoning my shirts, and helping me any way he can. Boy am I blessed!!!
Comments