My Motorcycle Injuries

I finally went to the follow-up visit with the orthopedic hand specialist yesterday. It's been a while, but I've had to wait because of the appointment that he ordered for me with a neurologist, along with having to endure some time with a case of COVID-19 (I was 100% asymptomatic, so a free supply of antibodies for me). The neurologist made it seem as though the nerve damage in my hand was not treatable, and I drove to the appointment with the orthopedic surgeon yesterday convinced that I was going to be told that there wasn't much that could be done for me. I was actually told that there wasn't a single thing that could be done for me. The surgeon said that the nerve damage was not treatable and the issue with my trigger finger should wait until it gets worse. He told me that I should set up an appointment with him if the trigger finger should ever actually lock in an open or shut position. Um, sure, I'll call right away. So I've basically been told that altho...

Although I’m feeling relatively OK, the past few weeks have been a little less than ideal concerning the things related to my accident injuries. I’ve been sleepless and tired the past weeks, and some days I hit periods of time when it feels as though I’ve got nothing left to give. It’s not that I'm running out of gas, but rather that I feel as though the equipment has nothing left to give…as if the different parts are just too worn down. Then, a couple of weeks ago I had an appointment with a neurologist, having been referred to her by an orthopedic hand specialist a few weeks before. The neurologist said that she didn’t see anything significantly wrong with most of the nerves in my hand. Considering the degree of discomfort and pain that I experience daily with my hand, it was a little odd to hear that there’s not a lot wrong with it neurologically. The problem is that the orthopedic surgeon will be basing his ability to help me, in part, on her report. I have an appointment wit...

I went to see an orthopedic hand specialist today. I had to answer a host of invasive questions along with having my hand x-rayed. I liked the guy, but I'm really not too confident about where I'm going with this. My hand has developed a trigger finger from the tendon damage that occurred in the accident, and I also experience a great deal of painful discomfort from nerve damage. He gave me a shot in hopes of avoiding surgery for the trigger finger, and he gave me a referral for a neurologist in order to have the nerve damage tested. Today is Columbus Day and no one answered the phone as I attempted to make an appointment, so I assume that the neurologist stayed home to play with her dogs Nina, Pinta, and little Santa Maria. Anyway, the orthopedic surgeon told me that the test results from the neurologist will allow him to determine if he can help me with the nerve damage or not. So...a fifty dollar deductible payment later, and what I have is several questionnaires filled out,...

I wrote in my last blog entry (see here) that I was thinking of going to an orthopedic hand specialist some time in the future with an eye toward having some type of procedure done at the beginning of next summer. I wrote that I wasn't really certain as to whether or not I would actually pull the trigger on that game plan. Well, I've pretty much emptied the cartridge. I actually made an appointment with a local and reputable surgeon for this coming Monday. I filled out all of the online paperwork today and paid the deductible required for the visit. In a sense I can't believe that I've done this, but in another sense I find myself hoping that this guy can actually work his medical voodoo and make things better for me with a hand/wrist that has been a source of irritation for almost eight years now. It's just that I really hate going to doctors, and filling out all of the info on his questionnaire today was irritating enough without even stepping into his office.  I...

My body continues to play tricks with me. For about a week and a half my hand was feeling some fairly intense sensations from all of the nerve damage. It varied from “pins and needles” type of stuff to some pretty uncomfortable pain. If that weren’t enough, I seem to be developing a trigger finger (stenosing tenosynovitis) with my index finger. Yeah, fun. I started to feel it about a month ago, but it’s gotten worse within the last two weeks. My original orthopedic surgeon had told me long ago that he did some work with a tendon (or tendons, I can’t remember which) during the original surgery in the hospital. Now it seems that something has gone wrong with a tendon in that same area of my hand. It doesn’t really hurt right now, but I know that it will get to a point where it's a hindrance to me. I know this because I had a trigger finger on the same hand's middle finger when I was younger and I wound up needing corrective surgery to get it fixed. At present time it isn’t worth ...