carpal tunnel, part 3

I called the doctor's office on a Friday afternoon.  It was late in the day, and I assume everyone had gone home already.  They called back at work on Monday, and I took the next available appointment, Wednesday afternoon, for a pre-surgery consultation.  I told all the people that needed to know at work, got on the schedule, and headed into town early Wednesday morning.  I had enough time to go to the insurance office in person to let them know what was going on.  She told me to give her a call after my appointment, let her know what the doctor said, and she would look over my claim in the meantime. 

I go in to see the surgeon, and we discuss the surgery, and he clears me for it.  Basically, there is a not very stretchy ligament that goes over the carpal tunnel (a tight spot where finger ligaments, the median nerve, and I think the thumb muscle goes).  As best as I can understand, the ligaments will get inflamed from aforementioned aggressors, which causes the median nerve to get squished.  This is what causes the numbness/tingling.  The surgery cuts the ligament that goes over this tunnel, releasing the pressure on the nerve. 
 
"Well," I begin. "I am from out of town, about 200 miles west of here, so if it can be taken care of in the next few days, that would be ideal.  It would save me a flight in and out."
"I am in the operating room tomorrow," he responds. "So if insurance approves it, I can fit you in."
"This is a workman's comp claim," I inform him. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"Workers comp claims usually take a week to get approval, but we will give them a call and see."
With that, he left to make the phone call.  Since I had stopped by the office earlier in the day, she already had looked at my file and knew what was going on.  She approved the surgery, and I saw about 5 more people at the doctors office to get everything together.  A nurse came in for my vitals, the surgeon's assistant filled out more paperwork with me, the physician I had previously seen came in and told me to take care of myself, the scheduler got me a whole bunch of info on pre-surgery, day of surgery, and post surgery instructions, there was a perscription involved in there somewhere, and a whole bunch of other stuff.  I walked out of teh office with surgery orders for the next morning, checking in at 7 am. 

I still look back and shake my head at how the Lord totally orchestrated the whole thing, from an early flight in so I could see the insurance adjuster, to the surgeon already being scheduled in the OR the next day, to everything falling into place around me, I knew that He was there with me.  I was scared, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was arranged ahead of time.  That evening, I met up with friends for burgers then yogurt lounge, where everyone told me their best "coming out of anesthesia" story.

The next morning, I checked in, filled out some paperwork, and the whole process started.  Every person I talked to I had to confirm that I was doing left hand open carpal tunnel release.  I get dressed in the awesome surgery duds, have to pee in a cup to prove that I'm not pregnant (I laughed when I heard that is why they needed a urine sample), and the nurses started to get me set up.  As I was getting sat down, the surgeon comes by, says hi, and reassures me that I will be all fixed up in no time.  Suddenly, they realize that they are ready for me in the OR, so the nurses double team on the prep and get me through in record time.  One is asking me questions while the other is putting an IV in my hand.  After the interrogation was done, I thanked the nurse for distracting me from the IV. 

We went into the operating room, got laid down on the table, 4 more people asked me what they were doing, someone signed my arm to indicate the correct arm, and they told me they started the anesthesia.  Weirdest thing ever, it made my wrist ache.  (my right wrist, as the IV was in my right hand).  I asked if that was supposed to happen, and they said it was normal.  Ok, no worries, wow, I should lay down. I thought before closing my eyes.  Next thing I know, they were wheeling me into the recovery area, my left hand was all wrapped up, and I had no idea what was going on.  Tears started streaming down my cheeks.  I heard a nurse say, "It's ok, don't cry!" and I thought, I'm crying?  Weird... I guess its better than the other stories I heard. 

The friend picking me up was in classes for another hour or so, so I just sat back, they let me watch TV, and I drank a coke.  First how in the world am I supposed to operate with one hand? moment happened when I tried to open the straw.  I realized two things at this point.  One, how much I use my left hand, two, how much I don't like asking people for help.  I felt ridiculous as the nurse came and helped me get the straw out of the wrapper.  The surgeon came by and told me that the nerve was very squished, and he thinks I will be really happy with the results when everything heals up.  I could tell right away that it was going to be better.  Either that or it was the numbness...




The rest of the recovery process went really smoothly for the most part.  The first thing the guys in the hangar said when I came back was, "Where's your cast?  I wanted to cut it off!!"  10 days after the surgery, I went in to get the wrapping off and stitches out.  The surgeon repeated several times how squished the nerve was, and at some point said, "Well, we know you weren't lying about it!"  Putting those two statements together, I have come to the conclusion that he probably didn't really believe me.  I get it.  Its not something that is seen in people my age.  Most of the people he sees with carpal tunnel are at least in their 50s.  mid 20s is incredibly young to be having these problems.  But its fixed now, and I am just waiting on the recovery time to be done, so I can return to normal life. 

