Moving is for the birds. We have done our fair share of moving and I am so gad that we will be staying put for the next two years. I am sure friends and family could use a bit of a break after last year’s “move” to Ohio and back and now to a new rental. Having to ask can you give me a hand now takes on a whole new meaning.
During this latest move, on one of the first days, I managed to smash my hand between a plastic storage tub and a door frame. I have this large rectangle tub filled with paints and supplies I use for canvas and other craft projects. It is fairly wide and doesn’t fit through a door frame without going sideways. While the kids were at school, I decided to start moving over some boxes so that on the final day of our move we wouldn’t have anything left but the big stuff. I was in a bit of a rush, not really paying attention to how wide the tub was and how small the opening of the door was and smashed my hand just right on the door frame.
My right hand middle finger knuckle took the brunt of the impact. And yes I am right handed… I dropped the tub and immediately screamed and then started crying. The pain was excruciating and I am rather glad no one was at home to see me cry. I have gotten my fair share of bumps, bruises, and scratches with each move, but never hurt myself this bad. Needless to say, I didn’t move anymore boxes that day because my hand went from a small bump to full on swelling very quickly.
I decided after I picked the kids up from school to head to the local minor emergency to see if I had broken anything. $160 later and the doctor said I just bruised it. I couldn’t make a fist at all. He said if I was still in pain in a few days to go to an orthopedist. In my true fashion, not wanting to go to the doctor like ever, I put on a brace that I had from when my son broke his finger and decided to self treat my hand.
Over the next three weeks, I noticed improvement in the bruising and ability to move my fingers, but at the end of each day I wound up still being swollen and in pain. I finally made an appointment with an orthopedist and he told me that I ruptured my sagittal band. It helps connect the tendon and keep it in place at the knuckle. We scheduled another appointment for three weeks later and I was to go get a splint made. If I had known that the splint would cost $450 and be made of plastic and velcro that I could have made from the dollar store, then I would have just stuck with the brace I already had and it would have been just fine.
I have been experimenting with a few other braces that allow me to do more while still keeping the finger stable and for the most part they have been working. I can feel that the area is getting tighter and the tendon looks like it is staying in place. It is still hurting though and if I use my hand much it still swells up. Ideally I shouldn’t be working (I work at the church nursery department and MDO) at all or using it much, but I need to work.
One more week until my next checkup and to hopefully hear that it is starting to heal and I just need to keep it braced. Praying that I don’t have to have surgery that would really take me out of work or at least move me to a different room to work. Life sure is a crazy roller coaster. I have had to learn to say can you give me a hand more than ever when I can’t open certain bottles or chop veggies.
Have you ever injured yourself while moving? How long did it take you to recover?
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