Tag Archives: broken wrist

Apr15

WIP: Scuba Baby Blanket

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Hello, bloggy friends. Another weekend is drawing to a close and I have, of course, been crocheting. This project has a deadline, which means I am having to push myself to work on it every day, though tonight I’ve had to put it down because the wrist is hurting too much (probably from the gym work, rather than the yarn manipulation).

Michaels had a “30% off all yarn” day on Thursday so my friend and I went over there and bought yarn and other fun stuff. I picked up two skeins of the Red Heart Super Saver Ombre in Scuba – turquoise is my favourite colour but it’s also a good colour for a baby blanket. These are big balls! Ten ounces/482 yards big!

I have crocheted up almost a whole skein and so far I have a rectangular granny that measures about 23 x 16 inches, so it looks like I’ll be making inroads into the second skein for sure.

I also found these on clearance…

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(Just a little stash enhancement.)

So as I said, the wrist is pretty painful tonight. Tai Chi Man and I went to the gym and I wore my wrist brace for the first time since last Sunday’s gym session. Even though I’m not using my right hand while at the gym (because lifting even a cup of tea is beyond me right now) I am trying to use my forearm on the weights machines, but it still strains the wrist a bit. The night before last, I had a really painful night and got up early. Last night was better.

I have been doing the exercises that the hand therapist showed me, but also doing stuff around the house like cleaning out the fridge freezer, doing the seasonal review of my closet, and sweeping and mopping the deck where the pine needles off the neighbour’s tree have gathered and stained it.

It’s a fine line between pushing yourself far enough that you improve your strength and flexibility long term, and hurting yourself and setting things back. Turns out that the morning tingling/numbness in the fingertips was caused by me curling my wrist inwards while I slept and putting pressure on the carpal tunnel. Now that I know to keep my hand straight, that situation has improved.

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Before I sign off, I thought I’d show you my latest hair art! I added turquoise and hot pink Manic Panic to my hair with gloved fingers, and this is the result. I call it unicorn hair!

Apr11

The brim is done!

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It took six days but I managed three inches of knitting stockinette in the round for the hat for my father-in-law, and tonight did the folding/provisional cast on removal/three needle trick to get the folded brim all done. I have now graduated to the larger needle tip (US#5) for the body of the hat.

I’m pleased that when I folded it I didn’t lose all the blue to the back. The dark green is nice, but I’ll enjoy the brighter colours even more. I love the feel of this Lion Brand Mandala yarn – it’s very wool-like.

Yesterday I had my last X-ray and doctor checkup for the time being (six weeks post-surgery) and today I met with a hand therapist at the hospital and was given exercises to do. She measured the angle that I could move my hand to in different directions so that we can check for progress next time. I’m also supposed to apply a bit of pressure to the scar tissue with my thumb and move the skin around to prevent adhesions underneath the incision area – not keen on that!

My boss is going to be scheduling me for shifts the week after next. I will have to take things slowly. I will be able to do cash, as that is mostly operating a touch screen, but I’m hesitant to try cutting and lifting fabric too soon. A nice co-worker has lent me a pair of left-handed scissors which I’m going to practice with, as that would solve the cutting problem at least. As for lifting, I can barely hold a small mug of tea or a book so bolts of fabric are out of the question.

Hope you have a great day! TTYS

Apr8

WIP: Bill’s vanilla hat

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I was feeling so accomplished after the Paper Bag Princess project was done, despite the delays and discomfort from my wrist injury. At the beginning of this year, I had a goal in mind (uncharacteristically) to make 12 sweaters in 12 months. I whizzed through the first two, and was almost done with the third, all in the space of a month and a half, when the snowboarding crash happened.

It’s been two months since then, and for a while I couldn’t do any crochet or knitting. Then I managed some gentle crochet, left handed, and made a bulky cowl and finished off the doll project. Encouraged by that, I decided it was time to try knitting.

Of course, my sweater goal has been pretty much abandoned, at least for the time being. But I wanted to make something for my father-in-law, who, like my mother, is often very generous. He is getting on in years and I have heard he is feeling the cold more these days. Even though he hasn’t been a hat-wearer in the many years I’ve known him, I feel that he will appreciate one made out of a colourful yarn. If nothing else, he loves his colour.

