Firstly

I have been off sick since the end of November and I can safely say I am thoroughly fed up. To the eyeballs fed up. Sick and tired of sitting at home, not being able to do squat. At first there was the operation to fix the CTS in my right hand. And although the wound healed nicely, the pain remained and was in fact getting worse. It turned out I had a related but separate problem. One that would prove a bit more difficult.

First of all of course there was the kicking inducing injection right into my wrist. IT HURT LIKE HELL! However, only days later, the pain had abated a fair bit and by the time I got to see the hand therapist for the first time, the pain was nearly gone. In order to make sure my wrist and thumb would go on being pain free however, I had to wear a splint. For three weeks. Non-stop. I only took it off when taking a shower and then I could barely use the hand. 

After three and a half weeks of wearing that splint, I went back to the hand therapist, she was happy and I was allowed to take it off more and more. At first it was only during meal times. Then it was for longer periods until I finally only wore it at night. Back to the hand therapist.

I was now splint free during the day, but it didn't mean I could do much with my hand. In fact, I could barely bend my wrist. So, that had to be trained. By that time I had been given the all clear to go out cycling and swimming (yes!), so that certainly helped by getting the hand to be more useful. But...

Even though the right hand was now nearing normalcy again, three and a half months in, my left hand still had unresolved business. I had been in two minds about having my left hand done. I hardly had any trouble with it, so would it not be wiser to defer until problems arose? Or would it be best to get it done now and be done with it? In the end I chose the latter, made an appointment with the surgeon and in I went. 

Last week I had my second hand operated on. Tie off arm, anastacia (you know!), slice open, cut something, put in stitches and within ten minutes my hand was being wrapped up with bandages. My Dad picked me up again and now I am recovering at home. The bandages come off today (it's been a week) and then I will battle the spider legs for a week, before they can come out. Another few weeks at home to make sure the wound heals fine and I can use the hand fine again and then hopefully back to work by the end of April.

By the time I will be back at work, I will have been gone about five months. My main problem was the fact that even though I was off sick, I wasn't sick as such. I wasn't in bed with a raging fever. I just couldn't use my hand(s). Frustration, boredom, probably even some apathy. On the other hand I know that I need my hands in my job. If I think about how I want to grab the steering wheel because I want to avoid pain, I might not be able to avoid accidents or even cause them. 

Right now though: light at the end of the tunnel. And pretty soon I will be back at work, wishing I was home watching television...