Progress!

[eregyrn]

I know, I'm hell at updating. But, as you can tell from my writing this, I came through the surgery fine. (Except for the nerve block not working to actually block the pain, and except for the Percocet making me ill.) Massive, massive thanks to elishavah, and also to veejane, for all the help they've been giving me. I apologize for not being good about replying to comments, I really appreciate everyone's well wishes.

Yesterday was the 11th day after the surgery, so I went in for my postop checkup. Everything looks good! The cast finally came off (and this had been the most annoying cast, yet). I now have a very small plastic brace that goes on with Velcro straps, which I can take off to shower (!!!!!!) and to do my exercises. The incision is big, but healing well; the skin is already pretty much closed over. The whole arm and hand is a bit achey, and feels vulnerable because it isn't so well protected. The bone won't actually be healed for another four weeks, but because the plate is holding it together, I can start on rehabilitating everything.

The weirdest part is that I am supposed to now be doing all kinds of exercises to get a hand and the wrist back in shape, and it's very strange to have nothing at all on the arm, and to be trying to tell it to do things, and it's not be able to do them. I know that will come in time, as I work on it.

Below the cut, my x-rays, so you can see the plate and all the screws.

Comments

[telepresence.livejournal.com]

It's a shame there are no pics of your arm all, you know, laid out during the surgery.

What? That would be cool.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

I've certainly thought about it; tried to imagine it.

Seeing the dressing under the cast come off made me wonder how they controlled the bleeding during surgery. Because, wow, did that sucker bleed even after they'd closed it up.

[lynxreign.livejournal.com]

likely clamps.

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

Teeny little ones, I guess. I've just never seen clamps in action, though, so I have some curiosity. (Not enough to go Googling right at this moment, though.)

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

By the way, they gave me the narrative write-up of the surgery, and while a lot of it is medicalese, it seemed to contain the answer to my question below about how they controlled the bleeding, since it contained the phrase, "applied tourniquet to upper arm and exsanguinated arm."

I don't think that "exsanguinated" is a term that I like being applied to any part of my body. o_O

[lynxreign.livejournal.com]

Wow! That's more severe than I'd expected. Perhaps there are no clamps small enough.

[telepresence.livejournal.com]

Rise, zombie arm, rise!

[eregyrn.livejournal.com]

By the way, they gave me the narrative write-up of the surgery, and while a lot of it is medicalese, it seemed to contain the answer to my question below about how they controlled the bleeding, since it contained the phrase, "applied tourniquet to upper arm and exsanguinated arm."

I don't think that "exsanguinated" is a term that I like being applied to any part of my body. o_O