So out from the stash came the Lion Brand Mandala in the colourway Chimera, which is what I would describe as a muted rainbow. Blue through dark and light green, mustard yellow, orange, magenta and brown. I have only made one other project with the Mandala – my Spill shawl – but I love this DK weight yarn and the colours it comes in.

The pattern I chose is the Vanilla Hat. It’s a really basic stockinette hat with a folded hem and a simple crown with four decrease lines leading to the centre. I’m not sure how many of the colours of the cake will fit into the hat, but I’m hoping for the brightest ones at least.

Progress is slow. When I first cast on, my gauge was a little loose so I ended up ripping out the first few rounds and restarting with a smaller needle size – US#4 (3.5mm). During my first session of working on this hat, I was feeling quite comfortable, thinking how my wrist seemed happy to be knitting. Unfortunately the next day I changed my mind. I think the fine motor movements of the Continental knitting, which does have a reasonable economy of motion, aggravated some out-of-practice muscles and tendons. So I am having to be careful to do a small amount at a time.

My hospital appointment for the six week post-surgery checkup is this Tuesday. I hope to hear that my recovery so far is typical for the type of injury. If I am to get back to normal, or as close as possible, I know that I have to exercise the hand and wrist and that some pain is to be expected.

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend and that your crafting is going well. What are you making?

Mar20

Cool fabric

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Cool fabric

Hello friends! How are you? I hope you’re enjoying signs of spring in your part of the world (or fall if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere).

I haven’t been outside yet but it’s a pretty mellow-looking day. Cloudy, no wind. The snow is almost gone from the garden. Our temperature the last week or two has been in the single digits, I think, warmer in the sunshine, still cold in the shade.

I have my wrist brace off to type this because I want to get my flexibility back. My right wrist is still a little puffy on top but the underneath is cleaner looking now. There is still a lot of yellow bruising up the arm.

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I mixed some coconut oil with some lavender, geranium and frankincense essential oils and I’m applying it three times a day to keep the skin soft and minimise scarring. I love being able to take the brace off when I want to bathe, but leave it on when doing daily tasks or sleeping so I don’t hurt it accidentally.

Some major milestones (or as  I like to call them, “smilestones”) for this week: wearing jeans as I can now do up the button and belt, crocheting (albeit slowly and left-handed), a gentle workout at the gym (treadmill, core, legs, and some one-armed biceps/triceps), and today I had a bath all by myself (no Tai Chi Man there to wash my hair or scrub my back and I even managed to hack through the undergrowth on my legs)!

So all in all, good progress!

I have to show you this fabric I saw at Fabricland when I went in there with my friend the other day. We were there for her to buy stuff to make a bag, so I wandered around with her and chatted to my co-workers. Well, this new quilting cotton jumped out at me and I just had to grab a metre of it to add to the stash!

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Isn’t it awesome? Kind of a vintage “caravans at the seaside” vibe.

Have a great day and talk to you again soon.

Mar17

WIP: Left-handed therapy cowl

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Once my bandages were off, I was itching to try a little crochet. I had another play with the bulky green yarn and a giant hook and felt confident enough to pull out this Loops & Threads Facets yarn (Amethyst colourway) and a 10mm hook and start a cowl. I chose the C2C because it only involves a small amount of chaining. 

Working left-handed means I have to reverse everything which can mess with your head a bit, but it seems to be working out. I can only make a small amount of progress each day because I don’t want it to hurt. 

The above photo is the first day’s progress. Below is the third day. After this cowl is done, I’m hoping to go back to the doll. 


I had a lovely package in the mail yesterday.  One of the other moderators in the Crafternoon Treats Ravelry Group knew about my injury and asked for my address so she could send me something. She lives in Norway and by the time it arrived I had forgotten all about it. 


She sent two crocheted washcloths, a clay and rose water face mask kit, a rose-scented heart soap and some chocolate. How sweet is that? It made my day!

