Friday, September 17 2010

Thumb's Up

That's as normal as I get

Shame on me. I've been meaning to update the opposable digit situation for over a month now, and in the last couple of days for different people who saw me in a gigantic brace earlier this year asked me how my thumb was coming along.

For those who missed it, last May I had a little accident, wherein I severed the tendon that allows me to bend my thumb. It was a messy accident, but in the end it could have been much worse: one inch lower and I'd be one mitten too many, as the bottle that did it would have cleaned the digit right off.

Champagne wishes, cut-it-off dreams . . .

I had surgery to reattach the tendon, but in the months that followed of immobility and splints and dressings I got a little down: my thumb was like a frozen fish-stick taped to my wrist. But as my wife observes, I can out-stubborn a mule, and after three months of hard re-hab and physiotherapy it finally started to twitch, and then bend and then gain some strength and dexterity.

Funny enough, my surgeon suggested I could expect as much as 75% of my previous range of motion. Joke's on him: as it stands now I've regained more than 125% and counting. You see, I broke that thumb very badly when I was a kid. It was essentially avulsed (weak stomachs, don't look that up) and healed stiff and smaller/weaker than my right. Now not only does it bend further than it did before, I'm back up over 350lb grip in that hand, and the thumb itself is bigger than it ever was, so much so that I can no longer wear the ring I used put on it. It still aches most of the time and it's stiff every morning, but that's a tiny price to pay.

Industrial accidents don't always turn out this well, so I'm very grateful that I've gotten back so much. I've been touched and warmed by all the concern and kind words I've gotten about it. A special shout-out to my friend Lynne, who had a much more debilitating injury to her arm around the same time as me and is handling it with amazing pluck and aplomb. She's a toughie, and I know she's going to come out okay--there's just no other way I can imagine her tackling the challenge.

Now back to working it by typing, typing, typing. That space bar is a harsh mistress.

Posted by Opposable Tim AT 3:22PM 3 Comments Comments Post A Comment Post A Comment Email Email

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