Getting Better

As promised an entry or 2 (or 3...) ago, here's a picture of how much better my hand is getting/looking. The scabbies are all gone & now I've just got a bright pink line running down my hand & onto my wrist. If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now...I'm so thrilled with the doctor, how well he performed the surgery & how/where he made the incision. After all the pinkness fades (& knowing how I am & how long my skin stays pink at a scar site, it'll be a long while), you won't be able to tell how big the scar really is, since most of it is where creases in my hand would be. The only spot where it might show is at the base of my hand & a little on my wrist, but the incision looks so damn fine, I doubt you'd be able to tell even there unless I pointed it out to you.

I've been using my hand a lot more & making sure to exercise it. I still don't have a full range of motion (there are still a few things I just can not do with that hand); the scar is still very tender & the base of my hand & my wrist still hurts much more than the rest of the hand...BUT...I will not let that hold me back from getting back into full use of my hand. I have to realize though, that it has only been about a month & 10 days since the surgery & that that stupid hard-boiled-egg-sized thing was growing in my hand for nearly 4 years, so certain things are not going to happen overnight.

I saw my surgeon last week & he was very pleased at how well my hand was healing & the progress I've already made with moving it around. He told me to keep up the good work & I wouldn't need to go to physical therapy. The only thing is that I might have some mild arthritis in the lower thumb joint, but we just have to wait & see if it isn't just some pain from the surgery. I'll probably be going back for another follow up visit in 4-6 weeks & I'll see how this thumb~joint pain is doing by then.