I’ve had consistent problems with my wrist since 2012. I’ve been through countless physio’s and passed between doctors but to no avail – my problem remains, I just live with it. Over the past two weeks I seem to have found a big burst of energy and I’m finally getting around to doing all those things on my list which I just write down, not because I think I will actually do them, but because I feel without writing them down I might forget that I am the first place. Things like: join a gym; set up a website; buy a piano. Dreaming big. At least bigger than clean windows – buy milk.
Two days ago I visited the new doctor and he diagnosed me with intersection wrist syndrome and today I had a brace fitted to limit the use of my right arm and hand. That happened today. Five days after joining the gym. Three days after setting up the website. And tomorrow our new piano arrives. I’m not really sure what to make of it. On the one hand I’m really happy that action is been taken, even if it has only a 50% chance of a full recovery (yes, 50%. That’s not much!). On the other hand I think that I’ve been living with this four years, why didn’t it happen earlier? And why now, when I’m finally trying to put myself first and instead everything has to be put on hold again? But perhaps the most important question is, why on earth have I waited so long to get a piano??
Ironically, I got the injury was as writing my (award winning!!) MSc thesis, yet it is the injury that makes it difficult for me to work. And play. And chop an onion. I found my way around things by using my wrist (a little) less which in the long run probably hasn’t helped my recovery. I’m just a bit fed up with it always sounding like an excuse because I really want to write and I really want to work in some guise. Internal pain is very difficult for other people to recognize and if I don’t go on about it 24 hours today and why would they think about it? After all it is ‘only’ a wrist. It just so happens that I’m right-handed and rubbish at sitting still to allow for any recovery time. And what jobs are possible without using my wrist?…Food for thought
Still all is not lost – I’m trying out different forms of dictation between me and my laptop, much to my amusement; if I can’t build up my arm and back at the gym then I’m going to have the big muscular legs; and my family are going to have to put up with some serious finger plonking on the piano of the next few weeks. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade right? Who knows, maybe H will finally help with cleaning the windows before they go as black as the night through neglect?!
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