The Hand (continued)
So, I finally saw the specialist today. On the positive side, I am seeing the best hand specialists in the world. Even the best hand specialists in the US have spent some time learning their metier at the hospital Jeanne d'Arc in Toul so I KNOW they know what they are talking about. Unfortunately, I don't have good news. The second knuckle is so ruined that I will never get more than 40 percent usage back in the pinkie. On top of that, I need to go through at least 6 weeks of hard therapy every day and wearing a special sling that pushes the finger in a bent position most of the day in order to give the suppleness needed for them to do surgery. And that hurts incredibly. Luckily, I like my therapist cuz we will be seeing a lot of each other in the next few months. In March, when hopefully the finger works well enough, they will put a plastic knuckle cover (I don't know how else to describe it) over the second knuckle so that I can start bending it normally without much pain. Only then will they take me into surgery again to replace the 2 metal rods that are still in my hand for the initial problem.
That means I have at least 2 surgeries to look forward to (if not more if things don't work properly right away) before I can even consider bending my finger to 40 percent of its usual capacity. I was a little depressed about the result. I thought that today, little finger fairies would pop out out of the therapists mouth and tell me everything would be ok after an extra surgery. But no! I got the finger goblins that said I would need more therapy, more surgery and still nothing would be normal. I would still lose 60 percent of my usage.
Now I know that it is only my pinkie and it won't affect daily life when all is said and done. But still, I will never be the same again. Plus, I'll have plastic pieces in my body. For someone who hates the dependence we have on oil today, I'm a little ashamed that I'll be depending on it myself to move my hand somewhat normally. Voila, my story. I'm writing this with the bitterness of the first bad news. But in a few days, I'll feel better when I know that if this had happened in the US, I would be complaining about my hand but also about the cost. Here, at least, I am covered by the Securité Sociale.
That means I have at least 2 surgeries to look forward to (if not more if things don't work properly right away) before I can even consider bending my finger to 40 percent of its usual capacity. I was a little depressed about the result. I thought that today, little finger fairies would pop out out of the therapists mouth and tell me everything would be ok after an extra surgery. But no! I got the finger goblins that said I would need more therapy, more surgery and still nothing would be normal. I would still lose 60 percent of my usage.
Now I know that it is only my pinkie and it won't affect daily life when all is said and done. But still, I will never be the same again. Plus, I'll have plastic pieces in my body. For someone who hates the dependence we have on oil today, I'm a little ashamed that I'll be depending on it myself to move my hand somewhat normally. Voila, my story. I'm writing this with the bitterness of the first bad news. But in a few days, I'll feel better when I know that if this had happened in the US, I would be complaining about my hand but also about the cost. Here, at least, I am covered by the Securité Sociale.