How Things Looks to Me

 Well, I did not have the presence of mind to get a photo of my fingers swollen together in the beginning of this adventure! You can see me in the sling on the Shed Project video. Here is this week's photos with the swelling gone down. I actually was able to wear my wedding rings for a few days, but then thought better of it when my fingers were swollen one morning and I could not budge the rings.


This lovely "comfort brace" was given to me after the cortisone injection. It helps me not to try to spread my fingers too far apart. I have given up some of my favorite drinking vessels as they prove too wide for my hand now. The brace is not too hot, but I cannot wear it when I try things in the kitchen, such as preparing strawberries. I take it off when I eat too as I tend to get food on it otherwise!

So here is the view of my hands this week! My casted arm holds the wrist at such an angle that I cannot pull my hair back in a clasp or ponytail. (Yes, it has been growing out!) I also have difficulty using both hands on the keyboard, though the standard keyboard is easier than the iPad keyboard!

The grandgirls keep forgetting to sign my cast. That's okay though. I already get strange looks in public when I go to the grocery alone.

Thank goodness Peg Hunt asked last winter if I wanted my Cutco knives sharpened when she got hers done! The serrated knife that looks like a steak knife has helped me slice up my food, though I hold the fork at an absurd angle!  One less thing for Bob to do, though I do not carry it if we go out to eat! Speaking of eating out, Steak 'n Shake is not a place we go to more than maybe once a year. Bob recently wanted to go there and I found that the beverage glass they use, (designed by Coca-Cola,) is just the right size for the arthritic right hand. I bought mine and use it at home! Thanks, Steak 'n Shake. The Arthritis foundation should endorse their product!

As the arthritis in my hands began to flare over the last 2 years I started to ask, "What do you do without your hands?" the answer is "Not much!" So I am changing my goals and projects until I get through Physical Therapy and find out what is reasonable to expect and what is not.