It seems as though my injured right hand has some suppressed rage, possibly about the injury. My physio put a machine on it, basically two sponges with wires tensor-bandaged to my wrist, that is supposed to reduce inflammation and pain. It gives me little tingly electric shocks in my hand but will also sometimes (often) cause my middle finger to cramp and extend. I cannot stop it, nor can I retract it once it's out. Basically, my hand is flipping the world the bird of it's own volition.
I just hope that it doesn't need psychotherapy after the physio therapy.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Roller coaster
Last week was a long series of violent ups and downs, not unlike a 168 hour roller coaster ride.
It started with a phone call to my mother on Friday night. My grandfather was supposed to be going for angioplasty and I wanted to see how it went. It turns out that he actually had an angiogram (small uphill). IThe results were not good. His right coronary artery is 100% blocked (sharp drop), his left coronary artery is 70% blocked with 80% blockage of the offshoots (gradual downhill). Basically, he needs bypass surgery right freaking now (small lift) and even if they decide that he is a good candidate he is probably going to refuse surgery (severe drop). My aunt asked him if he wanted to be buried or to make an ash of himself. He answered that he would make an ash of himself just like he always had (small lift driven by slightly hysterical laughter).
On Saturday I got my cast off (small up), found out my wrist wasn't fractured (bigger up), but started to realize the extent of soft tissue damage (gradual drop).
Tuesday night Paul and I (and his parents) went to see The Arrogant Worms (comedic songwriters extraordinaire). We had fabulous seats: Winspeare Centre, floor, centre, row 4 (gradual up) and I laughed until I cried (nearing a peak).
Wednesday brought Paul's long awaited appointment with the hematologist to find out about his blood clot. We went in quite hopeful that the results would be good, he would be able to go off the blood thinners and never have a clot again. The results were not good (sudden plunging drop of doom). His antiphospholipid antigen levels had risen again, putting him at high risk for further clotting so he would have to stay on blood thinners for another year. At a single stroke the possibility that all of this trouble was caused by a pesky virus was eliminated. Now we know it's something else, likely something serious, but we have no idea what. They have ordered further tests over the next year, mostly in the area of auto-immune diseases, but we won't know anything at all until next February, if at all (bottom of the screaming drop-of-doom pit-of-despair).
That evening I went to the BareNaked Ladies concert at Rexall Place. It was fantastic, as expected. This is about the sixth time that I have seen them in concert and they are consistently the best I have ever seen. They are all just such amazing musicians and entertainers. They're geeky and fun and the music is fantastic and it doesn't hurt that Ed is so dreamy (triple loop-de-loop of joy). I cheered until I was hoarse and didn't care that I had no voice left and froze my butt off walking back to the car (and luckily survived the car ride, Ashley is a scary driver).
The next morning I was still on cloud nine over the fabulousness of the concert but it was (unfortunately) a thursday which is meeting day at work. By the end of the meeting I was so angry I was shaking. I'm tired of backhanded insults and power trips, micro-managing and iron-handed control. Work politics make me ill (sudden jerking stop at the end of the ride). Before I knew it I was back to the usual grind (coast to loading area).
Ride over. Please come again. (No, thank you. I think I'll be too short to ride next week.)
It started with a phone call to my mother on Friday night. My grandfather was supposed to be going for angioplasty and I wanted to see how it went. It turns out that he actually had an angiogram (small uphill). IThe results were not good. His right coronary artery is 100% blocked (sharp drop), his left coronary artery is 70% blocked with 80% blockage of the offshoots (gradual downhill). Basically, he needs bypass surgery right freaking now (small lift) and even if they decide that he is a good candidate he is probably going to refuse surgery (severe drop). My aunt asked him if he wanted to be buried or to make an ash of himself. He answered that he would make an ash of himself just like he always had (small lift driven by slightly hysterical laughter).
On Saturday I got my cast off (small up), found out my wrist wasn't fractured (bigger up), but started to realize the extent of soft tissue damage (gradual drop).
Tuesday night Paul and I (and his parents) went to see The Arrogant Worms (comedic songwriters extraordinaire). We had fabulous seats: Winspeare Centre, floor, centre, row 4 (gradual up) and I laughed until I cried (nearing a peak).
Wednesday brought Paul's long awaited appointment with the hematologist to find out about his blood clot. We went in quite hopeful that the results would be good, he would be able to go off the blood thinners and never have a clot again. The results were not good (sudden plunging drop of doom). His antiphospholipid antigen levels had risen again, putting him at high risk for further clotting so he would have to stay on blood thinners for another year. At a single stroke the possibility that all of this trouble was caused by a pesky virus was eliminated. Now we know it's something else, likely something serious, but we have no idea what. They have ordered further tests over the next year, mostly in the area of auto-immune diseases, but we won't know anything at all until next February, if at all (bottom of the screaming drop-of-doom pit-of-despair).
