One Day at a Time

Today I reached a milestone. The doctor removed the pin from my broken right hand. I had some anxiety that it would be painful to have the pin pulled out. But that part didn’t really hurt much at all. Just a tugging sensation.

What hurts is the part that comes afterwards, when the doctor says, “Now, try to move your fingers.”

I want to cooperate. I want to get better. But I can’t push past the pain to bend my fingers as he suggests. When he offers to put the splint back on for additional support and protection, I eagerly agree—despite the fact that I was so eager to get the splint off.

I am meeting friends for lunch and I’m not yet ready for my hand to go unprotected into a possibly busy restaurant.

Later, though, in the privacy of my home, I unwrap the elastic bandage and remove the splint myself. Now, my hand is bare except for the bandage covering the spot where the pin was removed. Tentatively, I try again to move my fingers and stretch my hand.

It doesn’t hurt to move my thumb. That finger was furthest from the point of injury and was never in a splint. I can move my index finger a lot. It doesn’t bend on its own, but I can bend it using my other hand. And it doesn’t hurt to do so. I can move my middle finger a little. It is stiffer than my index finger, because it’s closer to the injured area. But, I can bend its knuckles using my other hand. This is better than I could do earlier today, so I feel like patting myself on the back for making progress. I check my pinkie and find it behaves the same. It won’t bend on its own, but it is pliable enough for me to bend it using my other hand.

I’m afraid to try the fourth finger. The fracture was in the fourth metacarpal and my still blue and swollen fourth finger was immobilized for an entire month with a surgical pin inserted from my lowest knuckle down to my wrist. But I try and manage to bend it just a smidgen.

I will try to keep doing this a little at a time. Tomorrow, I can get my hand wet. Thursday I have my first physical therapy appointment.

I don't have any new pictures, so I am going to include a photo of me and Stephanie Bennett Vogt (http://www.spaceclear.com) taken during one of the parties from the Writer's Conference in San Miguel de Allende. Stephanie is the person who inspired me to start writing my blog and I continue to get inspiration and comfort from reading hers. Thanks, Stephanie.