At my last session with my physical therapist, I mentioned that I had finally picked a needle and tried embroidering. I said that I had managed to do a few stitches. She pretty much exploded. She told me that I was not to do any more knitting or crocheting until she said so. That holding my hand in the static position needed for knitting and crocheting was not going to help me regain use of the hand. When I repeated that I was embroidering, she shrugged and said don't do any more knitting or crocheting until she said I could.
Hard to believe that even after I tried to correct her about what I do, she kept on calling it knitting.
My ortho doctor has suggested that I see a neurologist ... he (the ortho guy) can't figure out what caused the problem, or why it is lingering. Hopefully the neurologist will have a clue.
I really, really, really miss stitching.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Where Does the TIme Go
The last time I posted was almost one month ago. Since then we have seen an earthquake, a hurricane and the aftermath.
I still am not stitching. I am still in physical therapy for the hand/wrist problem. I'd say what the problem is, except I haven't got a clue about what happened. But, regaining use of the hand is an extremely slow process. As the therapist said today, ' you have come a long way ... when you first came in, you have no functionality in that hand.' To think ... putting a small hearing aid in my ear is a major milestone. And it was ... it was so important to me that I actually made a point to mentioning it to the therapist, because until today, that little gadget was too small for me to pick up. Onward and upward. Eventually, we will make the 'stupid' hand work again.
We didn't actually feel the earthquake ... we were on the road on the way to therapy when it it. But, we did see evidence that it had hit ... the elevator in the building we were traveling to had been shut down - after lights danced out of their ceiling fixtures. We had a few things walk around a bit, but none of the goodies on our shelves came down. Our daughter, near Annapolis, said that the dog was extremely upset, and that the pool was sloshing out of its bounds. They lost power but only for a short time. They had lost power the week before ... a fire in the underground systems ... that took several days to fix.
The hurricane wasn't a big issue for us either. We got about 4 1/2 - 5 inches of rain, a few small branches came down, but that was it. Daughter said they slept in the lower level of the house because there were so many old trees surrounding them. She said the pool overflowed with all the rain. Other than that, they were very lucky. Their neighbor, not so much ... two trees hit the house and another got the car in the driveway. Son, Long Island on the northern side, didn't have any problems except that they lost power for several days. All in all the family was very lucky.
My stitching group is getting together again on Tuesday. I won't be able to make it ... probably not until the end of September, assuming therapy goes well. I miss seeing everyone. Email is OK, but f2f is better.
I still am not stitching. I am still in physical therapy for the hand/wrist problem. I'd say what the problem is, except I haven't got a clue about what happened. But, regaining use of the hand is an extremely slow process. As the therapist said today, ' you have come a long way ... when you first came in, you have no functionality in that hand.' To think ... putting a small hearing aid in my ear is a major milestone. And it was ... it was so important to me that I actually made a point to mentioning it to the therapist, because until today, that little gadget was too small for me to pick up. Onward and upward. Eventually, we will make the 'stupid' hand work again.
We didn't actually feel the earthquake ... we were on the road on the way to therapy when it it. But, we did see evidence that it had hit ... the elevator in the building we were traveling to had been shut down - after lights danced out of their ceiling fixtures. We had a few things walk around a bit, but none of the goodies on our shelves came down. Our daughter, near Annapolis, said that the dog was extremely upset, and that the pool was sloshing out of its bounds. They lost power but only for a short time. They had lost power the week before ... a fire in the underground systems ... that took several days to fix.
The hurricane wasn't a big issue for us either. We got about 4 1/2 - 5 inches of rain, a few small branches came down, but that was it. Daughter said they slept in the lower level of the house because there were so many old trees surrounding them. She said the pool overflowed with all the rain. Other than that, they were very lucky. Their neighbor, not so much ... two trees hit the house and another got the car in the driveway. Son, Long Island on the northern side, didn't have any problems except that they lost power for several days. All in all the family was very lucky.
My stitching group is getting together again on Tuesday. I won't be able to make it ... probably not until the end of September, assuming therapy goes well. I miss seeing everyone. Email is OK, but f2f is better.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Wahoo!!!!