That evening I went to the BareNaked Ladies concert at Rexall Place. It was fantastic, as expected. This is about the sixth time that I have seen them in concert and they are consistently the best I have ever seen. They are all just such amazing musicians and entertainers. They're geeky and fun and the music is fantastic and it doesn't hurt that Ed is so dreamy (triple loop-de-loop of joy). I cheered until I was hoarse and didn't care that I had no voice left and froze my butt off walking back to the car (and luckily survived the car ride, Ashley is a scary driver).
The next morning I was still on cloud nine over the fabulousness of the concert but it was (unfortunately) a thursday which is meeting day at work. By the end of the meeting I was so angry I was shaking. I'm tired of backhanded insults and power trips, micro-managing and iron-handed control. Work politics make me ill (sudden jerking stop at the end of the ride). Before I knew it I was back to the usual grind (coast to loading area).
Ride over. Please come again. (No, thank you. I think I'll be too short to ride next week.)
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Cast off!
Much as I enjoy the title, this is not going to be a nautical post. Sorry.
To update: after almost 3 weeks in a cast, and much shuffling from doctor to doctor, there seems to be a concensus that there is, in fact, no fracture (whoo!). There are, however, some pulled ligaments, some partially torn ligaments (nothing bad enough to require surgery), and some deep bruising. There are 8 little bones in the wrist and I have some sort of damage to the ligaments around all of them, and the ligaments between the base of my radius and ulna, plus some in the thumb (if I understood correctly what was going on). Basically, a full month after my injury my arm does not feel any better.
I started physio this week and am making some good progress on increasing the range of motion in my injured hand. I just need to stop doing things like falling in the parking lot. Yes, I fell again. I landed mostly on my knees trying to avoid hurting my wrist but it was either that or eat gravel. I opted for further injuring the wrist. I absolutely cannot wait for this winter to be over. Stop snowing already! (It doesn't help that we came home the other night to find that two and a half feet of snow had blown off the roof onto our balcony (which is how we enter our place). Stupid snow!)
I'm slowly discovering all of the things that I can't do without the cast: grating cheese is near to impossible, pants have suddenly become more problematic, as has scraping the car and carrying groceries. There are things that I just still can't do without a lot of pain: turning keys, using doorknobs, my stupid hair, hooking a bra, writing, and getting out of the bath, to name a few. But I'm delighting in things that I can do now that I couldn't in the cast: showering without assistance, buttons, wearing my winter coat, putting on deodorant. I'm becoming more skilled with Lefty too; on Tuesday I ate with chopsticks left-handed without dropping anything on my shirt (go me!)
It's been a frustrating experience but it makes me appreciate all the more that I have a hand including a thumb, even though it's injured. There are just so many things that are impossible with only one. Get better soon Righty, I miss you.
To update: after almost 3 weeks in a cast, and much shuffling from doctor to doctor, there seems to be a concensus that there is, in fact, no fracture (whoo!). There are, however, some pulled ligaments, some partially torn ligaments (nothing bad enough to require surgery), and some deep bruising. There are 8 little bones in the wrist and I have some sort of damage to the ligaments around all of them, and the ligaments between the base of my radius and ulna, plus some in the thumb (if I understood correctly what was going on). Basically, a full month after my injury my arm does not feel any better.
I started physio this week and am making some good progress on increasing the range of motion in my injured hand. I just need to stop doing things like falling in the parking lot. Yes, I fell again. I landed mostly on my knees trying to avoid hurting my wrist but it was either that or eat gravel. I opted for further injuring the wrist. I absolutely cannot wait for this winter to be over. Stop snowing already! (It doesn't help that we came home the other night to find that two and a half feet of snow had blown off the roof onto our balcony (which is how we enter our place). Stupid snow!)
I'm slowly discovering all of the things that I can't do without the cast: grating cheese is near to impossible, pants have suddenly become more problematic, as has scraping the car and carrying groceries. There are things that I just still can't do without a lot of pain: turning keys, using doorknobs, my stupid hair, hooking a bra, writing, and getting out of the bath, to name a few. But I'm delighting in things that I can do now that I couldn't in the cast: showering without assistance, buttons, wearing my winter coat, putting on deodorant. I'm becoming more skilled with Lefty too; on Tuesday I ate with chopsticks left-handed without dropping anything on my shirt (go me!)
