OK - so I'm NOT an advocate for surgery... and I will admit, I used to think that people that complained about Carpal Tunnel were maybe just exaggerating the pain and discomfort a little... BUT OH MY GOODNESS! It is really awful. It started shortly after the girls came home...lots of new lifting...and had gotten so bad that I was only sleeping about 2 hours (TOTAL) a night. This is not always the best thing if you want to be an effective mother, wife or business person. It makes for a short temper, a loss of memory - and an overall lack of good judgment. :) Plus - it's just plain inconvenient. So I had the dreaded EMG and Nerve Conduction test that Crystal and Dr. Ellingsen were wanting me to have... and it wasn't bad at all!!!! Dr. Sellin was so nice - and if you have to get poked with lots of needles and have jolts of electricity pulsed through your arm - I highly recommend Dr. Sellin. That was done on April 27th... and on the 28th I met with Dr. O'Neill. First of all, let me just say - I LOVED HIM. He might not be a kid friendly person - but he just plain knows his stuff. He was WONDERFUL. They scheduled me for a Right Carpal Tunnel Release on May 3rd. I still don't really get why I am a left-handed person with a worse case of Carpal Tunnel in the right arm... but all I care about is that I want the pain to STOP. :)
So at 6am on May 3rd, Carolyn Gallagher and Karen Haven came to watch the Hanks kids (BLESS THEIR HEARTS) and Tim took me in for outpatient surgery. I was home by 10:00am... although the ride home made me woozy, and I slept until after lunch. :) When I woke up the kids were ready and waiting to read to me and shower me with lots of love and attention. Another bonus - Mike and Brenda brought us dinner (PASTA) and homemade chocolate chip cookies. That was worth the surgery, alone! :) I wore a half-cast/splint for two weeks - and when I got it removed on the 16th and had the stitches taken out - I was more convinced than ever that Dr. O'Neill knows what he is doing! (Pictures on the red blanket - with the CLOSE-UP) Today - 5 days after the stitches are out - you can already see that the scar is going to be very minimal. (Photo with the floral couch in the background...) He is awesome. The best part???? I DON'T HURT!!!!
3 comments:
It looks like you had plenty of help to recover after your surgery! But I do have to admit that you appeared to have a bit of a thousand mile stare and the drool on the chin is a dead giveaway that Dr. Sellin was being generous with the pain meds.
That is OK, the children's minds were probably not permanently damaged by Mommy not being able to pronounce her words for a bit.
I hope that your recovery goes well and that you can see the light at the end of the carpal tunnel...
Rick
Your kids are beautiful -- hope you feel better soon!!
Jennifer,
I am so glad you are not in pain any longer. I was really missing your posts. I hope your yard sale is a huge success!
Ruth
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