I'm so thankful that it happened the way it did, like I said, totally God's working.  Any later, and it would have put recovery time right into our insanely busy season. 

Carpal tunnel, part 2

I decided to talk to my supervisor about it.  We filled out the workman's comp paperwork, and I went in to see an orthopedic physician.  He confirmed what I had suspected: carpal tunnel.  We discussed options.  Since I was doing my best with the brace and anti-inflammatories, the only remaining options were cortizone shots or surgery.  He said he wouldn't do surgery until a nerve conduction study was done to see how bad it is, so while I waited for that, I could think on the two options. 

According to more research, I learned that the vibrations of air tools are a big aggressor of carpal tunnel. In fact, according to the department of labor's list of careers most likely to have carpal tunnel claims, maintenance is higher up than computer/desk work.  Women are also 3 times as likely to get it than men.  Lots of things seemed to be stacking up against me, despite my very young age. 

After Christmas, I went for a shocking experience, which was really not that much fun.  They send electricity through various nerves to test how much resistance there is.  Between that test and a follow up appointment with the physician, things had improved, and I was going on vacation for two weeks, which is a great chance to rest my hand.  I decided to see if the time off would help, and be in touch if symptoms got worse.  The physician thought it was a great plan, and reminded me that we always have surgery in our back pocket as an option if needed. 

I was right, vacation helped.  No symptoms, no pain, but I wasn't using my hands nearly as much as when I am at work 8 hours a day.  When I got back to work, it wasn't long before symptoms kicked in again, as bad or worse than before.  I got to the point where I couldn't hold on to tools, my hand would go numb when working in inspection holes, and I couldn't buck or shoot rivets with my left hand. Despite wearing a brace at night, I wasn't sleeping well.

After much prayer and consideration, I called the doctor.  I knew something needed done, and I knew it needed done sooner rather than later.  We had a schedule lined out at work for finishing the 207, but I knew that I wouldn't be much use if I couldn't do any riveting. 

Throughout the process, I felt a lot of pressure from different people.  Certain coworkers implied I just needed to man up and deal with it, while others understood the problems.  Some friends advised me to take care of my body above all else, while others implored me to avoid surgery.  Still others told me that I don't want this on my medical records.  But the decision was mine to make, and I made it. 

To be continued...

surgery, recovery, and life (or carpal tunnel, part 1)

My blog is doomed.  You know how I know?  I have been not working for almost a month now, and I still can't find time in my nothingness to write.  Sure, there is a bit of needing inspiration, but mostly, its lacking in motivation.  And if I'm not motivated to write when I am desperately bored, how in the world will I find motivation when I am caught up in the throes of summer?  Perhaps in my "nothing to do" in the next two weeks, I can find motivation to write.  Its worth hoping, right? 

Oh right.  Maybe not everyone knows about why I haven't been working for almost a month.  Since I have time, I might as well tell you the long version of the story. 

Last winter, I would wake up at night with a numb hand.  being not entirely coherent, I didn't have much clue as to what was going on, so I associated it with having circulation cut off somehow by how I sleep.  As it became more consistent, I paid a little more attention to it.  I realized that it was always my left hand, and it was specifically my thumb, index, middle, and not as much in my ring finger. 

Armed with a little more definite symptoms, I took to the internet.  And what I found scared me.  carpal tunnel syndrome.  Really?  I thought that happened to old people who worked at computers all their lives.  The more I read, the more i discovered that it has everything to do with using hands, specifically repetitive motions.  The thing that scared me the most about it is how much I use my hands.  As a mechanic, my hands are my primary source of income.  Would I have to find something else to do with my life?

I called my ever faithful personal nurse (aka mom) to tell her about what was going on, ask advice, and see what she thought.  She talked to me about taking anti-inflammatories, and sent me a brace to sleep in.  The first night I slept in the brace, I slept better than I had in weeks, and realized that it was the numbness waking me up.  After a few weeks of sleeping in the brace, it got a lot better, and I didn't have to sleep in the brace.  Numbness and pain came on and off throughout the next year, but it was completely managable with the brace and ibprofen when it did come up. 

Then this last winter, we started on our big winter project in the hangar- our 207 overhaul.  Anyone who knows anything about silver bullet projects like this knows that it involves a lot of sheet metal fabrication, which involves a lot of rivet guns, drills, and die grinders.  Around Thanksgiving, symptoms were back in full force, and home treatments weren't effective anymore. 

(this post is getting rather long, so I will break the story up.)

To be continued...