So after my thumb injury on June 3 during a particularly active softball game, I had surgery on Saturday, June 13 to re-attach the ligament. After 3 weeks in an agonizing half-cast and spica splint that rubbed my skin raw (I still don't have full feeling in my knuckle skin) the cast came off and I was put back into the Thumb-o-Prene brace I'd gotten at the 24-hour clinic on June 3. Releasing the tape from around the base of my thumb allowed the blood to flow and I stopped having the almost constant numbness and tingling and throbbing and very occasional forefinger-and-middle-finger-uncontrollable twitching.
I started my physical therapy with a very nice therapist named Dave, and things were looking good. The wound was healing nicely, the skin was peeling like crazy, and there was minimal swelling and no sign of infection.
After a week of doing my thumb exercizes on my own for a week, I went back for my follow up on Friday, July 17 (yesterday). The doc asked me to show him how far my thumb would bend. I proudly did the best I could, to which he replied, quietly, 'Oh. That's not good.'
Definitely not what you want your orthopedic surgeon to say.
He said "Ok, I'm going to have to manipulate it...."
Have you ever seen one of those movies where someone is torturing someone by breaking their thumb? That's exactly how this felt.
I writhed around and he apologized and tried again. I still couldn't keep still, so he said he'd give me a shot of lanocaine to numb it.
He tried again but it wasn't any better. He stopped, and said, "OK, I'm going to have to do this in the operating room under anesthesia."
I said, "No, it's OK, I can take it. Please try again."
He said gently but firmly, "No. I simply won't put you through this."
I said, "I don't want to go to the operating room."
He said, "OK, I'll try one more, in your wrist."
That wasn't any fun either.
But he numbed my entire hand, and manipulated the hell out of my thumb. I still writhed a bit, but told him it was fine, please continue. I didn't cry or yell or faint or anything.
He got it bent all the way down and made me look at it so I could visualize where I should be able to bend it, in spite of the agonizing pain.
Later I went to my physical therapy appointment and Dave was just as concerned. We did some more aggressive therapy and Dr. Frank came down for some reason and stopped over to say hi. He put his hands on each of our shoulder's and said, "Well if it isn't my favorite therapist and one of my favorite patients!" He told Dave that I'd been "very brave," which made me CRY LIKE A FIVE YEAR OLD. I'd held it together until that moment. The fastest way to make me cry is to treat me paternally.
Anyway, they told me to stop wearing the brace, assured me the ligament is on secure enough, and increased my physical therapy to 3 days a week instead of 1 (at $20 co-pay each). My goal for Monday's appointment is to be able to touch my thumb to my pinky, which I can do as of this morning, with minimal strain and pain.
Other things I can't yet do are touch my thumb to the crook of my pinky, bend my thumb all the way down, or hitchhike.
But I made my own peanut butter and jelly sandwich today, which was AWE-SOMMMMME.
I started my physical therapy with a very nice therapist named Dave, and things were looking good. The wound was healing nicely, the skin was peeling like crazy, and there was minimal swelling and no sign of infection.
After a week of doing my thumb exercizes on my own for a week, I went back for my follow up on Friday, July 17 (yesterday). The doc asked me to show him how far my thumb would bend. I proudly did the best I could, to which he replied, quietly, 'Oh. That's not good.'
Definitely not what you want your orthopedic surgeon to say.
He said "Ok, I'm going to have to manipulate it...."
Have you ever seen one of those movies where someone is torturing someone by breaking their thumb? That's exactly how this felt.
I writhed around and he apologized and tried again. I still couldn't keep still, so he said he'd give me a shot of lanocaine to numb it.
He tried again but it wasn't any better. He stopped, and said, "OK, I'm going to have to do this in the operating room under anesthesia."
I said, "No, it's OK, I can take it. Please try again."
He said gently but firmly, "No. I simply won't put you through this."
I said, "I don't want to go to the operating room."
He said, "OK, I'll try one more, in your wrist."
That wasn't any fun either.
But he numbed my entire hand, and manipulated the hell out of my thumb. I still writhed a bit, but told him it was fine, please continue. I didn't cry or yell or faint or anything.
He got it bent all the way down and made me look at it so I could visualize where I should be able to bend it, in spite of the agonizing pain.
Later I went to my physical therapy appointment and Dave was just as concerned. We did some more aggressive therapy and Dr. Frank came down for some reason and stopped over to say hi. He put his hands on each of our shoulder's and said, "Well if it isn't my favorite therapist and one of my favorite patients!" He told Dave that I'd been "very brave," which made me CRY LIKE A FIVE YEAR OLD. I'd held it together until that moment. The fastest way to make me cry is to treat me paternally.
Anyway, they told me to stop wearing the brace, assured me the ligament is on secure enough, and increased my physical therapy to 3 days a week instead of 1 (at $20 co-pay each). My goal for Monday's appointment is to be able to touch my thumb to my pinky, which I can do as of this morning, with minimal strain and pain.
Other things I can't yet do are touch my thumb to the crook of my pinky, bend my thumb all the way down, or hitchhike.
But I made my own peanut butter and jelly sandwich today, which was AWE-SOMMMMME.
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