It's been a frustrating experience but it makes me appreciate all the more that I have a hand including a thumb, even though it's injured. There are just so many things that are impossible with only one. Get better soon Righty, I miss you.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Unicycle
The other day I was lined up in traffic on my way to work when I saw something very strange coming down the sidewalk towards me. He was peddling like man and windmilling his arms wildly. I couldn't help snapping a couple of photos. (For the record, I have also seen him walking his unicycle in the grocery store.)
Friday, February 2, 2007
Random Photo Day
Driving home on January 22nd, I found perhaps the coolest Snowman ever!
Beaker is sad. (Paul bought him for me.)
Happy monkey!
Evidence of my curly hair.
Me in the morning (poor Paul).
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Google-diculous
Gmail has this funny advertising sidebar that must use the content of your emails to tailor the links featured. I normally just ignore it but lately it has had a few useful and/or interesting suggestions.
Email from Sarah about backing her car into a guy in a BMW:
- How to Get your Guy - MakeHimFallinLove.com/GetaGuy (because clearly wrecking his car is the ideal way to woo him)
- Decorative concrete (um...what?)
Message about trip to Cuba and Passports
- Pirate Murder Mystery (Fancy Dress Pirates in Cuba)
- Repair Any Outlook Error (Is Cuba the Solution?)
Salsa @ On the Rocks
- Chat about Pole Dancing (!!!)
Extended discussion with Sarah about logistics for our trip last weekend
- Shaw PVR (this was the most useful link, as well as one on scaphoid fractures)
- Buffy Scythe (???)
- Colorful Alpaca Yarn (That's fair, but I blame Sarah.)
Dinner plans with Kristy and Cory
- Lose 20 lbs in 3 weeks (I think this might be a commentary on our menu. Mmmm...Fondue...)
- Fat Belly? Lose Stomach! (Augh! I lost my stomach! Have you seen it?)
Invitation to a games night
- Tanzania Honeymoon (No. Ed. Mon. Ton. Much colder than Tanzania.)
- Wedding Favors - Golf Balls (Just no.)
- தமிழ கல்யாணம் (That's not a typo.)
Ultrasound photos
- used ultrasound equipment (Ooo! Now look at my armpit on the ultrasound machine!)
Invitation to an adult's birthday party at Chuck-e-cheese, fancy dress required
- www.e-kilts.com (e-kilts! hah!)
- Pirate Murder Mystery (Again!)
Girls night (with two boys) and snacks
$300 Nestle Survey (Clearly they are hitting their target market)
$75 Taco Bell Survey (Only 75 bucks? Pfah! I'm hitting the Nestle one again!)
Could they be scams? Hmm...Let's put the meat of the url into google...hey! The suggested search is for scams! It must be legit.
I'll bet that the creator of GoogleAds (or whatever) wasn't expecting me to get this kind of entertainment value out of them.
Le sigh. I need to get out more.
Email from Sarah about backing her car into a guy in a BMW:
- How to Get your Guy - MakeHimFallinLove.com/GetaGuy (because clearly wrecking his car is the ideal way to woo him)
- Decorative concrete (um...what?)
Message about trip to Cuba and Passports
- Pirate Murder Mystery (Fancy Dress Pirates in Cuba)
- Repair Any Outlook Error (Is Cuba the Solution?)
Salsa @ On the Rocks
- Chat about Pole Dancing (!!!)
Extended discussion with Sarah about logistics for our trip last weekend
- Shaw PVR (this was the most useful link, as well as one on scaphoid fractures)
- Buffy Scythe (???)
- Colorful Alpaca Yarn (That's fair, but I blame Sarah.)
Dinner plans with Kristy and Cory
- Lose 20 lbs in 3 weeks (I think this might be a commentary on our menu. Mmmm...Fondue...)
- Fat Belly? Lose Stomach! (Augh! I lost my stomach! Have you seen it?)
Invitation to a games night
- Tanzania Honeymoon (No. Ed. Mon. Ton. Much colder than Tanzania.)
- Wedding Favors - Golf Balls (Just no.)
- தமிழ கல்யாணம் (That's not a typo.)
Ultrasound photos
- used ultrasound equipment (Ooo! Now look at my armpit on the ultrasound machine!)
Invitation to an adult's birthday party at Chuck-e-cheese, fancy dress required
- www.e-kilts.com (e-kilts! hah!)
- Pirate Murder Mystery (Again!)
Girls night (with two boys) and snacks
$300 Nestle Survey (Clearly they are hitting their target market)
$75 Taco Bell Survey (Only 75 bucks? Pfah! I'm hitting the Nestle one again!)
Could they be scams? Hmm...Let's put the meat of the url into google...hey! The suggested search is for scams! It must be legit.
I'll bet that the creator of GoogleAds (or whatever) wasn't expecting me to get this kind of entertainment value out of them.
Le sigh. I need to get out more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
