Severed Nerve Recovery Blog

Having the use of just one hand definitely provides lots of new challenges. I'm steadily adjusting, but here's a little info on some of my new-found difficulties: Chopping vegetables - This is basically impossible with one hand, but I am lucky that my friend Christie bought me a fancy cutting board to help. It's super useful! Opening bottles and jars - Again, this is basically impossible with one hand, but the cutting board Christie got me also has a vice on it that allows me to do this myself. Buttoning shirts and pants - I haven't even tried to button a shirt, but I've worked out buttoning pants. As long as the pants aren't super tight, I can just zip them first and then pull the button closed. Putting on a bra - Jim helps me with this since it's really hard with one hand. I will probably end up trying to get some cute sports bras to make this something I can do myself. Typing - I am a pretty fast typer in general so I am still pretty fast wi

Happy Thanksgiving! This is just a post to say "thank you" to all the wonderful people who have helped and supported me so far. Jim I cannot begin to describe how amazing Jim has been through all of this. From taking me to the emergency room on the night I hurt myself, to cooking me multiple healthy meals a day, to putting on my shower sleeve, he has been so amazingly helpful and giving. Having a medical situation like this is hard, but having a loving partner to help you sure makes it a hell of a lot easier. Ryan and Dora So many thanks go to Ryan and Dora for letting us stay with them for several days after my surgery, and being helpful and upbeat during those days. I was pretty depressed at that time and it was wonderful to be around such good friends. Christie Another thank you goes to Christie for her help with navigating my medical care right after my injury. Making decisions about doctors is hard enough when you are not injured, let alone when you have a

I will still be able to laugh I will still be able to read I will still be able to watch movies I will still be able to spend time with family and friends I will still be able to hike I will still be able to taste wine I will still be able to eat I will still be able to love I will still be able to sing I wrote the above just a few days after my injury when I was still pretty sad and thinking I would never have good function in my hand again. I am feeling better now, both mentally and physically, and I now know that a tendon transfer might really help me.  But the words are still true. Even if my hand is weaker and not the same as it used to be — and even though the next one or two years are going to be really challenging — there are still so many wonderful things I can do in life.

Yesterday, I got my stitches out and the doctor said that my injury looks good. Excellent healing, no sign of infection, etc. At this point, I no longer need a bandage and I can shower like normal. It's pretty weird taking my brace on and off because my hand seems more like a pile of playdough than part of my body. It just doesn't work, so it feels foreign. Like it doesn't belong to me. Other than that, I'm mostly doing fine. I'm just getting used to the frustrations of one-handed life, like eating a salad with my left hand. That is the worst. I was always a bit awkward when I used my dominant hand to eat a salad. Now I'm a wreck. That said, my doctor said that I am handling this with more serenity and acceptance than he's ever seen in any patient before.  In fact, he even checked to be sure I understood the severity and probable outcomes of the injury because of my good attitude. I explained that I've read a ton about my condition and that I am

After my surgery, my doctor mentioned tendon transfer surgery as an option to get use of my hand back. He explained that in this surgery, redundant tendons are cut and rerouted to provide the function lost from a severed nerve. In my case, I would need one tendon moved for extension of my thumb and one moved for extension of my fingers. This sounds pretty crazy and since I was so focused on my nerve and the idea of regrowing it, I didn't think that much about the surgery. Then, during my first post operative appointment my doctor again briefly mentioned how successful tendon transfer typically is, so I finally did a little online research. Wow! From the videos I saw, including the ones above, it seems like it's possible to get great functionality back. That said, I will need to wait about a year to have the surgery so we can see if my nerve comes back well enough. Since the likelihood of that is very small, I will probably have this surgery in about a year. Then

Yesterday I started to feel stronger.  It's been nine days since my surgery and two weeks since my injury, and I'm guessing my wound-healing process is starting to stabilize. Up until now, I felt very tired and earlier this week I had almost no appetite, which is very unusual for me. My splint also felt very tight even though visibly it didn't appear to be. I'm not sure what that was about, but it was pretty painful. Now I'm feeling mostly normal again, except I continue to be really thirsty all the time. I suppose I need extra water for all the crazy stuff my body must be doing right now to repair itself. Time for another glass of water, I guess.

[Stock photo] I had my first physical therapy session today. It went well and my new therapist is really nice. He is gentle and quiet--almost soothing--and I think he'll do a good job. During the session, my therapist reviewed my surgical report and we discussed my injury a little. Then he took off my brace and very gingerly stretched my fingers upward and did a few more very gentle passive movements with my hand. Then he measured the size and strength of my good hand and wrist to use as a comparison as we progress. Last, he gave me some more stretches for homework and then put my splint back on. In case you're wondering why therapy is important, there are many reasons, but here are two. First, my hand is going to be immobilized at the wrist for another five weeks so we need to keep my other joints moving so they don't freeze up from inactivity. Second, we need to keep my joints, tendons, and muscles nimble so that if I need a tendon transfer later, my body will s

I went to the doctor for my first post-op appointment yesterday and learned that I actually severed my radial nerve. I thought I had severed the median nerve because the symptoms in the hand are similar. The prognosis is mostly the same and the chance for full or good recovery are slim. That said, I did learn a few good things: - I didn't cut the sensory nerve, which is why I still have feeling in my hand and fingers. This is good on it's own, but it also means I won't face the pain problems related to cutting a sensory nerve. I will probably still have some weird pain, but it hopefully won't be unbearable. -  My wound looks good and I am not showing any signs of infection. Excellent news indeed since my injury is so deep. Also, I read somewhere that the more extensive the physical damage to the rest of the tissue, the more difficult it is for the nerve to recover. I am not a doctor and I don't know if this is true, but this makes sense so I am happy that I am

Before dawn I awake and The earth is blue and the sky is pink. I am alone before the world stirs. Just me and the expectation. The waiting. For the sun to come over the eastward hills And light the sky on fire To show me what is to come And burn away the unknown

Update: During my post-operative appointment I learned that I actually cut my radial nerve. The prognosis remains esstentially the same. I have my first post-operative appointment on Monday. The doctor will check my wound recovery and then I suspect the doctor will tell me more about what he found in my arm and what to expect moving forward. From what I have read online, here is what I already know: - My nerve has to rebuild itself from the laceration point all the way down to the tips of my fingers for complete recovery. Unfortnately this is unlikely because the nerve only rebuilds at a rate of one inch per month. This would't be a problem except that it is probably 14 or 15 inches from my injury to my fingertips and my muscles will atrophy and lose the ability to communicate with my brain forever at about 12 months. This means I likely won't regain full use of my hand. I am hopeful that I will regain use of my wrist. - I've seen stats that about 50% of people re

On Thursday, October 27th, I fell onto my nightstand, which had a glass sitting on it. The glass broke and went into my forearm. On Wednesday, November 1, I had exploratory surgery and the doctor discovered that I had cut my a motor nerve that controls the extension of the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger.  I am creating this blog to document my jouney to recovery and to provide info to people who suffer the same or similar injuries. There is info out there about peripheral nerve damage, but I haven't found any blogs yet. This will also probably be a bit of a journal for me since this is an emotional experience. Depression and fear are already setting in. I know I am going to have a lot of feelings and frustrations to work through. Thanks for joining me on this adventure. Update: During my first post-operative appointment I learned that I actually cut my radial nerve. The prognosis remains essentially the same.