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By Fireman Chris, November 24, 2008 4:58 PM

Just got home from my follow-up appointment with my orthopedic surgeon. I’ve now seen, via the wonders of x-ray, the hardware they put in my arm . It looks suspiciously like stuff I’ve bought at Home Depot a number of times.

I also got to see my arm from the outside for the first time since before Iris and M’s wedding. Ugh. The first thing I did when I got home was scrub it.

That’s right, I’m no longer bandaged/splinted up. I’m back in a removable brace over a cloth sock-like liner. I can take it off and shower again without a plastic bag snugged over my arm.

Only problem is that, without the brace, I have the disconcerting sensation that my hand is about to fall off at any moment. Over 3 weeks of non-use and constant bracing does lead to some atrophy, and it’s a very weird sensation. I’ve been instructed to start working on my range-of-motion in my hand and wrist, but I’m not to actually use the limb yet. PT will start in two weeks, and I’m told that will probably not be fun.

As Sparkle mentioned on her blog, this was a very busy weekend for us…and a frustrating one for me. I really don’t like the feeling of being restricted in what I can do. I enjoy sitting around with my feet up some, but I also enjoy being physically active, and this weekend seemed to be about reminding me what I can’t do right now.

It’s been frustrating enough (but fun in its own way) to have to ask Sparkle to button my uniform pants every morning before leaving for work. Friday, however, was trash day, a chore I usually handle myself. Not only was it the normal trash, but also the debris from the home improvement work we’ve been having done since I was in Texas. And trash day here is a bit more than some places…you see, we don’t have street-side trash pickup. Well, we do, but it either entails dragging cans downhill about a quarter-mile (and then back up) or loading them in my truck and driving them down. And once you’ve loaded them and driven them the quarter-mile to where the trash truck will get them, you might as well drive them the extra half-mile to the transfer station and dump them yourself, which is what we do. And what we did Friday: one trip for garbage, one for construction debris, and one for recycling.

Of course, I couldn’t load trashcans into my truck one-handed, so Sparkle had to help. There are certainly other things I’d prefer doing with Sparkle than hauling trash, but such is semi-rural living. And as she mentioned on her blog as well, sex has had its own challenges (at least my spanking arm is OK).

More frustrating was yesterday, when we decorated the outside of the house for Christmas. Despite a it of grumbling every year, I do enjoy this tradition, and while I usually need some help with it, this year I felt incredibly limited on what I could physically do, and very frustrated as a result. The lights look good, but it’s not what I really wanted to do, so I felt somewhat like our first Christmas in this house is suffering as a result. Silly, I know, but rationality doesn’t necessarily always fit into the equation.

Still, I’m feeling better today than I have for several days as it feels like progress is being made, and I keep reminding myself that in the scheme of things, this is a relatively minor injury with relatively minor inconveniences, and I’m really a very lucky guy.

Guess that’s a good thought to have going into the Thanksgiving holiday.

We’re off tomorrow afternoon to visit my family through the weekend, and will get to visit the newlyweds as well. I may pirate the neighbors’ WiFi a bit, but probably won’t be on much, so Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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By Fireman Chris, November 14, 2008 11:11 PM

Even shorter than the last, but wanted to let everyone know that surgery went fine and I’m recovering. Slept a big chunk of the day and laid on the couch watching movies (Master & Commander, Ocean’s 13 and Tinkerbell…guess who picked the last one).

And even though I can’t respond (yet) to the level I’d like to her most recent post, I’d like to reiterate what I just told Sparkle while having her kneel before me after I read said post. She is the most wonderful wife in the world and has taken such good care of me over these past few days…as she has since we met. And I love her for that.

And thank you all for the prayers and good wishes. They mean a lot to me.

Night all.

Comments (7)

By Fireman Chris, November 13, 2008 7:36 AM

Not a long post since I need to leave for work in a few minutes, but one I needed to write.

I’m scheduled to go in for surgery on my wrist this afternoon. Or possibly this evening, or even tomorrow…there still remains some question as to when it will occur, but there’s no doubt that it DOES need to occur. I saw the orthopedic surgeon on Monday, and aside from the break I knew about, there’s also a split in the bone and I’ll soon be the proud owner of a screw, a metal plate and who knows what other metal hardware in my arm. Thankfully, it’s an outpatient procedure and I should be sleeping in my own bed tonight (or at least on my own couch).

There’s several things I’ve wanted to write about this week, but between my own preoccupation with my arm, the difficulty in typing with said arm and a major project at work (hence the “under the gun” part of the title of this post and why I’m going into work the same day I’m scheduled for surgery), I haven’t. In fact, I’ve been asleep before 10:00 most nights this week, which is early for me.

But that being said, here’s a quick rundown of things I’ll hopefully write about soon:

• Iris and M are married! Woohoo!
• A broken left arm doesn’t really impede giving a spanking with one’s right arm. Thank goodness.
• The princess seems to have a renewed fascination with bottoms. Oh Lord.

Either Sparkle or I will keep you updated on how my newly airport un-friendly arm is.