October has been busy. I’m glad the busy part is behind me. (So I can get on with all the other stuff that’s going to keep me busy.) Aside from the normal school and house care and Halloween and kids’ activities and doctor visits and all the other things that fill up a day, we’ve been emptying out the old house and moving it to the new house and cleaning up. We did most of that ourselves, by which I mean it was mostly me; the kids were in school or keeping an eye on each other, my husband was at work all day, and that left me as the able-bodied adult with a car. It’s eaten up most of my time, attention, and energy for so long.
But now the house is empty, cleaned, and should be listed soon, taking a weight off of my shoulders. We went out to dinner as a celebration and discussed favorite memories in the old house and things we like or are looking forward to in the new house. For example, the night we first spent in the old house, with no furniture but air mattresses to sleep on and no window coverings where my husband and I sat together on the floor and watched as hundreds of fireflies danced outside the window. Or the day I was sitting in the backyard on a swing watching the kids play and realized we were living the American dream. Or the parties we’d have where we’d set up scavenger hunts through the house. As for the new house, it was gratifying to hear how much the girls really enjoyed their rooms being painted in their favorite colors.
Because that project took a lot out of me too. By the time I finished, my hands and fingers were going numb. Which set off some old fears in me. Ever since I’d learned about carpal tunnel as a youth, I’ve been afraid of losing the use of my hands. I use them so much- for writing, for crafting, for most of the hobbies and activities I enjoy. I wrote that Ode to my Hands with all that in mind on the day I was supposed to see the occupational therapist about it (the appointment got delayed for a week and a half). I’d seen my doctor about it after my hands had been tingling for a month and not getting better and he sent me to see a nerve specialist who tested my hands with tiny cattle prods and needles, a thoroughly unpleasant experience, and confirmed that there was “moderate to severe” damage to the nerves in my hand. So yeah, carpal tunnel.
In the month between that visit and when I could get in to see the occupational therapist, with “possible surgery to help” looming over me, slowly, the tingling and soreness began to recede. By the time I actually got in to see him a week or so ago, I wasn’t noticing any tingling aside from when I’d been leaning on them in a way that would set anyone’s fingers a-buzz. The doctor was surprised and impressed, telling me that rarely to never happens and I should “count my blessings” and take it easy and just let him know if any trouble returned.
So I am. I’m counting all the blessings I’ve got going on, from moving in to a new stage/house of life, to my normal computer set-up I’ve finally got going again, to being able to use my hands without fear. Am I busy? Yes. Does it feel like a lot? Sure. But we’re moving towards good things.
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Hands are precious, and need to be taken care of.
Those tunnels of nerves and tendons for the hands that go through the tendon band around the wrist are such a challenge if we don’t take care of them.
My Wife had the tunnels for the thumb tendons get inflamed on both hands (De Quervain’s tenosynovitis) and, despite all other efforts, needed surgery on both of them. After the first one, the doctor warned her that she has small tunnels in general and will really have to watch for it. So far have kept the carpal tunnels behaving, and hope to keep it the same.
I am glad yours had receded and that you should be able to manage well enough, but remain vigilant.
I am also glad you are doing well. Not being able to do things with your hands is hard! (I speak from experience!)
Here’s some well wishes that the old house will sell quickly and the new house will quickly become a place your family cherishes.
Good news on that front; we listed it and someone came and viewed it and put down an offer the same day. So that’s going well!
Congratulations!