Bugs and Bones

It's been a busy week. I've had a persistent stomach bug that's irritated and laid me low on a couple occasions. In spite of that, I've written a few words here and there. For that, I'm grateful.

Worse than the bug is the low grade depression most folks have when they don't feel well. Often we don't acknowledge the pervasive influence of gloominess attached to illness. I confess it just pisses me off. I don't like feeling down. My friend, Amarinda Jones, accuses me of terminal perkiness. It's hard to be perky when your gut hurts.

On another front, I went to see the surgeon about my right pinkie finger. You would think a little finger couldn't be that much trouble. And you would be wrong. I was prepared for the doc to explain how he would remove the bone spurs in the last joint, thus making it feel alllll better.

I was not prepared for an entirely different scenario. My last joints on both pinkies are quite crooked. It's genetic. My children, siblings, and mother all had the same crooked joints. Apparently, thirty plus years of typing have worn away all the cartilage between the bones in that particular joint so there's nothing to cushion the ends of the bones--and thus the bone spurs. Removing them will not take care of the cartilage loss. In fact, it's likely I would be back in a couple years with more bone spurs.

So the surgeon recommends fusing the joint (straightening the finger and screwing the last two bones together). Since this involves a 'foreign object' (the screw), insurance won't pay for it unless it's performed in the hospital. Yay!!!

I just received in the mail a six page packet of instructions, pre-op physical forms, and miscellaneous directions with a list of pre-op tests that have to be performed before the surgery.

Now. Take a minute to hold up your hand and look at the last joint on your pinkie finger. See it? Take good care of it because if you don't, it will be a total pain in your behind! Oh, yeah. Between travel time, prep time, surgery, recovery, blah, blah, blah, this procedure will take about ten hours--if all goes well. The surgery isn't scheduled until the end of October so as to allow time for all that other stuff. Yippee!

So...that's been my week. I hope for a better weekend. Y'all have a nice one!

anny