I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Surgical Plans
JJ drove me to the hand surgeon today. It was actually a consultation, not the surgery. EJ had been sick when he called to set up the appointment with the surgeon so I think he misunderstood. Sickness can sort of make the brain a bit fuzzy.
The hand surgery office was very pretty. I liked the exam room I was taken to. It had artistic photos of hands on the wall. They weren’t medical ones like in most doctor offices.
The surgeon was very friendly and comforting. She explained that I actually have THREE breaks, the knobby bone in my wrist was sheared off a bit, and my hand is bent backwards a little. Because of this, I need surgery to fix it. She will put a metal plate in my arm, which will be permanent. The surgery will be scheduled for Thursday–the day after tomorrow. I have to call tomorrow to find out the time. The surgeon said that I will have to arrive one hour before the surgery, the surgery will take about an hour, and then I’ll be in recovery for an hour before going home. If I understood correctly, my arm will be in a splint for two weeks, then I will have a cast for two weeks, and if the weather is still wintry, I will probably get another splint to provide protection. She said the cast/splint will not cover my fingers like my current splint so I will have more finger movement. I will have to have some physical therapy. The surgeon said that I will lose about 20 percent mobility. If my injury had been higher on the wrist I probably would have lost 50 percent.
The surgeon mentioned pain medication after surgery. I told her I’m in a lot of pain now, I’m out of the meds prescribed at the hospital, and I asked what meds I can take now to help. She wrote me the prescription today rather than wait until after the surgery so I can take some now. That was helpful because we will have the meds at home and won’t have to worry about getting to the pharmacy after the surgery–and maybe not having pain meds if we don’t get there in time. EJ went to pick up the meds this evening and I went with him. These pain meds are the same drug but twice as strong as those the ER doctor prescribed.
When EJ took me to the Emergency Room the day I fell–January 30–we were told that half of the people who had been coming to the hospital had fallen on the ice and broken bones. The hand surgeon said today that the number of people coming to them with injuries from falling on the ice on January 29-30 is more than they usually get in a three-month period. We told this to the pharmacist when we were paying for the meds and she rolled up her sleeve to show us her elbow that was badly bruised when she fell on the ice. Fortunately she didn’t break any bones. Those were two days of very treacherous ice.
JJ’s schedule is a bit more flexible than his Dad’s so offered to take me to get my surgery done as well as mt appointment two weeks later to get my cast. I thought that was sweet of him.
As soon as we can, we will let you know how the surgery went. I might not feel up to posting and EJ is not familiar with blogging so it might take a day or two. We will do our best.
I Love To Go A Gardening 
Good luck with your surgery TJ – I’ll say a prayer that everything turns out okay for you. I didn’t realize you would be home the same day.
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