Aidol's Story....... The Treatment

Part 1

Well, I was right. Surgery was the call of the orthopedist. I had a 66° rotation in the bones of my finger. The only thing that would get things lined up properly and keep them there involved surgery and pins.

The docs schedule was full for over two weeks probably because he was considered to be THE MAN for hand repair. I would have to wait if I wanted this doc to repaired my finger properly. Even though I wasn't crazy about the wait, I decided to go with this doc.

The surgery was scheduled and I was given another prescription for drugs to "hold me over". They also did a different type of splint to add more protection to the finger while I waited for the surgery to take place.

This doc saw plenty of horse people. He knew I wouldn't be staying away from my horses while I waited. He knew protection for the finger was as important as anything else he had to do for this patient.

There was another little twist to the two week wait. It just happened to be during Victorian Country Christmas http://www.avictoriancountrychristmas.com/ at the Western Washington Fairgrounds http://www.washingtonfair.org/ in Puyallup. Now you might be wondering what that has to do with my finger being broken by my husband's Arabian horse.

We were buying that horse on a contract. And like Scandalous, I was paying that contract for Aidol from the sales of crafts I made. Victorian Country Christmas was my second biggest show of the year. I wouldn't be able to make up lost sales from this show. I was going to have to do the show AND have the surgery no matter how tough a task that might be.

VCC is a magical show......... not just big. All the booths have facades of Victorian store fronts and all exhibitors must be dressed in costume consistent with the theme of the show. That meant if I needed help manning my booth because of my surgery, I'd have to be tracking down appropriate attire for those folks.

It also has paid admission. I had a limited number of passes for booth help so those would have to be managed too if I required extra help to deal with my finger.

As the schedule turned out, set-up for the show began the day after my surgery. That didn't sound too bad until I HAD the actual surgery. I probably could have toughed it out had it not been for one thing........... that one thing was those PINS they put into my finger.

You see I had these eight pins sticking out of both sides of my finger. Those pins were laid out in a spiral pattern that matched the pattern of the break. That finger and the pinky next to it were enclosed in a cast. As my hand swelled from the aftermath of surgery, those pins began to rub on the inside of my cast............ the result wasn't just annoying............. it was excruciating.

I am not a wimp when it comes to pain. I've experienced a lot of it in my life, both physical and emotional. I know how to buck up and take it. I certainly know how to do it without crying or complaining.
BUT this thing with the pins rubbing on the inside of my cast was just too much. The pain killers didn't even touch the edge let alone give me any relief. I couldn't think straight, let alone manage a busy show like VCC. I had to get it fixed so I called the doc.

The made the time to get me right in and I left my older kids setting up my booth. Anyone who knows me knows that just doesn't sound like me. I am a perfectionist about everything I do and that booth set-up can affect sales in a big way. I never would have left if there had been another way.

So I head off to the doctor thinking they can solve the problem. They look in at the pins and see the redness developing and get a little worried themselves. The cast was cut off. X-rays done to be sure everything is still OK and then they tried figuring out how to put the cast back on so nothing rubbed this time. It sounded good.....but it didn't work out that way.

I made it through VCC with 5 cast changes before the docs finally gave up and modified some kind of splint for me. No matter what they tried, after several hours those pins would start dragging against the inside of the cast. That would cause more swelling which in turn caused more dragging of the pins. It was a vicious cycle with not relief.

I felt like someone was shooting electricity right through the nerves throughout my hand. After a while even taking the cast off didn't bring me relief. It was only after they gave up on the cast altogether and they left my fingers exposed that I began to feel any relief.

In the meantime my kids and other vendor friends were keeping my booth running. It wasn't the most professionally run show I've ever done, but we got through it and I made a chunk of the first payment for Aidol. I guess it all turned out ok........ but the thought of those pins dragging against the sides of that cast still makes me cringe to this day.

To be continued..............

Physical Therapy and Beyond



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