Saw doc this morning, and while I am not out of the woods yet, so far things are progressing OK and no infection. Knock on wood. They took out one stitch on the pad of the finger to help it drain, and I got a smaller bandage job open at the tip to let things breathe a little better. Have another appt on Thursday.
The pain now is steady and medium, but with intense twinges coming in spurts here and there as things mend. For the second night in a row the pain is noticeably is worse at the end of the day. I woke up from a short nap this afternoon with intense pain and figured I must have hit the finger or maybe it wasn't elevated enough, but it calmed down very quickly.
Aside from the medical complications and risks, this experience has made me feel vulnerable as I look around and see all the chores/responsibilities that can't be done by a one-handed man. Some of it will just have to wait or get skipped, though my wife can handle the important stuff (in addition to being a busy full time mom, god bless her). Makes me think I will need to simplify our country life as we get older or ever have really serious medical issues.
Hi S219,
Glad to hear you're moving along in the correct direction!
Be careful about how you are going about doing things one-handed, because that activity is often why the pain is worse as the day goes on, even when you are not using the injured limb at all.
Being vigilant about keeping it elevated above your heart helps to reduce the swelling and throbbing, something that falls by the wayside once the zzzz's come, which may be why you're waking in pain.
Sometimes the better part of valor is sleeping in the recliner so that you can keep it elevated by using a pillow to prop it up.
Take this time and rest- remember you only have so much reserve and right now your body is trying to use those to heal you, and if you don't limit yourself now, that can take longer, and the risk for poor/non-healing is higher.
Speaking of simplifying, because we live in the NE, we are seriously considering switching over to coal to save on the kinds of potentially injurious activities that come along with wood burning for heat.
God bless,
Thomas
Ultrarunner- I guess I coulda just said "Ditto", Except I am both a patient and a medical professional, so now your comments are confirmed.
Except that Miralax [store brand] or any senna product is a better laxative choice- opioids constipate by slowing bowel activity, and stimulants do better than fiber- which requires increased moisture to work, and if it sits too long in the bowels turns the mud to bricks [so to speak].
