This post is a little out of order; I still haven’t written the entire story of what happened to my hand. That’s coming. But this is where I am now, exactly five weeks after surgery, nearly seven weeks after the injury.
This is me giving a thumbs up.
No, really. That’s all I got.
Last week my occupational therapist gave me a new brace that allows for a little more mobility, and a whole bunch of exercises to do throughout the day.
She also told me that I could use my hand for gentle things like self-grooming — like putting on make-up, doing my hair, that sort of thing. She went on to say I still shouldn’t put stress on my thumb with any lifting or using it to, say, put on a tight pair of jeans.
I don’t know if that had anything to do with my thumb’s healing progress or if it was just her nice, therapist, way of saying, “Maybe try some make-up? Or a hairbrush? While you’re at it, find a pair of pants that fits.”
Every time you post about your thumb I try to imagine what that would be like. I cannot! I use both thumbs everyday and not just for thumbs up. You are a trooper for sure!
We will continue to pray for you and I hope you help quickly!
*heal. Ahhh two thumbs and still typos!!
Your OT was just trying to give you examples of “naturally-occurring opportunities” for activity ideas and precautions. Maybe she’s had roadblocks to fastening her jeans in the past….. We’re supposed to be person-centered and relate everything to your occupational role, which includes managing your hygiene and dressing independently. Most of us are geeks who went into the business trying to fix ourselves, so we mess up a lot.
i hope i wasn’t too hard on my OT — i really really like her. the suggestions actually came with lots of explanation and conversation and i know she wasn’t trying to criticize me at all. i just thought it made for a funny story 🙂
in fact, she’s really helpful in helping me find things i can to considering i’m a little petrified to “test” my new tendon around my kids. so the idea of light grooming (which is typically done away from the kids) was exactly what i needed to hear!