Spring seems to have arrived in our valley. The snow is mostly gone and Tai Chi Man says he spotted some daffodil shoots in the garden today. It’s mild and sunny this weekend. Ooh, I nearly forgot! I hit a milestone today (autocorrect changed that to “smile stone”) as I was actually able to put on a pair of jeans for the first time in over a month. But this typing is making my arm hurt like crazy so I am signing off for now. Happy Spring!

Mar14

The next stage of recovery

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I was very relieved to have my appointment at the hospital today. They removed the splint and bandages which, thanks to periodic swelling, have been so  darned uncomfortable the last two weeks. I was disconcerted to find metal staples underneath and not dissolving stitches. My arm looked so pathetic – loose crumpled skin, loss of muscle, green and yellow bruising on the staple side.

The X-rays look kinda cool with that chunk of metal in there, and the line of staples too.

The staples were taken out, which was so painful I nearly cried (I couldn’t watch). Tai Chi Man was there and would have offered a shoulder if I’d needed it, but I held it together. Now I have a removable wrist brace, which I can adjust if I get some swelling, and have to take off now and then for strengthening exercises. Official physiotherapy starts in two weeks.

What a treat it was to get home and wash my arm, and put some arnica cream on the green and yellow bits. And maybe soon….a little yarn play?!

 

Mar7

Halfway there

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One week with this splint and dressing…


One week to go. Thankfully I have only needed one pain pill on each of the last couple of days. It’s more uncomfortable than anything, especially when my arm swells up.

The weather went from snow on Monday to beautiful sunshine on Tuesday, and today we are having diffuse sun. I have enjoyed a neighbourhood walk the last two days which adds a bit of variety, exercise and fresh air. All my menfolk have been out working every day  this week so I’ve had a few days of alone time. This is fine as long as I can feed myself one-handed! Whilst I can do a little tidying and laundry, I can’t do vacuuming or complicated meal prep. 

Lunch today was a turmeric miso noodle soup, the recipe for which turned up in my email inbox from The Garden Grazer. 

I sat outside for a bit while the house aired. Took my giant cup of tea and kitchen stool out on the deck.


The calendar and temperature may say Spring but there’s still a lot of snow around. The clocks go forward this weekend.

Well, it’s back to my photo files. I’ve made good progress on the DVDs that we had backed up (although we did lose some photos thanks to lack of self-discipline) and I have made a mental promise to myself to treat myself to something nice when the job is done! Dangling that carrot…

Mar1

Ouch!

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I went for my two week X-Ray on Tuesday. The image showed that my radius was shortening as it healed. The doc said one option would be to saw off the cast and manipulate my wrist and put on a tighter cast, and the other option, more likely to be successful, would be inserting a metal plate. Apparently, allowing the radius to shorten leads to problems with the ulna down the road.  

It took me a few minutes to decide. I really wanted to call my husband and get his oh-so-logical input. Instead I made up my own mind and said I’d go for the surgery.

In preparation for that, they sawed through my cast on both sides. Have to say, having a buzzing blade so close to one’s arm is scary!

I was called in the following day and went through lots of questions and waiting time. I changed into a fetching blue gown and slipper socks. I met the anaesthesiologist and the surgeon. And finally I was rolled into theatre. Seeing the operating theatre just before they knock you out is somewhat surreal. But you do get to hear the reassuring voices of your team as they welcome you and their cheerful banter. 

Waking up in Recovery is horrible. Suddenly you hear voices all around you, then the pain hits. And on a scale of 1-10, mine was a 9. The meds added to my IV worked slowly and I had a few extra doses, plus when I felt able to swallow I had a pill. I kept my eyes closed most of the time as the room was spinning and I couldn’t focus. Being wheeled downstairs made me feel quite sick, and over the next couple of hours I threw up a few times. Thankfully it was only liquid. Tai Chi Man turned up just as I was heaving into a bowl and said, “Well, there’s no need to ask how you’re feeling!”

He had to wait a long time for me to feel ready to go home. I agreed to a dose of anti-nausea medication before they took out my IV which was good, as I didn’t get sick in the car or at home later on. I was wobbly but managed to get dressed and had a little ride in a wheelchair to the exit. 

