When doctors tell you the worst that can happen, believe it!
The story begins with my wife, a mother of 3 children, a school teacher and probably one of the kindest people I have ever met. She started having carpal tunnel symptoms 4 years ago. She began an exercise regimen to increase the flexibility and strength of her wrists and hands. She just kept getting worse and to make it even more frustrating, she started to appear on the other hand of hers. Now moms don’t have time to be sick or off duty especially with 3 kids. She began sleeping with braces on both hands that would keep her wrists in the proper position. This seemed to help or at least it didn’t get worse overnight. After months of trying everything, she went to the doctor, and he suggested that cortisone injections might help eliminate the pain. Now, I don’t know about you, but getting shot in the wrist would make me think of the worst, but I’m a baby with needles.
The injections worked for about 3 months, he was able to go back to his daily routine without pain. It was great watching her play tennis and do all the things that she enjoyed doing. She then she came back, so she went back to the wrist brace at night, the numbness, burning, and agony affecting her general mood. I went back to the doctor for another round of injections, the ones that hurt, but my wife has a tremendous pain threshold and in a day or so she resumed what seemed like a lifetime of pain-free bliss. Then the pain returned a few months later and after consulting with some doctors, she made the decision to have surgery on one hand over spring break and the other over the summer while she was out of school.
We left our house around 5:30 one morning for the surgical center to perform the outpatient procedure. We had high hopes that this would end all your pain. The doctor said that everything went well and that he would feel better in a day or so. We happily drove home and she went straight to bed to sleep off the effects of the procedure. The second day she wore off the pain medication and she started taking half a pain pill, I would have taken 2 just for fun, but this didn’t stop the pain. Now it’s been a month and she still wakes up in the middle of the night with a severe burning sensation in her middle finger. Even though the Doctor says she should be better in a day or so, it’s still painful. We were hoping that removing her stitches and bandages would help, but it hasn’t. I don’t remember exactly what she described as “the worst that can happen”, but barring a major medical catastrophe, this is pretty bad. I’m sure her Diabetes is making everything worse, at least that’s what the Doctor wants to put some blame on her.
Eventually he will have to do something with the other hand because it keeps causing him pain but nothing like what we had “fixed”. You can always hope for the best when having a medical procedure, but you may not be one of the lucky ones. Be prepared for the worst, but always hope for the best. With a bit of luck, your second hand will be the best!