Hi,
[Update, 8-14-2024: I saw a surgeon yesterday about the problems I’m having with my right hand. Three months ago he gave me a shot of lidocaine and cortisone in the wrist and thumb joints on that hand. That provided some relief for a few days, but the pain and weakness returned fairly quickly, and my strength in that hand has also deteriorated quite a bit. I also discovered that I’ve lost flexibility in that wrist. I can bend my left wrist back about 75 degrees, but my right won’t bend back more than 10 degrees. They can’t do anything about that without some really extensive surgery, but they can repair my thumb by doing a trapeziectomy.
I’m scheduled for that surgery on October 3rd. I’ll do a more extensive newsletter on the operation later, but essentially they will remove one or more of the smaller bones in my hand (the trapezium and possibly part or all of the trapezoid — see a picture of them in the post, Medicine is Magical. They will also remove part of a tendon from my right arm to fill the gap left after the bones are removed (as a sort of cushioning mechanism?). I’ll have to be in a cast for at least six weeks, will do physical therapy (on my own) for up to six months. I don’t know yet how that will affect my writing. I’ll keep you posted.
Michael
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