Where the Sidewalk Begins ...

cruisin'

since typing time is limited for me, here's the update on what's been happening since christmas.

- for xmas, we went to my grandma's in indiana. it was pretty relaxing and we had a good time. we also caught the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe while we were there. washington, indiana, has an old-fashioned theatre on main street, with two very tiny screens. it's incredibly cheap to see first-run movies there. i liked the movie and was impressed by how true they stayed to the book. (i'm re-reading the whole series (thanks kara!) and am just about done.)

- kevin got me some wonderful gifts, including a rowlf the dog muppet puppet from 1978 and a tiffany's bracelet. yay kev!

- my elbow and hand are slowly improving. it's a little more each day. i had a few really depressing days this week. i can't do things like wash my hair with my left hand, bring a fork to my mouth with my left hand, and so forth. all sorts of things you'd never think of (like fastening a bra) are hard for me. no one realizes how much they depend on their elbows ... anyway, i had a follow-up appointment yesterday, where i discovered that i'm normal, that nerve surgery takes up to 6 or more weeks to completely heal, and that i can't even start therapy for another 4 weeks, as the wound takes forever to heal (due to the location on the elbow). i still have a lot of trouble in my pinkie. there's also a new numbness in my arm that is freaky and could take up to 24 months to heal. we'll see, i guess, if this surgery and pain was worth it in my long run ( i won't get a claw hand, i guess).  in the meantime, it's painkillers and gauze for me.

- my body has been so busy trying to heal my arm that it let it's guard down elsewhere. i seem to have caught one hell of a cold. this is so not fair ...

- we've been checking out information on our cruise. turns out our oceanview rooms were "accidentally" changed to interior closets, er, i mean rooms, under the main staircase. the ship is sold out and we can't change the rooms back. hopefully the claustrophobia will not kick in ... having never been on a cruise, i have no idea what it will be like or how small those rooms will be. we leave sunday for miami and sail on monday. we'll be back in town late next saturday night.

- we're spending a relaxing new year's eve with kate and ben. it should be fun - it sounds like ben is whipping up quite the gourmet dinner for us and we're providing wine. it's also close to home, which is handy since we're off to the airport early the next morning.

my arm is starting to throb, so i'm going to stop typing. i'm wishing everyone a happy and safe new year's!

Technorati: elbow, ulnar, ulnar nerve, elbow surgery, cubital tunnel

happy holidays!

just wanted to wish a happy holiday to everyone - jason, kara, chuck, john, kate, and everyone else who drops by the blog ... hope its happy and merry and bright.

a muppety holiday

if you're bored, i highly recommend popping in the muppet's christmas carol dvd. it's highly entertaining. muppets fix everything.

idog for xmas - and healing

had the surgery last friday. started coming out of the drug-induced haze on monday. had family over for large xmas celebration on saturday. in all photos, i look very out of it - like i'm on another planet or something. i have foggy memories of the whole thing.
had some reactions to painkillers, but they switched it so now i seem to be agreeing with the painkillers a little more.
i hate having limited use of my left arm and hand. and my pinkie finger is tingly, or completely numb, or sometimes, functioning with a little brain all its own. it's quite strange. i feel my body healing - it's a unique experience, and exhausting. but sometimes, i feel weird tremors, or tingles, or just flat out pain. it's all just part of the process.
typing is difficult. it's painstaking to type this. really. and the shift key is out of the question.
today i learned that i'm not near as better as i think. i overdid it this morning and now i'm in considerable pain. also, bored out of my mind, which is why i'm braving the pain and blogging a little. tonite we take the bandages off, which should be creepy and slightly painful. i'll still wear a wrap for a protection, and a sling, for at least another 10 days. other than today's overkill, i anticipate improving on a daily basis. and maybe getting my pinkie finger under control ...
oh - i got an idog for xmas from my dad. he is positively adorable, although slightly needy with the barking and feeding and such. he eats music!

Technorati: elbow, ulnar, ulnar nerve, elbow surgery, cubital tunnel

Disney Photos ... Finally

About a month after the trip ... I've finally posted the Disney photos. I just did a basic export from iPhoto, so the format isn't pretty, but it's done.
The best way to access the Disney photos is via the Gallery page. I've divded the photos into separate parks so that you can choose which of my 1700 photos to look at. (You may have to hit Refresh on the Gallery page if it's in your cache at all.)

Because I do a poor job explaining things ...

Because I get excited and words tend to tumble, you can read exactly what is wrong with my elbow, and exactly what they're doing to fix it, here. It's the perfect explanation and there are pretty pictures and everything. (I did have the conservative treatment - various kinds - since May, which is why we're moving into surgical treatment.)
The hand issue hasn't affected my way of life that much. It hurts a lot if I'm cold, and hurts if I spend the day typing (yeah, I know). However, if it's not fixed, I'll get a claw. Who wants a claw? It's not like it would be metal or have super powers or anything. So, surgery on Friday 12/16. Cast for 2 weeks. Cruise for 1 week, and back to business as usual.

