On The Other Hand

Stitches Are Out!

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:43:00 -0500

Now it’s time for physical therapy, and I’ll see the doctor in eight weeks.

I’m not supposed to lift more than ten pounds. He said it twice, made eye contact, and pointed at me, so I know he means it. I guess I looked like I was planning on going bowling or something, which is funny since my wrist feels like it’s pretty much at its limit just lifting my hand.

Almost forgot: I was totally pumped to finally be able to wash my hand, but now I have to keep it dry for two more days. My hand is just about chapped after two weeks of no moisture or air.

OD is very curious about my newly unwrapped hand (via...

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:31:11 -0500

OD is very curious about my newly unwrapped hand (via rodknowlton)

Losing the bandages and stitches this afternoon.

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:50:15 -0500

It’s about time This thing’s getting a little gamey.

Because, you know, I live in 1957 and ink pads are everywhere.

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:05:22 -0500

Customer Service Rep (after about two minutes of menus to get to a real person):How may I help you?
Me: I have a question. I'm temporarily physically unable to sign my name, but need to make a credit card purchase. What should I do?
Rep: You can use a thumb print.
Me: A thumb print.
Rep: Yes sir, a thumb print.
Me: Well, I suppose I can hope they have an ink pad....
Rep: Or you can get a power of attorney.
Me: Ok, leaving aside the irony of solving my problem signing credit card slips by signing a power of attorney, I should make someone go with me everywhere I want to use my card for the sole purpose of signing for me?
Rep: That or a thumb print.
Me: Right.
Rep: Is there anything else I can help you with?

Surprisingly, what I miss the most is handwriting.

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:05:10 -0500

I don’t really write that much out by hand, but I’m realizing now that what I do write by hand is important.

For any non-trivial problem, I tend to scribble out a 10,000 foot view of my solution as I think about it. I do it in such an unconscious manner that it took the temporary loss of my writing hand to even notice. It’s nothing formal, and most of the time I don’t even refer back to it, but apparently it’s an important part of my process.

Back to work today

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 06:00:46 -0500

I spend the majority of my typical work day hidden away in my cube, so wearing sweats shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

My hand is still pretty sensitive. I tweaked it pretty badly just attempting to tuck my shirt in, even though the sweats provided plenty of clearance. Fortunately I’m carpooling with Amanda, so I can go ahead and take a pain pill.

Amanda helped me shave (both face and head) this morning, so I’m feeling the cleanest I’ve felt since the surgery.

More later.

Typing Still Not Too Bad, Which Is Good

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:55:24 -0400

Now that the Tumblr v3 conversion is starting to settle down a bit, I’ve got a few Greasemonkey ideas to flesh out.

Hefty Cinch Sak as Waterproofing (via rodknowlton) - It...

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:50:09 -0400

Hefty Cinch Sak as Waterproofing (via rodknowlton) - It ain’t pretty, but it works.

Hefty Cinch Sak Tall, 13 Gallon Kitchen Bags - Handy (heh) for...

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:46:27 -0400

Hefty Cinch Sak Tall, 13 Gallon Kitchen Bags - Handy (heh) for keeping the bandaged hand dry in the shower. Just pull the handles so the opening snugs around the wrist, then wrap the handles around and tuck them in.

Day Four Arrives, And So Does Typing (Sorta)

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 06:51:00 -0400

The day of the surgery was just about making it through the pain, even without moving my fingers.

As the days pass, the pain subsides and becomes more associated with any sort of pressure against my hand or fingers. I had fairly full range of motion in my fingers yesterday, but was treated to sharp pain when I absentmindedly used my right hand to try to reposition the pillow I use to elevate it.

This morning I’m finally able to so a sort of “type and peck” style of typing. This consists of typing normally with my left hand while using my right hand in more of a “move the hand instead of extending the fingers” manner.

