Another Update

Yesterday I had the delayed outpatient surgery I spoke of earlier. The procedure:

Left cubital tunnel release at elbow

Left endoscopic carpal tunnel release

So, I had carpal tunnel on the left wrist, and pressure on the ulnar nerve in my left elbow relieved. My arm is pretty well swathed in Ace wrap and Coban. I have to watch how I bend my arm, and placing any pressure on the palm kinda shocks me.

However, maybe this is just in my mind, but I think I can feel a difference in my two nearly dead fingers on my left hand. The little finger has a bad case of adduction, so it can't be opened or closed completely. However, now I can close it much further than before. It has to be stretched to open completely. I had been squeezing a foam ball and gaining strength before this procedure, and that seems to have helped a bunch. The two fingers just seem to have more control. I can't test the strength yet because it flexes the entry wound too much. But, it sure seems to be coming along. Typing has become far easier over time, and it sure seems better now than before.

It will be ten days before my follow up appointment, and the instructions were to not change the dressings, and don't let them get wet. Naturally, my hand and arm are coated with that yellow surgical crap that just about has to wear off. I've got news for them - I'm not gonna let those dressings go for ten days without at least peeking.

So, I see an end to this. I still have kidney stones that have to be tended to, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel for this particular ordeal. Thank you, God.