The Splint Is OFF!

I am two-handed again! And I can type with both hands hands. Ah, the simple pleasures of freedom.

I had a visit with dr. Fincken yesterday afternoon. While waiting in his exam room, I noticed that on his diploma on the wall it says Doctor of Orthopathy Medicine. I've never heard of that expression before, so I asked the nurse what it means. It means he is trained much in the same way as M.D.s, with the emphasizes on muscles and skeleton! Yup, I landed with the bone doctor, who happened to be a general practitioner. So, I am glad I waited to see him this week, instead of my doctor who has little experience with fractures.

He examined my elbow movement capability, which was poor. I have a locked elbow and muscles that have not been stretched in three weeks. Then I got an X-ray and he said it looked really good. The bone had not moved, which is always a good thing. To be on the safe side, before letting me take the splint off, he wanted to consult with his orthopedist who was not available at the moment. All of his books said the splint should stay on for 6 weeks (yaiks!), but he thought it was too conservative.

So, until he gets the consult, I had to get back into the cast. Very reluctantly, but still with a sense of peace. The doc was going to call me that evening with a yay or nay. When he didn't call by 6 PM at work (I left his office at 5), I tried to dial in home and check my messages, but managed to turn off the answering machine by punching in the wrong numbers. Oh great, I thought, now he won't be able to leave the message! I had another night of interrupted sleep. On a related note, my left earlobe got injured from sleeping on the left side all the time, and has a painful red sore spot for the last week.

The good news came this morning. There was a message from the doctor at work phone (he never called last night) that I can loose the splint and the sling and start working on the motion of the elbow as much as possible! Yay, I am free again. :)