A Possible Change of Plans

If you spend some time reading through this blog, you’ll find that I am very much against medical things. You know...like surgeons, hospitals, drugs, cotton swabs, whatever. I can’t stand any of it. Sitting in a waiting room is a drag, but making it into the examination room is even worse. Pain relief pills? Save them for an arts and crafts project.

My absolute dislike of anything having to do with the medical profession is what makes the topic of this blog entry so odd. The thing is that I've been thinking of seeing a hand specialist a couple of months into the coming new year because my hand has been such a mess between the nerve damage and tendon problems. I had planned (tentatively and hesitantly) to go at the start of the year because any potential surgery would have to take place within an eight week window of time in the summer. I take care of my niece throughout the year but I get a break from my childcare duties in the summer. I figured that occupational therapy would follow surgery and the eight week window of time would allow for a full recovery. I hadn’t really made up my mind yet, and I thought that the coming months would give me some time to think about it in a clearer way.

Well…yesterday I woke up to an index finger that won’t bend all of the way in without me using my other hand to press it shut. Closing that finger is of no use anyway because the pain, particularly at the top knuckle, is fairly intense when I attempt to bend it in fully. At present time I can’t really grip anything with that finger without experiencing an unpleasant level of pain. The entire hand is hurting in some way, but the index finger is making its presence known to a greater extent. Yeah, fun times.

I have no explanation as to what happened overnight a couple of days ago, but the pain and stiffness are real. So now I’m thinking of making certain that I remember everything that I’m experiencing with my hand during this time period in order to describe it fully and accurately to an orthopedic hand specialist roughly five months from now. I feel fairly confident that this present issue will subside (others have over the years), but this present “thing” is leading me to think that dealing with an orthopedic surgeon concerning the problems that I’ve been experiencing with my hand since the accident is unavoidable. Total drag.