Give the boi a hand

 So, yeah.

Way back when on August 25, I had a little mishap on the electrical bicycle.  Heading down the Bay Trail on the way to work, I was charged by a dog who had gotten loose from its human and decided to play. In an attempt to avoid running over the dog and going ass over teakettle, I swerved, bit the soft shoulder, and went ass over teakettle onto the embankment. Luckily a blackberry bush broke my fall and I didn't roll down onto the Burlington Northern tracks.

There was no harm done to the bike, the human was helpful and considerate, and the dog was suitably abashed, so I went on my way, little the worse for wear, although my left hand, upon which I think I landed with my full weight, was throbbing like heck, making a typically painful early morning meeting literally so. I wound up taking ibuprofen for some days, and iced my hand, and even put it in a brace to keep from overusing it, thinking I had a bad sprain.

I continued with the casual care until I noticed that a quite a bit of time had passed and that things had not completely recovered - the hand was still less than 100% functional and there was some lingering pain. I called the doctor and went in after about another week; she ordered an X-ray, which took me another few days to get. Lo and behold, it turned out it wasn't a bad sprain, it was an intra-articular avulsion fracture at the base of the proximal phalanx of the thumb likely underlying the ulnar collateral ligament insertion. Yep, a broken thumb.

I made it almost 64 years without a broken bone... doggo blew my record.

Anyway, doc wanted me to get it into a spica splint and immobilize the thumb so it could heal; the alternative was a cast, and nobody wants that. It took some doing - a decent splint is apparently not easy to come by, and the one I got at the pharmacy might have been good for tendonitis but wasn't doing the trick for an avulsion fracture. I finally got one today, from my doctor's own clinic no less.

So, if I am good boy, and the next set of X-rays in three weeks shows improvement, I may get out of this without plaster. Having been using the thumb broken for six weeks (it made a very interesting crunching noise from time to time), I am not confident of the prognosis.

In the meantime, I am doing my very best to keep it as immobile as possible (luckily I only hunt-and-peck type) and reflecting on how lucky I am in a circumstance like this:

• I have a job that allows me to work with a busted wing
• I have the flexibility to take the time to go to doctors and to get X-rays and to visit pharmacies
• I have health insurance that pays for a lot of this and resources to cover the rest
• I have a comfortable home and a supportive spouse to help me out

For me, this broken bone is a minor inconvenience and funny story. For some people, it would have a profound impact and possibly be a life-changing event. I try to never forget that, to never take my situation for granted, and to always remember my less fortunate sisters and brothers. 

I can always give them a hand.