Annnnd, the hits keep coming. What a year...I will update you all another time on another thread regarding my daughter's memorial that happened last week (suffice it to say, it all went well and smoothly, as much as an event like that can).
When I got back to New Mexico, I had an appointment with the orthopedic specialist to go over my MRI and EMG reports regarding my left wrist and hand, which has been giving me trouble for some time now. I already knew that I have Ulnar Abutment Syndrome (in which the ulna bone on the outside of the arm is longer than the radius bone on the inside). The MRI showed that the ulna bone is basically wearing away the cartilage and bumping into the lunate bone in the hand, thus causing a lot of pain when I play guitar, or turn my hand in a twisting motion, or try to hold my metal down when I sawing shapes for jewelry. I also have a torn TCF meniscal ligament and a cyst on the bone. My daily life is already a bit limited because of this and the damage is degenerative. It will not get any better, most likely will get worse over time.
The only relief apparently is a surgery called the Ulnar Shortening Osteotomy, which means they make an incision in the arm and cut away a slice of the ulna to make it shorter and even with the radius, then put it back together with a plate and screws, and wait for the bone to grow back. Sounds horrible!!!! I spent the day watching and listening to a You-Tube Video Series about a guy who had this done. It's done as an outpatient surgery, but my doctor said it is not a minor surgery. There is a long post-op healing time.
Oy Vey...there is not really any alternatives. Not doing it means I continue to lose the ability to do anything that I enjoy doing and make money doing. Having it means another fall and winter spent healing from a surgery. The knee surgery last year wasn't so bad, because I could sit and make jewelry and play my guitar. What the hell am I going to do with myself being one-armed for two months?
I haven't scheduled the surgery just yet; the doctor told me to think about it and I go back in 4 weeks. Well, I tried playing my guitar yesterday for the first time since I got back from Michigan and it went pretty well yesterday, but I pay for it dearly the next day with a lot of pain. I know what the answer is because at age almost 57 I am not ready to give up on doing the things that make me, me! I just dread the recovery process and I am sick of my body being injured in various ways. I am still healing from the fracture on the top of the foot from last month.
I have tried all the conservative treatment options: ibuprofin, splinting, cutting back on activities, CBD Oil, CBD salve, ice. Nothing really helps that much and the cartilage just keeps wearing away.