Surgery: Survival

I lived! I'm in some pain now, but for the most part I'm doing alright. I plan to spend my weekend recuperating and relaxing; on Monday, I'll start training for a new department at work.

Good times.

For now, I have painkillers and 30 Rock: better times.

Surgery Date: November 10th

It's a little sad that in order to accomplish anything, the patient has to make all the phone calls and follow up to ensure that all the requested documentation has been sent/received. One month later, my surgery has been scheduled for Thursday, November 10th. It should be a simple surgery, as I've said before. My girlfriend managed to get the day off so that she can be with me. I'm excited and hopeful; I really want the surgery to fix the pain in my left hand. It's caused a lot of frustration in my life, especially where work is concerned. It's hard to type for eight hours a day when the action of typing causes severe pain.

I'm also frustrated because the pain I've experienced has discouraged me from writing much- here and elsewhere. How can I focus my energy on writing when it's laborious and painful to do so?

Here's hoping for a solution to the problem and for a speedy recovery from the surgery. I'm going to be moving to another department on November 14th, which is going to be interesting. At least I won't have to type much as I sit through the training classes required for the move.

On a final note, it's snowing today. The snow came a bit later this year. I'll have to take some pictures when I'm out and about. This blog definitely needs more pictures, especially if I'm the photographer behind them. This blog also needs a better layout... I'll have to work on that. Baby steps!

The Saga of My Poor Left Hand

I'm typing this entry primarily with one hand. I saw the specialist on October 4th, and he said that he would submit a pre-authorization for surgery to my claims adjuster (through Workers' Comp). Three weeks later, I'd heard nothing. After several phone calls, I received a voicemail from the specialist's assistant. Apparently, three weeks later, the claims adjuster decided to let them know that they never received the pre-authorization.

Three. Weeks. Later.

Are you kidding me?

So, the specialist's office faxed the pre-authorization again; this time, the claims adjuster acknowledged receipt. Alas, my proverbial princess is in another castle: my claim now has to be transferred to another department, where another claims adjuster will probably want to speak with me over the phone. As much as I wish that I'd get a phone call tomorrow, I have high doubts that this will happen. In fact, I'm starting to get depressed over how much my hand is hurting. I have sympathy now for those with carpal tunnel; it's amazing that something so small can cause so much discomfort. I've had trouble sleeping, my hand gets swollen, I've lost my grip (and dropped quite a few things as a result), and it's harder for me to accomplish as much at work. I feel like I'm moving through molasses, moving in slow-motion... just plodding along, doing my best, despite the burning/throbbing sensations in my hand.

It's borderline ridiculous that we have to jump through so many hoops and relentlessly pester so many people just to get anything done. I'm in pain. Typing for eight hours a day led to this pain. The solution to the pain (surgery) is quick and simple. Fix the pain quickly, solve the problem, before it gets worse. I guess my impatience may stem from the herniated disc that I suffered a few years ago. It took forever for the doctors to figure out what was wrong with me. It was actually a physical therapist who first suspected the herniated disc. In the meantime, the bulging disc was crushing a nerve root, which caused shooting pains and numbness along my left arm. Even after that surgery, I've had lasting back pain and dulled sensations on my left arm. Case in point: treating things before they have time to cause other problems is the best solution.

Let's just cross our fingers and hope that this particular issue can be resolved soon. I had forgotten how depressing it feels to be in pain.

Surgery

Assuming that the pre-authorization request is approved by Worker's Comp, I'll be having surgery to fix my tenosynovitis. This has been going on for awhile now, and nothing else we've tried has worked, so frankly I'm ready for surgery. It sounds like the surgery will be minimal, quick, and have a fast recovery time. I found a video of the surgery on YouTube, which you can see above. It's definitely not for the squeamish, but it's a really informative video. It's strange that something so small can cause such a great amount of pain. At least the solution is relatively simple: "release" the sheath around the tendon, thus giving the tendon more room to move around.

I really hope that Worker's Comp will approve the request. I've worked my ass off for the company, which has brought me to this point; the least they can do is fix the problem for me so that it doesn't inconvenience other areas of my life.

And now... we wait...

The Road to Recovery

So, I guess that I should start off by saying that I'm NOT dead. I know that may come as a surprise to some, especially since I tend to be clumsy and impulsive (not the best combination, trust me). Mostly, I've just been busy taking care of my mom in the weeks that followed her surgery. The hysterectomy went well; she only had to spend one night in LDS Hospital. I have to say, I really like that hospital; all of their rooms are private rooms, which makes such a big difference on the overall healing process. At least, that's what I think. Anyway, I had my herniated disc surgery at LDS Hospital in 2007, so I was somewhat familiar with it. Well, I was familiar with it, before they updated it and made it super fancy. I went to visit my mom after her surgery. Fortunately, I have a great sense of direction, or I probably would have gotten lost in the search for my mother.

Strangely enough, I wasn't even questioned by any hospital staff as I entered the building, wandered around for a minute, and eventually wound up in my mother's room.

She was heavily drugged, but seemed like she enjoyed my presence. I only stayed for a little while; my dad stayed overnight with her. I had to take care of my dog, who had been alone for most of the day, so I made a hasty trip home to tend to his needs. Afterwards, my girlfriend came over and cooked dinner for us, which was AMAZING. I swear, she's a culinary wizard. She doesn't believe me when I tell her that, but trust me... it's true.

So, back to my mother... she came home the day after her surgery. That weekend was rough for her, and she was in a lot of pain. Everything came back to her, gradually. She's moving around the house now, and seems more comfortable in general. She hasn't left the house yet, but we may be able to coax her out sometime next week. I understand that she's still swollen and in some pain, so I'm not going to rush her; she can move at her own pace. Literally.

We received the biopsy results about a week after the surgery. The good news is that they think they removed all of the areas affected by cancer. The bad news, of course, is that there's a five year period where they have to keep an eye on her, because anything could happen. So, much like the situation with her skin cancer, she'll just need to be extra vigilant in listening to her body and reporting any strange pains to her doctor.

For now, all's well that ends well!