Severed Median Nerve: What's Next

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 regain what they consider to be satisfactory use of their hand. Not excellent or good, but satisfactory.

- I had my nerve reattached within one week of the injury, which is a good thing apparently. That said, if my repair isn't successful I can get a nerve graft from another part of my body or a donor. I think I won't know more about the status of the repair for 3-6 months when my muscle should start responding to special testing if the repair is successful.

- There are numerous vitamins and minerals that are good for wound-repair and the nervous system, including omega-3 fatty acids, folic acid, various B vitamins, vitamin D, and several others. Protein and carbohydrates are also important for rebuilding. Truthfully, I don't know if nutrition will help, but I'm willing to try. I'm going to be eating plent of fish, fish oil, nuts, avocados, and beans, as well as more meat. 

- Some people believe weight lifting helps with this kind of recovery. I will obviously need to do this with a physical therapist and probably only with my healthy limbs until it is safe to use my injured hand and arm. I assume that will be at least 6-8 months from now or more.

That's pretty much all I know for now. I'll update after my appointment.