Gil’s Blog

It’s been 3 weeks since my surgery, and I’ve been recovering pretty quickly.  I can almost do all the things I used to be able to do.  I am able to eat, type, and play video games with my right hand; so atleast I can do all the important stuff.  😉  There’s still a little soreness when I make a fist, but I’m just happy to be able to make a fist at this point.  Pretty soon I’ll be holding a hockey stick.  😀  The tape that was holding the incision closed has just about fallen off, and the scabs are falling off too.  Doesn’t look too icky to me.  I should include a picture. 

Day of surgery

Whatever drugs they were using, it was pretty effective.  They didn’t put me under, but I definitely was not aware of what was going on around me.  I can recall the drugs beginning to take effect, and then the next thing I knew I was totally alert and my arm was numb.  I can feel the doctors doing something to my hand but couldn’t see anything since they had a sheet blocking my view.  And then about 5 minutes later they were done.  Since the procedure was supposed to take 45 minutes, I’d have to surmise that I was “out of it” for 30 minutes of the surgery.  Recovery wasn’t too bad, atleast not on the first day.  I didn’t even need to take my Vicodin.  But I decided to take it before going to bed since I didn’t want to wake up in pain.  Boy was that a bad idea.  It made me nauseous for the next two days.  Next time, if there is a next time, I’d rather deal with the pain than the nausea. 

First Week

For the first week, I had my hand in a splint, and it was completely enveloped by gauze.  So pretty much, I had a soft cast for a week.  The thing was pretty darn heavy too, and it didn’t help that I had to keep it elevated at all times.  Showering was a struggle.  I had to put a plastic bag over my arm to keep it from getting wet.  Squeezing shampoo with only one hand was kind of tricky too.  Going left-handed wasn’t too difficult an adjustment for me, since I had to do it before when I broke my right thumb.  Man, I was ever glad to get the splint off after one week.  It was torture whenever my arm itched, and I couldn’t get to it because of the splint.  That’s probably the worst part of the whole experience. 

1 week after surgery

After taking off the splint, the Physician’s Assistant placed this clear plastic tape over my stitches.  This allowed me to wash my hands without getting the stitches wet.  She also showed me a few exercises I needed to do in order to regain mobility and flexibility.  It’s pretty amazing how much flexibility you lose after surgery when you can’t move your hand for a week.  Also, it’s pretty amazing how much dead skin you can scrub off after not washing your hand for a week.  😛

2 weeks after surgery

I finally got my stitches taken out 2 weeks after surgery.  Or should I say “stitch.”  The PA made a snip on each end and pulled the stitch out.  Since it was only one stitch, I decided to take a peek and watch her pull the stitch out.  I must say, that was pretty icky to watch.  The whole time I was thinking that it should hurt, but I didn’t feel anything at all.  After that 2nd post-op meeting, I still had a piece of cloth tape holding my wound closed.  This piece of tape has been there since day 1 and is supposed to fall off around week #3.  And that’s where I’m at right now, with this tape almost completely off. 

In about 11 hours, I’ll be having wrist surgery on my right hand.  It’s for the excision of a metacarpal boss that has been developing on the back of my hand.  It’s something that’s been bothering me for over a year now, but the doctor wasn’t too concerned about it.  My doctor recommended surgery, but said that I could go without it if I could live with the pain.  But now with my back bothering me, I figured I’d completely shut down my body from hockey and kill two birds with one stone.  Just take a break from hockey, let my back rest, and get my wrist taken care of.  In the long run, it’s the smart decision.  But it’s also kind of bad timing.  Hockey playoffs begin in 2 weeks, and my team is in first place.  I’m sure they’ll do fine without me, but it does suck to miss the playoffs. 

I’m getting a little antsy now.  If my wrist was hurting like it was two weeks ago, then I think I would actually be looking forward to surgery.  Or atleast looking forward to being cured.  But this week, my wrist is actually feeling better, so it’s kind of weird to subject myself to pain even though I’m feeling good now.  But I also know that the pain will come back if I don’t opt for surgery, so I might as well get this taken care of now.  Anyhow, I guess I better head off to bed now; before I get thirsty or hungry.  This no food or drink after midnight thing really sucks.  I’m not even allowed a breath mint.  Not even a stick of gum.