2nd look

If you've read this far you may have realized it has all been typed with one hand. It doesn't work out to be half the speed of two hands, in fact it's closer to 10%.

I didn't realize the extent of the break until I used Google to find an x-ray of a good hand and compared it to my pictures (below). It is educational.

See a good x-ray here.

It's the commonplace things that make you appreciate the use of your body. Take undressing, for instance; no can do. I was stinky from skiing all day and determined to take a shower. Diane had to undress me. I was bare chested so she could wrap my arm with Saran wrap and shivering uncontrollably; partly from the cold, partly from shock. But a hot shower felt so good! I have spent extended amounts of time in the wilderness and long ago realized that hot water on demand is pretty much the pinnacle of achievement for our civilization.

Friday, February 23

It snowed overnight and caused some delay in the opening of doctors offices. I had torn up my calf a couple years ago and been referred to an ortho in the same office as my primary physician, Dr. Martin Kafina. Dr. Kafina's office got me in to see Dr. Driscoll as soon as I could come in, sweet!

Dr, Driscoll exudes confidence. After shaking his hand you get the impression he knows his stuff. So I wasn't exactly inspired to see him shaking his head while looking at my x-rays. He pointed to the picture with the hand flat and traced the line of the break in the radius. If this is the only break, he explained, they can put in a screw or two and put it back together. But looking at the hand in the edge orientation you can see several pieces of bone floating around, so this isn't a simple break at all. It will require a plate and some new high tech stuff to put it back together.

Because of the damage he is referring me to a specialist for hands, wrists, & elbows. He provides me with the card of Dr. Jurist, and one of his assistants made an appointment for Monday. I hope Dr. Juris can do the job and doesn't refer me to someone who only works on the radius!

Dr. Driscoll asked about my occupation. And then he asked what sports I participate in. Of course, in my hubris I thought he wanted a guage of my fitness level, perhaps as an indicator of my ability to heal. Then he asked if I played any musical instruments. It finally dawned on me that he was really asking How Much Do You Love Your Left Hand! I could be a concert pianist if they fix me right, I REALLY love this hand!

To further stabilize the wrist they put a cast on the front part of my arm. They don't even take off the old bandages, just lay new stuff on top of the old. This actually makes it feel more comfortable as it moves even less. But my arm is huge with 2 casts and who-knows how many yards of ace bandage. I told the nurse that I was leery of visiting another doctor because if I get one more cast I won't be able to lift my arm!

For now the arm is stable. If I don't move, it doesn't hurt. Car rides are bad, I move a lot. I don't have any pain medication because I don't usually need it. The most painful thing is that it is a beautiful day and I'm stuck inside. And I'm not healing, I'm in a waiting pattern until they can put in some metal.