Don't try this at home...

So... yeah... Last week, I broke my wrist. Does it really matter which one? Okay, it was my left one, but, still, you people who are right handed and have never broken your left wrist don't really know what you're talking about when you say to me, "At least, it wasn't your right one." Even my mother said that to me. Okay, so yeah, at least it wasn't my right one, but, sheesh... Let me just clarify, it's not even really the loss of function in my left hand that's the issue; it's the pain associated with trying to do anything with my left arm to assist my right. Like tying my shoes. I can't do it. I can't apply any pressure with my left hand to even hold the strings still while I tie. It's very... annoying.

One more illustration: I'm the cook in the family, so I was trying to do that the other night with the broken arm thing going on. I needed to chop up an onion. Normally, this is a matter of, at most, a couple of minutes, peeling included. With the broken wrist? 20 minutes. It's insane.

And I'm not even going to start about how long it takes me to type, now. I'm not the best typist to begin with, but, now...

Oh, you want to know how I did it... I bet you do. My wife has been loving telling people about it. Of course, she exaggerates. She keeps telling everyone I was "showing off" in front of the kids on my bike. I say that goofing off is not equivalent to showing off. However, it did result in a bike crash in front of my kids on the way home from school. Two lessons taught: 1. Don't goof off on your bike. 2. Wear your helmet. I was, in fact, wearing my helmet, which saved my head from a painful introduction to the concrete.

Then there was the casting process. My wife was out of town on the day in question, and I didn't want to drag my kids to the emergency room with me, so I waited till the following day to make my trip to the doctor. It saved an emergency room visit, though, which was good. They put me in what I can only call a half cast during my visit. The plaster only went halfway around my arm so that it wouldn't swell up inside the cast, since I was still having swelling, at the time.They wrapped my arm in gauze and applied the plaster to that and, then, bandaged around the plaster. It was raining. They gave me instructions to not get the cast wet. Of course, I couldn't get my arm back into my jacket after the cast was put on.

Here's the interesting part. At least, it is to me. My doctor told me that I would get a call from the orthopedic doctor within a couple of days. He would want me to come back in for new x-rays and, probably, to put a new cast on me. I actually got that call that night. The orthopedic doctor told me to go down to the local drug store and buy a velcro splint. Once said splint was in hand, go home and cut off the cast. Apply velcro splint, instead. I had to have him repeat it. Not that I didn't understand what he was saying but that he was actually telling me to just take care of it on my own. I don't even have to go back and see them about it. Unless I want to. Or I could have gone in and had them remove the cast and get a velcro splint from them.

My favorite part, though, was when he told me that if I had any questions to not hesitate to call. He gave me a direct number. I had questions. I tried to ask him while I had him on the phone. He didn't answer any of them. He just kept redirecting me back to his previous instructions and telling me that I could call if I had questions. I gave up.
heh

I, now, have a velcro splint which I can remove for showering. Which is a good thing. I wasn't looking forward to having to find some way to cover the other cast or hanging it out of the curtain or something so that I could take a shower. I can also wash both hands, now. That is also good. Just three days in the plaster, and my hand smelled funky. I can't imagine how it would have smelled after 4-6 weeks.

Just as a plug, my kids and I have been biking or walking back-and-forth to school for several years, now. It's part of our environmental awareness and decreasing our carbon footprint. We, also, save money on gas, which is never a bad thing, especially since we live in the area of the USA with the highest gas prices. I strongly encourage everyone to find alternative methods of travel. It's good all the way around. Win/win situation, and all of that. Good for the environment, and, if you're walking or biking, it's good for your body. That is, as long as you don't break parts of it while doing it.

Today, go take a walk. Or a bike ride. Figure out how you can incorporate that into your daily routine in place of something that you would normally drive to do. You'll be glad you did!