More reality and less fun

Thankfully it wasn’t a rotary cutter accident!

I am on hold for a while. No rotary cutting for 6-8 weeks. No bike riding for that same time period. Had surgery on my right long finger to repair an ongoing issue with polyarticular osteoarthritis. Not a lot of options for fixing it….. Arthritis Foundation gives a good description of those options. My best option was to fuse the joint.

In quilters terms…sore twisting aching joint at the end of my finger near the nail. Got so I could not put any pressure on the end of the finger pad or touch anything without shooting pains.

About August last year I finally gave up and went to see the hand specialist. When your quilting life is impacted this way, it is time to throw in the towel. I just wanted him to wack the thing off…that is how bad it was. All the cartilage was gone and bone spurs were growing between the joints but twisting the end of the finger. Well…he wouldn’t fix it until my trigger finger in that finger and the ring finger were fixed….so I had that procedure done in October and it was successful. (Another thing to slow me down!) I had to wait for full recovery, and 2 cruises, before I could get the joint repaired.

Valentines Day my dear hubby had to get up at 4:45 am and take me to the hospital for outpatient surgery. I was in surgery by 7:15 am and recovery by 9:15. I really appreciated the 2 hour nap because I NEVER get very much sleep the night before.

We were home before 10 am, and both of us napped off and on all day long in the family room recliners. Me more than him. He was dispatched to pick up medications and food! I will be dining left-handed for a long while, so food choices will be simple easy to prepare and easy to eat left-handed. (For example – No tacos because they take two hands…..).

Here is the dilemma — the bandages stay on for 2 weeks. Nice pretty tape on the finger but cheesecloth like gauze for the hand. My surgery in October resulted in that gauze shredding in 3 days. My daughter who knits is creating a 1 finger glove….something I can wear but keep the splinted finger under cover and the bandages around my hand cleaner. In the meantime, a sock with the end cut open is helping.

My lovely friends have been checking in on me and cheering me up. Sweet Pam delivered soup today and cookies and the Farmers Almanac. I’ve had fun reading bits of it this afternoon. Boredom has already set in, and I took a short walk today to clear the anesthesia haze from my brain, and to pop in on my neighbor Arlene. She is is recovery from her own medical adventures this week, and I was happy to see she wasn’t alone. Her daughter was there to keep her company!

So, posting will be minimal for a while until this heals up. Frankly, not much sewing will be happening while that bone heals and fuses.