Hand Update

Reason # 1,265 why it's a waste of time to go to the doctor: 99.5% of the time nothing is really wrong with you.

Like today -- I shelled out a $35 co-pay to a hand surgeon because the university urgent care doctor thought my pinky finger was on the verge of dismemberment. Turns out... it's just healing!

The hand surgeon, a 70-year old fellow with the bedside manner of a wooden post, ran a small series of tests on me, which included poking my pinky finger with a pin-like object while my eyes were closed and asking me how many prongs he was jabbing me with and then asking me to curl my pinky finger around his big finger (which for whatever reason made me feel a bit like a baby monkey in a zoo).

This is a very wicked looking fingernail. French manicure or not, that talon looks like it could do some serious damage.

I passed both tests with a 100% success rate, which means I don't have any nerve or tendon damage. The reason my hand still won't open all the way is that scar tissue has developed in a bit of a clump around the wound, making it pull a bit on the rest of the hand.

The doctor gave me two choices... I could go to one or two sessions of physical therapy to work out the scar tissue, or I could work on it myself at home by forcing my hand into a full stretch and rubbing on the wound to break up the scarring.

Of course, I chose the latter. Why fork over more co-pay money for somebody else to show me how to open my hand and rub a wound... how hard can it be? I'll admit, it hurts a bit, but the surgeon said that it should feel much better within 7-10 days. In his words, "within two weeks, this should all be a thing of the past." He also said I did not need any sort of splint or hand wrap (ie: no muppet hand) and that I needed to start using my hand as much as possible.

So now I'd better get going on some hand exercises (aside from typing). I'm also having some friends over for a vegetarian lasagna dinner & Scrabble tourney tonight so I need to spruce up my apartment a bit and start cooking (using dull, point-less knives).

Happy weekend!