Sunday, May 24, 2009

writing with a 'holy' hand..

i am back with this post after a long gap.
the first couple of weeks, it was travel and a lot of backlogged work.
then, it was a forced abstinence, as part of the recuperation.
this was needed, as i had decided to get the two implants i had in my right forearm removed.

with that, there are no foreign bodies in my body [!] except the sutures that would dissolve in a few more days.

the original incident was about six years ago. an accidental fall while searching for some stuff in the loft meant that i had to have 2 steel rods - one each for radius and ulna.

at that time, the doctor had said that these foreign bodies may be removed once the healing is complete - and preferably within 2-3 years, though the material is rated for at least 15 years.

had been postponing this every year, with some excuse or the other. so, this time, decided that it had to be done.
the doctor warned me that while he would attempt to remove the implants, due to the delay, he might have to decide not to remove it, in case of complications.

the next big decision for me was at the operating table. whether to go for a GA or a local block. i wanted to leave it to the anesthetist and the doctor. they decided for a local block.
i was excited that i could watch all that would happen - but, as my head was turned the other side, i could only catch their conversations.

this was a different experience, as i could almost walk out of the operation theater, compared to the original surgery, when it took me a while to get over the GA.

back in the room, it was a very insightful experience to see and [not] feel one arm, that was completely numb and not feeling part of your body at all!
while, mentally, i could move my fingers, they would not move!

over the next few hours, i could feel the sensation and movement coming back and feel better.

it is now two weeks and some of the muscles, are, technically, recovering from the trauma.
i keep exercising, but am unable to 'connect' with some of the muscles, that seem to have either become stiff or taking their own time to get back the strength and movement, in coordination with the rest of the muscles.

during the procedure, i could hear some hammering and some hushed discussions, though i could not feel anything.
there were 2 screws that needed additional work, the doctor told me later.
one was a hole that had some bony overgrowth

and another screwhead that had become blunt.

luckily, both of them could be handled with some filing and hammering.

when i looked at the equipment used, hammers, screwdrivers, chisels etc, they look quite normal and low-tech. a disappointment, as i was expecting some automatic drills etc, like at a dentist's.

with this, my hand is now 'holy' - or should it be 'holey'?

p.s. thanks to all the well wishers, who had called, sent emails or SMSes.

2 comments:

Jyotsna said...

oof! its not bad enough that you had hardware in your hands, now you want it to be 'COOL' ??

Sivaguru said...

@jyotsna
some principles:
1. make the most of what you have
2. look at the brighter side of things
3. take good advice from others
[in this case, i was thinking of a different title for the post. in a conversation, when D mentioned the 'holiness' and i thought it was a good title!]