My First PT Appointment...

Physical Therapist (performing painful tests on my wrist): Wow, your range of motion sucks!

ME (trying not to freak out): Um, ya...I do better with "Positive" Reinforcement.

Physical Therapist (searching for words): You're not as much of a baby as the last guy I treated...(?)

ME (laughing): Obviously, we both have things we need to work on here ; )

Brace Yourself!

I went in on Wednesday to get The Pink Lady (a.k.a. the cast) "re-sized" because it was getting too big. The nurse pulled out this chain-saw contraption, then proceeded to tell me that I shouldn't be scared because-- while the saw would cut the cast, it wouldn't cut my skin.

CRAZYNURSESAIDWHAT?!?

Alas, she was right. Sheesh, I need to be more trusting of Medical Professionals.

Speaking of Medical Professionals, Dr. E-dog came in to check me out and said I should get X-rays.

So I did.

I had a different X-ray Tech this time and filled him in on The Situation, and told him he had to look at the X-rays once he printed them out. When he walked back in with the X-rays, he held them up to the light and his jaw dropped. He couldn't BELIEVE how much crap I had in my arm! (It's pretty much the reaction I get whenever I tell people what the surgery entailed.)

Dr. E said that I didn't have to wear the cast anymore, and put me in a heavy-duty brace:

Hot with a capital H.O.T.

Although I'm supposed to "treat it like it's still in a cast" (Dr.'s orders), I can take it off to shower, which is nice. In about a week, I can start working on my range of motion. THAT'S not going to hurt AT ALL....rrrrright.

If I weren't trying to stay positive throughout this entire "episode," I'd tell you that I'm still in pain, the scars are U-G-L-Y, my hand & arm are still swollen and bruised, and Lefty is ready to put in his Letter of Resignation.

Instead of dwelling on those things, I usually just look at my brace and think that I must look like a Professional Bowler who just can't bear to go anywhere without The Glove...

...and that makes me laugh.

Onward we go, RIGHT?!?!

**I know that all my recent posts have been about The Wrist, and for that I apologize. I promise, in a week or so, to get back to the Regularly Scheduled Program. You know, with the 'entertaining' stories that involve my non-existent dating life, my run-ins with treadmills, and other miscellany..."the good stuff."

I think I forgot to mention...

That when I went into the Doctor on Friday he put me in a cast. A bonefide, only-up-to-my-forearm kinda cast!! THANK GOD because if I had to spend anymore time in that splint that went up past my elbow, wearing that navy blue sling, I would've gone BAT-SH*T crazy. No lie.

So, I decided against the standard black, navy, or plain (eek)- and decided to go with the most obnoxious color ever:




Ain't she a beauty??

I go back into the Doctor March 12th to remove the cast, get X-rays, and we'll go from there ;) As always, I'll keep you posted.

What Else? ..A surgery update...

Hey Everyone!

First of all, Thank You to all of you for your prayers & well wishes for my surgery! I was a little hopped up on "Surgery Drugs" for a good portion of last week, so I apologize for not getting this posted sooner.

The surgery went well! Once Dr. Emodi got a closer look, he noticed that there was more damage than he initially thought. Because of this, he had to put multiple (approx. 10) pins in my wrist, as well as a plate. He also had to do some re-wiring of a joint or two. I'm quite positive I will be setting off any & all metal detectors at airport security for the rest of my life! Awesome! Oh, and I have pictures/X-rays of what it looks like... I'm trying to scan/upload. (Gimme a break... I'm working with one hand here!)

My Dad drove me to & from the hospital, and waited patiently during the very looong procedure = thanks, Big Guy!

My sister Rachel came in from KC to help me out. Overnight, she had wake me up every four hours to give me meds, feed me saltines, and do what she does best = make me laugh! I especially appreciated the 3:00 A.M. gab-fest...I was WIDE AWAKE!(Thanks Seester!)

