HUGS, PRAYERS, GOOD WISHES FOR KIRA!

That's good to hear your hand is responding already to MLD.  I'm hoping that any and all swelling quickly resolves!  You didn't notice any increase in arm swelling, right - just limited to your hand?

Please take a stand with your employer and continue to take good care of yourself, returning to work when you feel ready.

Saw my LE therapist today, and am wrapped for a day: measurements are only up a bit in lower hand,wrist. But the hand looks weird to me, and it's sore to move--although getting better.

I'll see the OT tomorrow, and am still figuring out work, as the orthopod thought he was doing me a favor, and wrote a return note.

It's scary, but I have a good team--including everyone here.

Kira

Tina, the OT was/is amazing--she does a lot of LE work and she did an hour exam, measured all my motion, examined my hand in detail, reviewed exercises and gave LE tips--and I'll see her twice a week.

I'm "holding fluid" up by my knuckles, which makes my LE therapist crazy, but overall, my hand doesn't look horrible. And my arm measurements are stable--even a bit better from the day after the cast came off.

It is stiff and sore, and I'm in the removable splint a fair amount, or wrapped.

It's getting old--the soreness, weakness and swelling, but overall, it's really not as bad as I had worried about.

I can't really wear compression gloves--they hurt the fracture site, so I do finger/hand wraps and arm wraps.

My work is being true to form: I worked a day, then got a frantic call--office manager/boss' daughter/she who demanded I come in on the day of my fracture-- to come in on my day off next week--only I have a gyn procedure scheduled (thank you tamoxifen...) and I told her, and she said "see you after it"--I just emailed her that I will not work after a gyn procedure (which I had scheduled deliberately for my day off). Hey, at least they're consistent....

It's emotionally hard to take a step back with the LE, but it's to be expected. And it's kind of like the beginning, where I have to figure out the tools I need: splint, wrap, finger wrap, ?try glove--all new.

Glad I have the OT and my LE therapist on my team. 

Kira

Thanks for the update, Kira.  So glad it is better than you'd expected.

Dawn 

Hymil, I'm actually at work, but I'm learning how to establish boundaries--a work in progress. I have my splint on, and a compression glove.

My LE therapist was the one who demanded that I set limits. 

I wrote Binney that I'm getting grumpy with the stiff hand, the swelling around the knuckles, the constant need to deal with this--and she, the woman of infinite patience, wrote back that she'd be worried if I wasn't grumpy.

The splint is pretty good for thumping....

My gyn wants me to take prophyalctic antibiotics, and it's debatable when I look at the guidelines, but with LE, not a bad idea....Always something.

You know, the thing with bullies, when you say no, they kind of back off/fade away--I hadn't realized that before.

Tomorrow will be a week out of the cast, and my hand has come a long way in a week--I'll see the great OT tomorrow, and see what she thinks.

Kira

Dawn, I hope it's not emergency surgery. The night I fell and broke the hand, I was just sobbing. It did set me back, but it's around 8 months since I got the cast off, 10 months since the fracture, and things have pretty much gone back to baseline.

It was a very rough time, and what lousy, lousy "luck" to break my LE, dominant hand, but it did get better.

The day they cut the cast off, I didn't even recognize my hand--it was so disgusting---6 weeks in a cast caused lizard skin and swelling and it was kind of discolored.

What happened?

Kira

Kira, so sorry to read this post!!!! Get better soon so you can get back to sharing your knowledge on these boards... urrrgghhh, this just sucks

Nicole