Technorati: elbow, ulnar, ulnar nerve, elbow surgery, cubital tunnel

Surgery

Went to the neurosurgeon today. He agrees that there is a compressed nerve in my neck, but was more concerned about the numbness/tinging thing in my left hand & arm. Apparently we're going to deal with the neck thing once we get the arm taken care of. Great.
Anyway, my ulnar nerve is being squished by my elbow and has to be moved. It's called Ulnar Nerve Entrapment and they need to set the poor nerve free. If they don't, my hand could become claw-like. That is called Ulnar Claw or Benedictine Claw (which made me laugh a lot). Since I would rather avoid the claw thing, I agreed to the surgery on my elbow.
Here's the thing. I just landed that HUGE project, which starts January 11. I'm also on a cruise on 1/1 - 1/6. We're doing the surgery on Friday. 12/16. Ack! That's really really soon - in fact, I didn't process how soon until we got home from the dr.
I'll have the surgery, which is blessedly outpatient, on 12/16. I'll have my cast removed on 12/26. From that point on, I can gradually start using my arm and I can use the time on the cruise to fully recover. I should be back to typing (although I'm not sure how much) by the time my project starts on 1/11. I hope. At least, that's what I'm shooting for. I'm not doing training in January, because that's sort of physically taxing for me anyway, and I don't want to push things too much. So, we'll see what happens ...
I was thrilled to find out that the Cincinnati Ballet let me exchange my Nutcracker tickets! We were originally attending on 12/16, but that's sort of out of the question now. We're now going to the Nutcracker on 12/22, my grandmother's on 12/23, and Phantom of the Opera on 12/25. All while my arm is immobilized in a cast.
I'm kind of concerned about a few things - mostly because I'm left-handed. I'm unable to write, use silverware, or curl my hair with my right hand. Guess I need to practice over the next week, eh?
I also have a ton of stuff to complete before the surgery. I have to see my family dr for a pre-surgery physical, I have to go to the hospital for a pre-surgery appointment where they tell me I might die under anesthesia, I have a huge project with an impossible deadline of 12/15, I have to make some apple pies for the neighbors, I have to finish shopping and wrapping. It's all kind of crazy. After the 16th, Kevin is in charge of everything, but I don't really want him shopping or wrapping. Has anyone else seen him wrap a gift? ;-)
Ack! So much to do - so little time.

Technorati: elbow, ulnar, ulnar nerve, elbow surgery, cubital tunnel

Pre-defined, Typepad Snowman

I realize that at least 1000 other folks have also chosen to apply the little snowman template from Typepad to their blogs. But he is so cute! I couldn't resist.  So humour me and enjoy the happy little snowman for a few weeks.

Friday

Well, the dr, having reviewed my films and test results, has scheduled me for an appointment this Friday. I was expecting either a direction to go to therapy or an appointment in several weeks. I hadn't expected it all to happen quite so fast.
Since this is the same guy who did my back surgery, I'm hoping the speedy service means that he remembers me and is treating me like an existing patient even though I am technically a "new" patient again. It could also mean that my neck injury is fairly bad, but I'd rather believe the former.  So, I guess I'll update after my Friday appointment. Gotta say I'm slightly nervous.

Technorati: elbow, ulnar, ulnar nerve, elbow surgery, cubital tunnel

2005 Holiday Letter

Our 2005 Holiday Letter is available online. (Because I'm too lazy to print it out, fold it, and put it into 150 cards ...).  You'll notice a sticker in your holiday cards, which will go out this week, directing you to our site.
Heck, I still haven't posted the Disney photos! Guess I need to get on that.

Slight update

I'm modifying the blog for the holidays. :-)  I love the holidays!  I'm just going to go with an overall green right now though. Who knows - I might even keep this after the holidays!

Status Report

Work and health updates:

Well, since Project A is running over (argh!) and I can't seem to get rid of my training gig, I don't have the hours free for Project B, which was Instructional Design and therefore I am quite sad. I really wanted Project B. It was hard having to explain to the Project Manager that because of someone else's poor project management, she'd have to find another Instructional Designer, and fast. I don't know if that company is overly thrilled with me right now, which I haven't decided how I feel about yet.  On the up side, I'll now have more time to bake for the neighbors (as I do every holiday) and Chrismas shop, as well as make some pies and stuff for various family gatherings we're hosting this season.

As for the health thing .. well, my hand is still tingly and numb. That sucks. I have to keep wearing the strange splint/brace thing at night for at least another 4 weeks, probably another 8. I go back to the hand dr on Jan 12 to check on my progress.
However, after comparing the results of my EMG (electric shock/needle test) and MRI (squishy x-ray test), it's been determined that I have a squished, or rather, compressed nerve at C6-C7 in my neck, as well as degenerative disc disease. I'm not overly sure where that is. So the hand dr is sending me back to my back dr, who operated on my lower back in 2002. Yep - back to the neurosurgeon. Getting an appointment is next to impossible, but I took my films and reports over to his office today to speed the process along. I'm considered a new patient again (lower priority I think), because I haven't seen him in a few years. He is an awesome dr, and I trust him. I suppose while I'm there, I'll ask him why my lower back hurts all the time again, although I'm pretty sure I know that answer (arthritis and degenerative disc disease). So we'll see where that leads.
That's the update. Back to work for me!

Technorati: elbow, ulnar, ulnar nerve, elbow surgery, cubital tunnel