4 Weeks Later, Or, 4 Weeks of Sheer, Unmitigated Hell

Well, it's been a full 4 weeks since my tendon surgery. If I would have known what a long & winding road this journey would have been (not to mention how pain filled), I'm not 100% sure I would have done it.

Yes..... the finished product will prolly be great, and will prolly be what I envisioned..... But I am not at the Final Product yet. I am nowhere NEAR the Final Product, trust me! Right now I can MAYBE get 20 degrees of bend out of my pinky. Pretty frustrating. 

But here.... let me take you on a bit of a tour.

This is my Buddy Splint. Basically, it gets my pinky to move when my ring finger moves. Note the mesh?? Very sexy.   (Not.)
This is possibly one of my FAVORITE things. It's something like a sticker, but it just protects the still healing skin a little bit more, so it's not quite so raw and sensitive. God bless scientists.
This is my NEW night time splint. Pretty cool!!! After 4 weeks of having the splint on the TOP of my hand, now it's on the bottom. Comfy.  (Also good for konking Hubby on the noggin in the middle of the night.)
This is my incision.... 4 weeks after the fact.
This is Quackers now that it's been modified some more. (Note the ever-so-attractive white sleeve underneath? Roaa-rrr! Sexy!)

All in all.... I am really surprised how HARD this has been! Between the pain, the lack of mobility, and the challenges of being one-handed in a two handed world (hello! Jeans? What's up with that? Bra clasps! CAN OPENERS!!).... Some days I just want to scream in frustration, or to start bawling in utter humiliation. (Case in point - we were at a wedding this past weekend, and Hubby had to cut up my dinner for me.)

I THINK, and I sincerely hope that all this is worth it, and that my finger returns back to a functioning state. They (they being my occupational therapist at my tendon rehab, and my hand surgeon) think that I'll prolly have to have a second surgery to strip off some of the scar tissue off of my tendon, to get it gliding more smoothly and effectively. (To which I said a very eloquent, "Well, poop. That sucks!")

I thought that in 4 weeks, I'd be laughing, and ready to resume my normal life. Ha ha.... turns out that the joke is on me. I can't write, I have a hard time slicing bread, using a knife with my right hand, I can't lift anything with my right hand.... I JUST started using my right hand to type (hallelujah!), and washing my hair.

4 weeks down, 4 more to go. 

A Long Overdue Update..

 This is Quackers, Version 2.0. Note the ever-so-classy Velcro straps??? All I can say is THANK GOD it's so easy to get on and off.

My lovely healed up incision.... It is looking alot better than it was 2 weeks ago!

Look!! I am straightening my pinky! (Well, sort of....)

Given that this week is the third week since my surgery - I have to look on the upside, right??

But our main concern is definitely the swelling from my muscle spasms that I had over the Thanksgiving long weekend. So far, ice and compression are doing wonders for both my comfort level and the swelling. 

Thanks for all the well wishes... I am still on the search for an Electric Can opener, so if anyone finds a great deal on one, let me know!

C.

Happy Fricking October!!!

The incision is from mid-palm to almost fingertip. And, in case you needed to know, finger tendons look A LOT like chicken tendons. I'm not liking chicken too much right now.....

Hubby thinks that we should name my splint "Quackers" and glue some googly eyes on it.

Got the tendon surgery done.....
Here's some pics.... (sorry 'bout the little to no narritive.... i am typing this one handed.) Boy oh boy.... it HURTS!!!!!

C.