June 2020
I am a strong believer that we are sometimes put through tests that are really crazy but which have amazing results at the end. I had surgery the end of May and was pretty darn sure I'd never be able to write again. It involved my right wrist, and I'm right handed. I did everything I could to finish both Dragon Unchained's second version and Dragons' Inferno at the same time. I didn't make it before the surgery took place, but I was right back at the keyboard a couple of days afterwards. The downside was having to type one-handed and to do everything on the computer without using my right hand at all. I have to keep my thumb completely immobilized for the surgery t work.
The diagnosis? Degenerative osteoarthritis, which destroyed all the cartilage between my thumb and my wrist bone. The solution? The surgeon removed the trapezoid bone, constructed a "hammock" which pretty much wired the end of my thumb to my index finger, and time is supposed to take care of filling in the gap with lots of scar tissue. A lot of fun. I've desperately needed my husband's help, and my dad was right there alongside him whenever needed.
I am now almost a month post surgery, and have been moved out of the original splint and into a brace. I'm not sure which is the worst torture, but they are pretty much awful. On the other hand, it's a lot of support and protection. If nothing else, it keeps me from doing something clumsy, which I am very inclined to do, and destroying the thumb by doing something awful to it. I am also doing occupational therapy on both hands, because not only do I have to have the same surgery done on my left hand someday, but for some reason the muscles in my left hand, especially the thumb, have begun to atrophy. I have to rebuild those muscles if I want hope for a good outcome with the second surgery.
I am ever so grateful that my husband took over the garden for me, listened when I told him how important it was for me to get a new computer – – especially before the old one died, which it was probably within weeks of doing – – and understood when I told him he was going to have to take over all the cooking, laundry, basic housework, errands, and shopping. Oh, wait. I think that was called woman's work once upon a time. Yeah, my man's been doing that pretty darn well for a while. We've had a few disagreements when he interprets things differently than I do, but hey folks, we all have to remember that there is more than one way to skin a cat or cook an egg. As much as I would like to be my normal anal retentive self, it was so wonderful to just back off, go back to bed, read/right, and watch Netflix. We don't get permission for that very often in life, and although the downside was the pain, struggling to get a little sleep, and finding ways to address the personal needs no one else can do for me as, it was nice to have someone have my back.
Here's some of my thriving garden, and me with both a splint and later with the brace.
My next entry will be my cover reveal for Dragons' Inferno.
I am so excited! My cover artist does a great job, and I'm so thrilled to finally get cover and manuscript connected.
