when the little guys take the lead

Four phrases you don't want to hear come out of your physical therapist's mouth:


(upon seeing your x-rays)  "Holy Moly, you really did a number on that wrist!"


(upon being asked the question, 'How much physical therapy will I need?') "Months."


(upon describing the condition of the bone formerly known as 'Peggy's radius') "You pulverized it."


(upon examining the crooked little finger of "old lefty") "I'm going to try to manipulate it now!" (my thoughts...YOU'RE GONNA WHAT?)

Hey, meet Kim Lockwood, an occupational therapist at the Kansas Orthopedic Center in Wichita.  He will be my new "taskmaster" for what looks like the next decade or so. Ok, Ok-maybe only the next several months...just seems longer.  Anyways, this guy knows his stuff and I'm going to trust him to lead me through the rehabilitation process that's going to take me to my "new normal."


Many of you reading this post may have already experienced health issues that required you to have rehabilitation services. If not you, then perhaps a close family member has.  All it takes is one heart attack, one knee replacement surgery, one fall from a ladder, or one bicycle accident to lead you to find the best physical and occupational therapists around.   I feel quite fortunate to have been assigned to Kim Lockwood.


My first appointment, yesterday in Wichita, was to set up some goals to get the fingers of my "affected" hand working again.  With the "long-arm" cast still in place for a few days, my fingers are the first available body parts.  They're going to need all the help they can get! 


 Each day, their movement gets a little easier but the numbness is still there.  Because of the massive amount of trauma to the wrist/hand area, it's gonna take a long time for the swelling to subside.  In fact, Kim mentioned that some times it can take up to a year.  Now THAT gives me something to look forward to  :)  One thing I was thankful for was the fact he tested each of the fingers to be sure that a minimal amount of sensitivity was still there.  Without that in place, it would be easy to further damage the fingers through burning or cutting them accidentally just because enough feeling was gone.


Kim showed me all of the exercises I need to be doing and for now, I should be able to do them on my own with no outside supervision.  When I return in one week for cast #5 (Lord, please make it a short arm one!) he will re-evaluate the situation and add more exercises.  I aim to have made strides forward in the upcoming 7 days.  I will make him proud of me  LOL!


One thing I need to be able to do is to relearn how to make a fist with my left hand.  With the cast in place, the fingers can't go too far.  Kim showed me how far I need to bring them down in order to show major improvement.  All of my fingertips need to touch the cast and folks let me tell you, that wasn't happening.  It was kind of like if you tried to do "the splits" wearing an A-line skirt.  So close, but yet SO far away!  I took that on as my personal goal-by next Friday it would be happening.


All night long I practiced-it was the most movement that the crippled and rigid digits of "old lefty" had seen since 7:30 a.m. on August 4.  It was disheartening to think that from all the practice last evening, nothing had changed.  I was almost ready to give up when I noticed something...a little something I've carried along with me for 55 years now.  There in the corner, minding its own business, my "pinkie" finger was resting comfortably along the cast--right where the therapist wanted it to be!  Because there is no feeling in it, I didn't even realize it was in the right place.  I'm thinking it applied a little "peer pressure" to its neighbor, old "ring man" because this morning it too has joined in.  Hey, by my math, that's 2 fingers down and only 3 more to go.  And I figure that 40% beats 0% any day. 


When I left, with the promise to do just what he advised, Kim handed me my paperwork.  I automatically reached out my right hand to take them.  Here's where the "taskmaster" moniker comes in.  Rather than enabling me, he put the paperwork between the fingers of my left hand.  For a split-second I panicked.....what if I can't hold on to them?  What if it's like the "sticker fiasco" with the first graders?  Kim just smiled a big smile and said he'd see me in one week.  And you know what friends?  Those papers stayed EXACTLY where he put them.  :)  And I didn't even cry!


May all of you have a great Labor Day weekend!  Enjoy the time with family and friends as you get a respite from your many labors.  You deserve it.