51 Days of progress
Two things happened this morning, the 51st day since the surgery: #1 was that I set up my drum kit and played it for the first 9-fingered time. #2 was I was able to clip my fingernails normally without having to resort to wedging the clippers between my knee and left wrist to get the needed torque. So yeah, it's been a pretty good day. It really is the little things...
My ring finger is still the one that needs the most work to recover it's mobility and really it might very well need to exceed it's former benchmarks given it's former neighbor finger is no longer with us. the surface is healing up nicely but the internals are still probably about three-fifths healed. Gripping the drum stick with that hand, while possible, didn't feel completely natural although I can hardly complain. It was the 1st time to try playing and the 2nd time I tried holding drumsticks post-op. It is a start and that's what I was shooting for.
Macy, my occupational therapist, actually did assign me that project (drumming, or trying to at least) as part of my therapy as we try and figure out what I am having trouble doing that I'd normally but up to. That will give us things to focus on and work towards. At the moment I'm working on scar-management and range of motion through everything from massage to squeezing and working thera-putty. Good times.
I'm trying to get back to normal except that normal isn't normal. At the beginning of all this I was just setting out as a self-employed artist/photographer and a lot was still needing to be learned and set up. I'm still trying to get my financial records in order and still trying to figure out my primary concentration. Business has been steadier than it's ever been though it will constantly need to being growing to actually make it to a point where I have a proper salary. But that has nothing to do with cancer and little to do with the recovery process so I'm shutting up about that now. :D
The next period of "Eric with a C" is going to be monitoring to hopefully confirm that the surgery was successful in cutting off the cancer before it got anywhere else. Aside from the quarterly checkups I'll need to go in for, we're also taking advantage of the MDA resource to get checked for any skin cancer since it's just smart to do so. There's no reason to think I have it but whenever you get one type, it just seems like it would make sense to make sure there's not some other lurking around the corner. If there was hopefully this would help nip it in the bud.
So there you have it, that's what's going on. It's a brand new year, the year of the 9 for me, it's kind of like a new type of birthday without all the cake and presents. Here's to new challenges and new opportunities to keep us busy and out of trouble!
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| YouTube video of this session. |
My ring finger is still the one that needs the most work to recover it's mobility and really it might very well need to exceed it's former benchmarks given it's former neighbor finger is no longer with us. the surface is healing up nicely but the internals are still probably about three-fifths healed. Gripping the drum stick with that hand, while possible, didn't feel completely natural although I can hardly complain. It was the 1st time to try playing and the 2nd time I tried holding drumsticks post-op. It is a start and that's what I was shooting for.
Macy, my occupational therapist, actually did assign me that project (drumming, or trying to at least) as part of my therapy as we try and figure out what I am having trouble doing that I'd normally but up to. That will give us things to focus on and work towards. At the moment I'm working on scar-management and range of motion through everything from massage to squeezing and working thera-putty. Good times.
I'm trying to get back to normal except that normal isn't normal. At the beginning of all this I was just setting out as a self-employed artist/photographer and a lot was still needing to be learned and set up. I'm still trying to get my financial records in order and still trying to figure out my primary concentration. Business has been steadier than it's ever been though it will constantly need to being growing to actually make it to a point where I have a proper salary. But that has nothing to do with cancer and little to do with the recovery process so I'm shutting up about that now. :D
 |
| X-ray of the hand from an angle. The little lines are surgical clips that hold tissue together. |
The next period of "Eric with a C" is going to be monitoring to hopefully confirm that the surgery was successful in cutting off the cancer before it got anywhere else. Aside from the quarterly checkups I'll need to go in for, we're also taking advantage of the MDA resource to get checked for any skin cancer since it's just smart to do so. There's no reason to think I have it but whenever you get one type, it just seems like it would make sense to make sure there's not some other lurking around the corner. If there was hopefully this would help nip it in the bud.
So there you have it, that's what's going on. It's a brand new year, the year of the 9 for me, it's kind of like a new type of birthday without all the cake and presents. Here's to new challenges and new opportunities to keep us busy and out of trouble!
Eric, out of trouble? Ha!
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