A neurologist guessed that my almost useless left hand would be back to normal three weeks from the day she saw me. I thought she was full of sh!*. At the time I could open and close my hand and touch my thumb to my fingers and not a whole lot else. I had seen some improvement, but it wasn't happening quickly.
I've been out of the hospital now for about 12 days and with nine more to go before the doctor's three week estimate is up I think she may be on to something. I can actually use my left hand to do things now. I no longer begrudgingly make it do jobs for me in the hopes of getting it better, I can actually rely on it for real purposes. It's freaking amazing.
I no longer look at lefty and wish it was something useful like a hook or some sort of pinching tool. I'm happy I have two hands again. I'm even able to type with both hands now, although there is a lot more visual supervision and erasing than there used to be. Things definitely aren't perfect, but they're getting a whole lot better.
I can open ziplock bags now, close ziplock bags, type, hold a cup, open my toothpaste, open my chapstick and even carry things that weigh more than 1 pound (none of which I could do while I was in the hospital)
. I still can't tie a pair of shoes, but I don't think that's a long way off. Maybe in a few more days I'll be able to trade in my sandals for a pair of loafers. Then I'll be a big boy again. It's weird asking your mom and dad to tie your shoes when you're 26.
There are still some problems, my range of motion isn't completely back with all the fingers and the strength isn't the same but I've got exercises from my therapist for that. Lefty isn't quite as coordinated anymore and it moves a little bit slower too, but I've got more exercises for that. Also, I still can't feel very much with the tips of a couple of my fingers, but the numb areas are getting smaller all the time. Pretty soon I may even be able top pick my nose properly again. It's uncomfortable digging in the left nostril with my right hand. It's just not the way God intended a man to pick his boogers.
1 comment:
You're hilarious! Glad to hear you're regenerating again. Those darn neurons can be really tick a person off. Why they get confused as to what they are suppose to do when they are suppose to do it is confusing to me. Anyways, I'm very excited that your body is recovering or repairing itself as it should! Best news of the day! Back to my German homework and class, but I'll get back to the other blogs I haven't read yet tomorrow. Til then....
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