Today's journey to the Kansas Orthopaedic Center in Wichita was a planned one. Three weeks ago, Dr. Chan removed the long-arm cast that I'd been wearing since my mid-December surgery. I got to come home with my beautiful neon pink removable splint and instructions to come back to see him in 3 weeks. Before leaving that appointment, I stopped by the physical therapy department and visited with my old friend and occupational therapist, Kim Lockwood, aka-"Kim the taskmaster." He took some measurements of my hand and wrist and reminded me of all the exercises that I had done with the previous surgery, telling me to start them up again on a daily basis and that I'd come back to see him after my next appointment. I assured him that I would and IF I would have just done that, then you'd have been reading a different kind of blog post now.
Hey, for the first 2 weeks, things went "ok". I dutifully did my exercises, massaged the scars with lotion, wore my splint "religiously" and was most careful when it was off. I did everything I was supposed to do and tried to be "good", really I did.
And then, last weekend came and for whatever crazy reason, I just plain decided not to worry about the exercises any more. I have no excuse, whatsoever, for my actions other than to say I had just had enough. After 183 days of going through this stuff, there's no other way to say it except that I plain "gave up". I wore the splint like I was supposed to, from time to time taking it off and resting my arm, but that was about it. I would wake up in the morning feeling as if I had the hand of a 90-year old person...only I'm thinking that "190" would have been more like it. The swelling was still there, the fingers and bottom of the palm still very, very numb. By Wednesday of this week, I knew I was in big trouble and there'd be no way to hide my indiscretions from the "good" Dr. Chan. Let me tell you, he spotted it right away and I knew I was "busted".
My usual set of x-rays showed that everything is continuing to "knit" together. "Eleanor's" bone is now probably nestled inside the new bone that my body is producing, the "Red Green" hardware is exactly where it was placed during the second and third surgeries. The huge gap between the length of the ulna bone is slowly trying to mend together and for the most part things were good and Dr. Chan was very pleased.
Then came the part I was dreading, my ability to turn my wrist over in a normal motion. I didn't have to say anything to Dr. Chan, he figured it out in about 10 seconds and when he measured the degree that I could turn "old lefty's" hand over, he wasn't wearing his usual "happy face"~nope, I believe it was more like a very "frowny face". Kind of like when your folks tell you to be in by midnight and you were sure that they said "12:30".
No better time than then to "fess up" and hope that he wouldn't yell too loudly at me. Well, to make a long story short-I didn't get to come back home until I visited the friendly folks at the PT/OT department for some "tough love" for "old lefty". And let me tell you, I felt a whole lot more "tough" than I felt "love" by the time I got through it. It served me right~my laziness came back to bite me and I deserved every little bit of it.
Ellie, another very good PT/OT at the Kansas Orthopaedic Center, helped to evaluate my condition and work through some of the familiar exercises (well at least familiar to those who DO them) as well as to give me some new ones to try as well. She did all the customary measurements, like how far my hand will bend backwards at the wrist, how far down my hand will bend forwards, and my VERY FAVORITE one of all, how far I can turn my palm over with my elbow tightly at my side.
By the time she got to the end of my exercise regime and asked if I had any questions, she could tell how miserable, tired, and frustrated I was. It not only hurt, it hurt BADLY.....Before I could even get out the word "wish" from the phrase, "I sure wish I would never have tried to jump that curb that morning" huge tears started rolling down my cheek. It was embarrassing to me but at the time, I didn't care. In the many weeks that I'd done PT there, I'd been able to get through it without crying once. There had been many instances where the pain was excruciating but I always managed to "suck it up" and be all right. Today, well today it was a "not so much" kind of moment. And the greatest thing was this~Ellie and Kim understood and instead of scolding me for my lack of effort, they reminded me of just how far I had come, how much I had gone through AND that this wouldn't go on forever, it only seemed like it would.
As I was leaving Dr. Chan stopped into the PT room and watched them working "old lefty" over. I had always been curious as to what he felt my "new normal" would be and today I finally asked him. He told me that he will be very happy, most pleased, if I can just get up to 60 percent of my wrist's range of motion back. Right now, according to my measurements today, I am sitting right at 35 percent with some ways yet to go.
Then I got REALLY brave and asked the "million $$$" question~"We're not talking YEARS of recuperation, are we Dr. Chan?" Thankfully, a huge grin came back on his face and his reply of "No, hopefully JUST months, Peggy."
I gave him a hug and said to him what I ALWAYS tell him before I leave his office..."Thank you Dr. Chan for helping me." And he answered me with the same thing he always does, every single time I see him..."Peggy, you can thank me by just getting well."
And you know what Dr. Chan? I think I'll do JUST that!
Every once in a while I just have to remind myself how far I have come~"Old lefty" at 6 months ago with the external fixator device, prior to the second surgery on August 10th, 2011. I'm getting better every day because I never am going back THERE again. Good night friends and have a wonderful weekend!
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