Suddenly, the phrase "all thumbs" does not apply to me. You see, the left thumb in this photo...well...that's the only position it currently has. Oh, I can move it around with the aid of another finger. But let go and it goes right back to the position you see above.
Hmmmm. How does this happen? Well, I will tell you.
Given the number of years I have lived with arthritis and bone-on-bone situations in my knees, it would be the wrist that would present me with the most pain. About six months before COVID last March, the pain in my left wrist got more pronounced. I went to the same orthopedic group that I visit for my knee and they announced that there was something missing in my wrist that might have originally broke when I was a kid. I naturally blamed sixth grade gym class.
Nevertheless, I got a cortisone shot and all was right with the world. For six months. Pain returned and so did I. Another jab. Improvement.
Unfortunately, this past March, the aches came back and I went back to the doctor, who did not want to give me another shot. Instead, he gave me a brace to wear and told me to take two Aleve a day.
Thanks for nothing. The pain grew significantly and it got to the point where I could never remove the brace which now resembled some black arm-length gloves that Kitty Carlisle used to wear on "To Tell The Truth."
I finally called my internist and said...."give me another doctor."
The new guy is terrific. He's the only one in the office and took lots of time to explain what was going on. Yes, I was missing some cartilage that was creating a bone-on-bone scenario in my wrist. And he had no problem giving me another cortisone shot.
And the discomfort went from 8 to 2 on the Len-O-Meter. Until one Sunday...
I was putting on face moisturizer. I raised my left hand to my face. And felt a switchblade in my fore arm that was reminiscent of Jets versus Sharks in "West Side Story."
The 2 went to a 32.
I called the doctor the next morning and he immediately called me back. He told me to ice and brace and get the pain calmed down. Was there swelling? No. Was there bruising? No. Did I feel tingling? No.
We opted to see what the week would bring and my doctor said he would call me on Friday, which he did. I still answered no to all the questions above but it was still painless. My biggest challenge was removing socks and pulling up pants. He asked me to come in the following Tuesday.
Remarkably, during those three days, the pain subsided greatly and that included the raising of pants. But, I also noticed two other things.
1. I couldn't easily tie the laces of my sneakers.
2. My thumb...well...was sort of like the Federal Government. Useless.
It all crystallized as soon as the doctor saw me.
You see, arthritis can not only destroy cartilage but it can also weaken tendons that connect my fore arm to the fingers.
That knife stab was likely the initial rupture of the tendon that operates my thumb. When the pain calmed down, that was because the rupture had completed its mission.
So, there you are.
Now there is a surgery that is very similar to baseball's Tommy John Surgery. It moves tendons from another finger to replace the one attached to the thumb. I watched an operation on You Tube. It all looked Freddie Kreuger-ish. I will take my doctor's advice and not rush to the gurney. He himself had a colleague who suffered the same rupture and still hasn't opted for the operation some 13 years later.
So it's off to PT where I will learn how to tie my shoes and hold an onion while I try to chop it.
Which puts my other fingers in immediate peril.
For that reason, this whole episode gets a solid "one thumb down" from yours truly.
Dinner last night: Sandwich and tomato salad.
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