Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Oh, EFF! Now I've Lost My Left Swearing Finger!

.
ARGH!!! Just when you think you're making progress accepting and adapting to changes in your health, something else comes along and pokes you in the eye.


This is what I get for gloating, huh? I JINXED IT!

And just to rub it in...it still looks like a Swearing Finger from the right direction.


Pointed at ME, that would be.

That's now a *dropped* finger, just like the right-hand pinkie. Not particularly usable; I can't lift it at all. Other fingers nearby crapped out on me too.

When the damage to a tendon is advanced, you lose most or all of the ability to move affected body parts. Before that? It's more a loss of range of motion and intense pain. "Frozen" can unfreeze. Once it's dropped, though...Now I hunt and peck with the left hand, instead of actually typing. Curiously, I feel more patient with it instead of less, so perhaps I'll get to post a bit more, yay!

I'm not sure which tendon it is, because so many in that area are compromised. I may find out soon, though. Tomorrow, finally, I see the great new PhysMed doc and great new PCP again. Finally - finally - it'll set off the rounds of xrays, MRI's, blood tests, and special treatment requests like IgG boosters that might diagnose and treat my melting tendons.

Not to mention, acquire ammo for my suit against the Cipro makers. The first class action lawyers I queried accepted, then declined, my case. They said they don't want anyone who continued taking Cipro after last July, when its chemical group was black-boxed. I think they're throwing away a client who has a nicely documented, visually appealing case, myself. Oh goodness, such a succession of pix I have on file! The last informal tally I ran, over 50 tendons are already damaged. Surely that high a body count helps. Soon we'll see if the next firm on the list agrees.

And!


Suddenly we're blessed with an embarrassment of riches in Lidoderm patches. That nice new medicare HMO, with the low co-pays for these patches that let me type some? The HMO and pharmacy got together with the new Physical Medicine doc and put together a package of 6 boxes. That was only half the 3-month rx the doc had ordered. But, hey. For $40, I'll take it.

Because what you're looking at there is about $2,500.00 worth of patches.

Sometimes I feel like requesting an armed escort home...


And I'm able to get outside here and there, to find pretty critters to play with.

More excellent ingredients in the Cheerful Optimism Maintenance toolbox.
.
Posted by Picasa

5 comments:

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

I am wondering what the new Doc had to say? I wish you good luck with the Cipro people. You should be first in line!

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

PS What IS that in the last picture?

Pretty Lady said...

Hope the doc's visit was good! And I'm glad you have some beauteous distractions, plus the pain patches. Small things make up the best things in life.

Nancy said...

Pain relief helps in so many ways. I'm glad you have a doc who is finally addressing the pain properly.

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Where are you, lady??? We all worry when you don't check in every little once in a while....