I broke my finger playing flag football.
Yea, I know...what?
As gluttonous as I may be, I do try to get out there and put my body to work so I can glutton more (and write subsequent Yelp reviews).
So I broke my middle finger trying to catch a football during a flag football game...blah blah blah, I didn't think it was broken so I played more (and, yes I am proud to say, got a critical 4th down flag with the hand with the broken finger!).
This (as well as yanking on it) probably dislodged a bone in my joint.
24 hours later, I was in the ER getting my ring sawed off my purple finger & being told that I most likely need surgery. JAM. So unfortunate. I walked out of there with x-rays in one hand (remember to ask for it so that you don't have to go back!) & the other (defunct) one in a foam block that looked like a blue LEGO.
1 frightening refusal by a plastic surgeon, 1 acceptance by another plastic surgeon, finger surgery at Brackenridge, & weeks with a increasingly smelly cast later, I found myself at rehab twice a week for 2 months. yay.....
I've only had 1 occupational therapist but Christie is THE BEST EVER.
She (while making me hurt so bad I silently wept - you think Vicodin will help? It won't) was able to turn a finger that seemed forever locked into this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alovelychristmascarol/3291068569/in/set-72157614045553177/
into this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alovelychristmascarol/3363799511/in/set-72157614045553177/ (and that was just the finger at 7 weeks...my finger is even straighter now).
Psst - the whole set is here but you may need a Flickr account to see the rest...some pics are kinda gross (stitches etc): http://www.flickr.com/photos/alovelychristmascarol/sets/72157614045553177/
My finger is now 97% back to normal. I have scars from the surgery but I can almost bend and straighten like I could before. I think if Christie wasn't there to push me and make sure I did my "HW", my finger would be pretty janky looking now. But thankgoodness, my finger looks amazing for what it's been through and I can do a lot of the things I took for granted (i.e. clipping my nails with my left hand, buttoning my jeans, twisting open pens, holding bags of groceries, do pushup(s)).
I hope everyone needing hand therapy goes to see Christie (she was "assigned" by my plastic surgeon - his review coming up). read more