Thanks to the people that dropped off food, called/emailed to check up on me, drove me around, etc. (Man, I've been a real pain in the ass lately!!)

Surgery was successful, I will be in this Splint & Sling for about 3-4 weeks, then will be put into a half "real" cast for another 3-4 weeks. (I'm thinking GREEN for St. Patty's... Thoughts?!) I go back to the doctor Friday for a check up, so I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks again to all of you!

Surgery Required

Hello Friends & Family on this snowy day! Hope you're all getting around okay!!

Warning/Disclaimer: If you can't handle hearing about bones and medical stuff without getting queasy, you should stop reading now :) I warned you!!

I went to the Doctor Friday for my first check up since The Wrist Debacle of Twenty Ten, and didn't quite get the news I was hoping for... Apparently, I broke more than one bone in my wrist (information he didn't tell me in the ER), and one of the bones that is "shattered" isn't setting correctly. Basically, the bone is sliding down instead of staying in the place it's supposed to. So, he said we could do surgery the following week, or wait two weeks (until the next appointment) to see if it stays put. The problem with waiting is that if it continues to move 'down,' we'll end up having to do surgery anyway...so I will have basically wasted two weeks that could be spent recovering.

So, surgery is scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon. A couple details about the surgery: It'll be Outpatient, but I will be put out completely (ya-ay, anesthesia). He's going to first start by putting pins in, and then he'll see if that alone will work by doing an X-ray. If the X-ray comes back and he's not pleased with how it's sitting, he'll make an incision and put in a plate. This will all be done at one time, he said preferably early next week. The pins are removable, but if the plate is needed, it will not be removed.

Needless to say, I'm pretty devastated with this news. I was really hoping we could avoid surgery. But, like Dr. Emodi said, since I'm young and mostly because it's my dominant hand, he wants to do whatever is necessary to get it back to 100%. I would like that too!

I will keep you posted as things happen!

Take care, stay warm, drive safe, and avoid roller rinks at all costs,

Val

I'm Bringing Sexy Back...

…in the form of a navy blue sling.

Contents include four sausage-like fingers, a black & blue thumb, a splint cast that’s starting to smell a bit like a foot, and remnants of a cookie from yesterday’s lunch.

I’m radiating SEXY from all of the pores in my body.

Justin Timberlake should be warned.

Why Adults Shouldn't Roller Skate...

Remember that "HELLA FUN" party I was talking about in my last post?

...Well, it WAS, until:

Yep... while Roller Skating at my good friend's 30th Birthday party, I fell backwards and tried to "catch" myself with my right hand.

Pssst: IT DIDN'T WORK. I broke my wrist, had to head to the ER, and have it reset. Good times!

So, right now I'm in a splint and sling for three weeks, then once the swelling goes down, I'll get a real cast for an additional three weeks.

Since I'm a little hopped up on Vicodin, I've had to rely on good friends and family to drive me around and help me out.

I have a feeling I'm going to be saying "Thank You" more than anything over the next few weeks, so I'm going to start now...

Super Special Thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Dickey, the nice people that drove me to the ER & home that night.

THANK YOU to my wonderful parents who came up the next day and stocked my fridge with groceries, did my laundry & helped me clean the house.

To Bobcat & the birthday girl Sarah, who went back to Skatedaze to pick up my car--thanks! (and sorry my car was so dirty!)

I'm thankful for the Kahler-Gonzales family, who had me join family dinner Sunday night, and gave me lots of love :)

To Erin, who's been driving me to work the past couple of days...thank you and sorry I'm not much of a morning person. (and that you had to come get me in the middle of the day because I over-medicated.)

Needless to say, blogs will be few & far between for a while. My left hand, whom I've decided to call Lefty, isn't used to this much action and gets tired easily! I will, however, try to keep you posted as best as I can! My next appointment is this Friday 02/05/10. Pray that I won't have to have surgery!

Take care!