More Slicing & Dicing

Getting screwed on August 15 didn't do enough for me, despite the poetic encouragement of the Snarklings. My right middle finger has gotten more numb, and though I've regained some function in the other digits, the thumb and index finger remain weak and the ring finger partially numb. Anything requiring fine motor skills is very difficult, if not impossible: writing; using a fork, tweezers or nail clippers; turning a key; buttoning clothes; blowing (or picking) my nose...

Two orthopedists, two neurologists and a neurosurgeon finally agreed that I need additional surgery. My osteopath has been saying it for months, but MDs don't want to hear what a DO thinks--even though he's been the only doc who's been, you know, actually touching me all along and not just looking at Xrays. One neurologist even rolled his eyes when I told him the osteo's opinion during our first visit. Naturally I felt compelled to point out to each and every MD that the DO had been right all along.

So tomorrow a hand & arm specialist (orthopedist #5, for those keeping track) is going to do exploratory surgery on my right arm in order to free the median nerve from the mass of scar tissue in which it's entrapped, presumably near the site of the original break.

The outpatient (aka "drive-by") procedure will be done exactly six months after the equestrian fiasco that broke my arm and so many other parts: on All Saints' Day. Here's hoping the surgeon is the saint he seems to be. I nearly plotzed when he called me at home--unprompted!--last week to ask me whether I had any questions before the surgery.