Friday, February 9, 2018

Dealing with an arm cast

I passed the age of 60 without ever experiencing a cast. but due to a combination of poor balance and snow iced to the bottom of boots...my story is that I had a fight with the garage floor and lost.
The inconvenience is epic. Nobody's got time for this. Neither does anyone need the pain.




But the good news is that most things pass. Three casts later I am learning coping skills I didn't know I would ever need. And that  my husband discarded his diplomatic immunity due to kitchen illiteracy so we didn't starve the first 10 or so days.And he is a great dishwasher and floor sweeper so he's been busy even when I started cooking again.
I realize that everyone's case is different but here are a few suggestions that may help.

1. Dress it up. Cut the foot off a pair of knee high socks and put them on with the nice cuff next to your fingers. That you can wash. And it hides that stark white ''Hey I'm wearing a cast'' look that I have an aversion to.

2. If someone says what can I do? suggest an invitation to supper. Or would they like to bring pizza over?

3. A young friend made me a bracelet for my fat hand and is delighted that I often wear it.

4. Take a shopping bag to the basement when you need to carry a collection of things up the stairs.

5. Buy or find in your closet long tops and wear with leggings. Took a month to be able to do up the button on my jeans. It is a fantastic morale booster to be able to do your own buttons again.

6. Expect everything to take longer. Which also includes planning your bathroom trips with time to spare.

7. Scissors work better than a knife when your injured arm is still too painful to be of any help. Scissors even cut white chicken meat. Veggies like onion and potato cling to the cutting board when whacked in half and put cut side down.  Carrots are a whole other subject. Easier to buy cut up already, as is cabbage.  But as I have less pain using the gimpy fingers I am able to do more and more.

8. Sometimes its easier to wash my hair in the kitchen sink. I support the cast on a folded towel beside the sink to keep it out of the way and dry and use my good hand to do the work.

9. I carry a small fuzzy blanket folded up in the vehicle to support my arm on when it gets tired of riding in my lap or up on my head to take the pressure off. And a large very squishy teddy bear in the house follows me around to support my arm when needed.

10.  A little table next to your favorite chair on the side of your working arm so its easy to reach your glasses, your ipad, your coffee, your phone, the remote and so on.

And be thankful for what didn't happen. Could always be worse.  My friend broke her right wrist. She is right handed. She lived alone and ran her own business.  She has empathy. She was one of our friends who offered supper, as well as coming over to help when we wanted to have company over.

Soon it will be gone...

Can't wait.

UPDATE
Don't be alarmed when the cast comes off.  Six weeks of flaking skin will be lurking beneath.



AND...
the muscles have wimped out.  The hand feels heavy without the cast to support it.  Every tissue muscle and tendon are shouting for your attention.  Unpleasantly.
But therapy is a wonderful thing and with effort and perseverance day by day the hand gets stronger and can do more.  Now, approaching the third month since the incident, I can do so much more.  It is still weak, I can hardly squeeze the clip on the skirt hangers, and so many little things are awkward but the progress has been good.  And I think it will be some months before there is no twinge when I bend my wrist certain ways, it is going in the right direction.
One day I may even fit my wedding band again.

Did I ever mention I dislike winter?

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