Can’t believe my last entry was in May. Just before the visit to my cousin in Denver.
Great visit. Until the second to last day. We go bike riding on Monday. I fall off, breaking my ulna and radius just above the wrist, and shattering lots of wrist bones. Off to the hospital where they put me down to set the bones – then in a temporary splint cause it’s surgery time.
No way I’m hanging in Denver for surgery which could mean days and days. So I fly out Tuesday, wrangle a surgeon out of my wonderful primary doctor (a boutique practice that does EVERYTHING for you) and on Wednesday I’m sitting in his office for x-rays.
Oops. Surgery is scheduled for next day. Plate and seven pins – again with the temporary splits. Five days later x-rays show it’s not holding, so it’s surgery again on Friday, June 1 to put in a fixator (yes, that’s a rigid device with metal pins that are screwed INTO the bones after cutting open the arm to get a good aim) which stayed on until July 27 when they surgically removed it. Yep – another surgery. Good thing I don’t mind the anesthetic (except the needles of course – we all know how much I LOVE those).
Now it’s weeks and weeks of therapy to get the hand and wrist working again. And several months to go before it’s close to normal. Doctor yesterday said it would never be perfect, but it will be better than it is now. I can type, write, do simple tasks like shampoo hair and brush teeth but can’t open a door, a jar lid, or hold/lift any weight more than 2-3 pounds.
Fortunately I had enough vacation to handle the surgery days so I didn’t lose work (and my boss has been fantastic about therapy and doctor appointments). It’s been interesting, and not the least of which was the 7 week detox I just went through to get off the pain meds – the ones no one told me would be HABIT-forming (fortunately they were new ones – Opana – which are physical only, not mental like a Vicodin or Percoset…ie you don’t get high so there is no enjoyment to miss when weaning off). My body, apparently, is not so happy to wean off, even in the smallest decrease possible. Severe cramps, gastro-intestinal issues, hot/cold, you name it – for 7 weeks straight. Thank goodness for a friend who’s a boy with the patience of Job.
Recently, however, Hurricane Sandy comes along and devastates the East Coast. Yes, I live in New Jersey and work in Manhattan. A week off work because public transportation simply stopped running and you couldn’t drive into NYC without a carpool. So my boss says to the department – stay home. Love my company, who approved all leaves with pay. I think – hmmm, good timing, yes? Gotta stay under the covers to keep warm with no power, no heat or hot water (luckily for me it was only two days, while neighbors one block over spent 10 days without power) so … I go cold turkey. That’s another story, but I’m fresh and pain-pill free and regaining my strength and happy attitude – and public transportation is running once again.
I said recently on FaceBook – Hurricanes, blackouts, then a freak snowstorm – what’s next God? A plague of locusts?
PS: my children and grandchildren are still estranged. I am supposing someone told them of everything, but I never heard a single word from them. Makes me realize how alone in the world I truly am and thinking that perhaps living to be a silver haired old woman will not be the great idea I once thought it would be.
