Bumming....

[Shari]

I went to PT today, just like always. My hand therapist (Occupational Therapist (OT)) isn't there, tho, so my foot therapist (pt) (and the "leader" of this team) worked on my hand. He has not looked at my hand in some time; at least not since Wee hit my wrist with the baseball. Occupational Therapist (OT) thinks I fractured it again when that happened. Whatever happened, it was a setback that I still haven't recouped from.

PT isn't happy with the hand progress (I'm not, either) so we're back to working on that. In conversation, I told him it was ticking me off...I didn't expect the wrist injury to cause me problems...I expected it from the ankle. Then I said that the actual bone fracture in the ankle wasn't that bad - the wrist was worse. He said he disagreed and was glad I brought it up, cause we need to talk. He has been looking at my xrays, and he thinks something is missing. He is worried how long the joint will last. He seems to think 5 years from now will not be good, unless he's missing something.

So I have an appointment with him Monday morning to go over the xrays and understand what he's seeing. I wont lie...I'm worried. Things have been going really, really well!

 

[Hound dog]

Shari

All I can say is that I shouldn't be using either shoulder by now, 7 almost 8 yrs post injury, but I am. Ortho was amazed at how much function I got back post accident healing ect........90 percent, which is high.......mine were shattered at the end of the humerus. I still have fragments in there, which you can actually hear grate on occasion. Looking at endless xrays.....well he told me I'd be seeing him again in about 2-3 yrs for replacement. I told HIM he'd see me when I was in agony and not before. I am not thrilled with going through that type of recovery again. And so here I am. lol

For the most part, I do great considering. Although strength in both arms is not what it once was.....and I have a nerve issue where I'll pick up something and this pain hits and the arm it hits in is suddenly useless. But that doesn't happen as often as it used to. There is pain sometimes, and sometimes it's pretty bad and I have to go for pain medications. But most of the time it's fine.

I'm sure some point in the future I'll have to have surgery. Those lil bone pieces are probably doing a number on the joint. But I'm not considering it until I have no choice.

So, don't let it get you down too much. Everyone is different. Joints take a LONG time to heal completely. I'm not talking weeks either, I'm talking months for those muscles ect to get back to normal. It can be a slow process. I found myself very frustrated for about 6 months or more.

Only real function I seemed to have lost is the ability to put my arms behind my back.......pretty much at all. So I'd better never get arrested or I'm in trouble. lol

If you've re-fractured, it's going to take a bit longer to heal. Still you might be pleasantly surprised in a few months time.

And yeah.......I know you don't want to hear about the months thing. No one told me though........and I assumed a joint was like any other bone.....So it scared me when 8 wks in I didn't seem to be much better at all. I nailed down the ortho who then did tell me they take MUCH longer to heal due to all the muscles, tendons, ligaments ect involved.

Hugs

 

[susiestar]

((((((((((hugs)))))))))) I know how scary it is to think that you are not going to function as well in a few years.

Hound is right, Joints take FAR longer to heal. And complications like being hit with the bat often are not fully visible right away. I have found that some PT's anc Chiros are FAR better at reading xrays and MRIs than ortho or neuro docs or radiologists. Maybe they take more time, or they understand how the body works better, but I haven't had a radiology report that jibed with what one of three PT's or either of two chiros I have seen say about the films. The times I have had 2 or 3 of them look at the same films they had the same answers. In each case the Pt or chiro was correct and the radiology report was not. So go and listen and see what he has to say.

I also have movement that the docs said would never come back after my neck surgeries. They expected about 75% range of motion to return after my first vertebrae removal and fusion, and around the same amt for the second - but it was lowered to 60% after he got in there and saw the condition of the bones, etc... I had 95% of function returned after the first and 90% after the second.

Having your wrists need things will be hard but you will adapt. A relative has had both wrists fused. She has found ways to do almost everything she did before - it just doesn't hurt her hands and wrists as much now. You may have to adapt your guns if this is needed, but maybe not. My mom shoots and does quite well even with both wrists fused.

This is NOT the end of useful hands/wrists. It is simply a bump in the road that knocked out a tail light and you got pulled over by a cop.

I am so sorry that you are having complications though.

 

[Shari]

Thanks, ladies. This morning looks better. The 'I'll deal' mantra is back.
They've been up front with me on time frames and function. I am 6months post surgery and am where the doctor hoped I would be at a year with the ankle. Beyond this point, they don't know how much more active function I will get. If this is it, tho.... Well, I'm ok with that. It slows me down, but it's not stopping anything.
The wrist should regain full function, there was no soft tissue damage. By rights, I should have been in pt with it at 3weeks post op. I didn't start til almost 2 months. Then I had the baseball incident.
As pt said, I had a pretty impressive wrist fracture. It was just overshadowed by an absolutely fantabulous ankle injury. So the wrist took a back seat. But it'll come. Kinda glad pt is aware now so we can get on top of it.
Monday will be interesting. I have sat looking at the X-rays comparing them to normal ones, and I can't find anything missing, but I'm no doctor.