I managed half a slice of dry toast at home, and a very welcome cup of tea. Took a couple of pain pills and went to bed early. It was a wakeful night, during which I took two more pills. Overnight the numbness in my fingers wore off, but the splint and dressing are tight today.

You can see how swollen my fingers are. The redness is from whatever they swabbed my arm with before they started.


Today I got out of bed really early, at the same time as Tai Chi Man, and we both had porridge for breakfast along with our lemon water. I made myself a nest on the couch, with blankets and pillows and the essentials nearby, like water, tea, phone, iPad, pills. Over the course of the morning I alternately slept and tried to read or watch podcasts. My eyelids keep drooping! 

Ds3 made me some toast as I’m incapable of anything that requires two hands, even more so than when I had the cast on. The pain in my right arm is constant, despite the pills. 

The rest of my day is more of the same. Take a pill every four hours, nap, read, watch You Tube. That’s it! My next appointment is in two weeks. I’ll be curious to see the X-Ray with the metal in my wrist. If I remember, I’ll take my iPad with me and get a photo of it. 

Take care, everyone. Talk to you again soon.

Feb22

Cast-ocalypse Week Two

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Aren’t these just the most awesome fabrics?! I had a friend drive me to the fabric store where I work today so I could say Hello to my co-workers and get a sewing pattern and this quilting cotton was on sale. I had had my eye on it for a while. I snapped up a metre of each in case they sell out before I get back to work. 

I attempted a bit more knitting and crochet yesterday but it was a pain, literally – I had to give up after a few minutes. 

I have adapted to the one-handed life now, and the family is learning what I can and cannot do. They are having to help with cans, jars, chopping, hand washing dishes, vacuuming, etc. I’m getting more comfortable with writing with my left hand.  

Over the last week I’ve read two ebooks and most of a regular one, and watched a season of Imposters on Netflix.

Today the big task that I’ve been procrastinating over for years was finally started. I pulled out the flash drive of backed up digital photos from the fire safe and started to upload them, rename them and sort them into folders for eventual creation of Photobooks. If I can get this job done while I’m off work, I will consider my time well spent.

Hopefully you are all well and happily crafting away. Talk to you again soon.

Feb16

Cast-ocalypse Day 4

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So, what have I learned this week?

First lesson: obviously, not to crash on the ski hill. Taking a tumble over another snowboarder is a bad idea, in my case resulting in a fractured distal radius and a massive bruise on the opposite forearm.

Second lesson: broken bones hurt. Particularly at the time of the break, but also afterwards, including when in a cast. Not so much that I’ve needed painkillers since Monday, but enough to be uncomfortable.

Third lesson: don’t over-extend yourself. I was reaching for something last night, overbalanced and put pressure on the cast and it hurt like hell. Also too much activity means too much blood to the hand and the cast gets uncomfortably snug.

Fourth lesson: get help. These are things I can’t do

  • floss teeth (had to get dh to buy sticks instead)
  • open round door handles if left hand holding something
  • do up separating zippers
  • open cans and jars
  • knit
  • crochet
  • lift weights at the gym
  • squeeze a lemon properly
  • chop food that rolls around
  • lift a large pan from sink to stove or vice versa
  • drive my car (it’s a manual/stick)

On the bright side, I can read, watch Netflix, go for walks, write (very messily with my left hand, but I’m practising to get better), wash and apply deodorant, get dressed as long as doesn’t involve a bra, make tea and simple meals, do laundry, load and unload the dishwasher, and type. I could even, maybe in a couple of weeks, go back to the gym and go on the treadmill, or attempt a yoga class (just not downward facing dog)! The lovely yoga teacher is already planning modified poses for me.

I’m doing my best to balance my days, not spending too much time on any one activity. And I have friends who will give me rides to appointments or come over if cabin fever hits.

I am grateful for so many things. I only broke one bone, I have a lovely husband who helped me bathe and washed my hair for me (after taping my cast inside a giant plastic bag), I have three able sons, one of whom is home most of the time, who can do the things I am struggling with. I have plenty to do to keep me occupied.

Tomorrow we have a potluck planned with friends, which will be awesome.

Life is good!