I still won’t be able to grab or pick up anything for several weeks, but knowing I can apply enough pressure to press these keys is a relief. Now I just have to be sure not to overdo it.

I should have bought a tape recorder

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:14:47 -0400

I didn’t really realize how much I type every day until I couldn’t.

Elevation, Elevation, Elevation (via rodknowlton) Keeping my...

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 08:33:47 -0400

Elevation, Elevation, Elevation (via rodknowlton)
Keeping my hand above my heart really helps with pain management. I’m not sure how I’d get any sleep at all without the recliner.

Ow! (via rodknowlton)

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:27:03 -0400

Ow! (via rodknowlton)

Home from the hospital and not nearly as loopy as expected

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:37:56 -0400

Procedure from my viewpoint:

Arrive and sign in
Get called back to an admitting room (one of several bays with curtains)
Change into gown, footies, and hair net, bagging clothes
Fill out or answer the same set of questions about five times
Name tag goes on left wrist, big magic marker “Yes” on right
IV started with saline and antibiotic
wait for unknown time, keeping busy by trying to find longest word I can make with the letters in phrase “Taking Herbs & Over-the-Counter Medications?” in poster on wall (tie at 14 letters: reverberations and recombinations)
walk to O.R., with nurse carrying IV bag
get positioned on tabled, wonder when they’ll start the sedation…
jump cut….I’m in the recovery room and my hand is bandaged
45 minute wait with nothing to look at but a clock
walk back to admit room, where Amanda meets me with my bag o’ clothes
discharge instructions, prescription for Loritab, and wheelchair ride to the car

I was clearly given much less sedation than my past experience. I still remember everything since the moment I woke up, which is now over two hours ago. Discharge instructions were basically just “don’t use that hand until the doctor checks it out on the 12th and don’t drive on pain pills”. The local is wearing off (or has), so now it’s up to the Loritab to help me sleep. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Two hours sleep and time to head to the hospital

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 06:48:27 -0400

Sedative after-effects and pain killers should get me a fair amount of sleep later today.

Tomorrow morning I go, so tonight probably isn't going to be restful

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 22:19:00 -0400

I’ll probably be up all night doing all sorts of right handed things. Shaking hands with the dogs, flipping coins, and the like. No food or drink of any kind after midnight, though.

If I actually sleep, it’ll be more of a nap than a night’s sleep. Getting up at five and it’s 9:26 now, so I’ve already blown my shot at eight hours. I tend not to sleep before any sort of travel, as well. Infer what you will about what makes me anxious.

Oh yeah. I’m also an insomniac in the first place.

I’ll provide and update on the amount of sleep, if any, in the morning.

Another Lefty Dvorak Drawback (at least for Mac users)

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:21:35 -0400

The Left-handed Dvorak ‘q’ corresponds to the Qwerty ‘w’. Since my left hand “knows” to close windows with Cmd-W, I end up quitting apps when I only wanted to close a tab.

Left handed Dvorak keyboard layout. This really seems like it...

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:16:08 -0400

Left handed Dvorak keyboard layout.
This really seems like it might be fairly easy to learn (I’m using it to type this post…slowly). The layout I found is kind of buggy, though, especially if sticky modifiers are enabled. Also TextExpander is triggered by key codes, not character typed, which breaks any emersion I have into the new layout if I want to use any of my shortcuts.

A Patient's Advice on How to Prepare for Recovery from Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:43:11 -0400

A Patient's Advice on How to Prepare for Recovery from Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery:

Some useful tips.

Kiyo suggests Swap Mouse Buttons, a freeware program. Since I...

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:09:23 -0400

Kiyo suggests Swap Mouse Buttons, a freeware program. Since I only have one button, I don’t need it, but I thought I’d post the link in case someone else does.

Two pieces of OS X software that are going to help: TextExpander and Quicksilver. They both help to reduce my typing and mousing already, so I’m glad I have them.

I also make heavy use of Firefox keywords for the same reason.