We go some fantastic news. Our son-in-law got the results from his latest scans. They were fantastically good. One of the tumors has all but vanished. Another has shrunken noticeably. There appears to be no new growth, and just as an added goody, his lungs have almost completely recovered from the radiation.
Personally, I have started PT for my wrist issues. The consensus is that I have overdone ... both the stitching and the reacting to the pain and swelling. I am starting slow ... she said ... just maintaining range of motion in the arm and beginning to regain use of fingers. Ouch. Today was hard. Makes me glad I have pain pills. Tomorrow should be a little easier. I hope.
Personally, I have started PT for my wrist issues. The consensus is that I have overdone ... both the stitching and the reacting to the pain and swelling. I am starting slow ... she said ... just maintaining range of motion in the arm and beginning to regain use of fingers. Ouch. Today was hard. Makes me glad I have pain pills. Tomorrow should be a little easier. I hope.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Even though I know that my right wrist and hand are extremely tender and very swollen, that is all I know. I get to see yet another doctor tomorrow. The worst of it is that I am pretty well convinced that he won't know what to do either. sigh.
On a family note, the grands are truly growing up. Our daughter took her 11-year old to baseball camp recently. On the way to camp, he explained that she could say good bye to him, but no hugging or kissing. She was devastated ... but followed orders. Her husband will have scans done tomorrow. I'm praying that they show improvement.
On a family note, the grands are truly growing up. Our daughter took her 11-year old to baseball camp recently. On the way to camp, he explained that she could say good bye to him, but no hugging or kissing. She was devastated ... but followed orders. Her husband will have scans done tomorrow. I'm praying that they show improvement.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Finishing
I am very impatiently awaiting the arrival of my ornaments. I sent them to a finisher very early last month. I got an email from her in the middle of last week that she had finally completed them and that they would go in the mail that night.
She also apologized for taking so long. She had been in the hospital .. and for a pretty major reason. She had a couple of strokes during June. She said that she is recovering well. I hope so. A stroke can do all kinds of nasty damage. After my mother had a stroke - in the hospital - she was unable to bring to mind the word she wanted to use. Pretty minor as strokes go though.
Best wishes for her speedy and complete recovery.
She also apologized for taking so long. She had been in the hospital .. and for a pretty major reason. She had a couple of strokes during June. She said that she is recovering well. I hope so. A stroke can do all kinds of nasty damage. After my mother had a stroke - in the hospital - she was unable to bring to mind the word she wanted to use. Pretty minor as strokes go though.
Best wishes for her speedy and complete recovery.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Well, I now have a name for what is bothering my foot. I have Charcot Foot. I really shouldn't have been surprised since I am diabetic, and have neuropathy, but I really was. It is a stress condition that can lead to all manor of broken bones in the feet. So, I get to be fitted for a really heavy-duty foot brace. I will get to wear it for a couple of months or so. Hopefully, after than, I will be good to go ... at least for a while.
Meanwhile, I get to continue staying off of my feet (well, just the one foot, but the other one isn't all that independent, so it goes up too). I keep on stitching, but have now got my right hand in a brace because I have done too much stitching and my carpal tunnel issues are acting up.
Some days, all I do is ache. But the good days far outnumber those, so, on the bad days, I'll look out for the next good one.
Meanwhile, I get to continue staying off of my feet (well, just the one foot, but the other one isn't all that independent, so it goes up too). I keep on stitching, but have now got my right hand in a brace because I have done too much stitching and my carpal tunnel issues are acting up.
Some days, all I do is ache. But the good days far outnumber those, so, on the bad days, I'll look out for the next good one.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Forever and a day
Not quite, but that is now long it feels like since I last posted. A lot has happened since then.
Our oldest grandson has been promoted from 5th grade into intermediate school. We were able to be there for the ceremony and his baseball game the night before.
Our oldest granddaughter has also been promoted from 5th grade into intermediate school. Unfortunately, we were not able to be there.
I am currently 'walking' around ... not too much walking though in a podiatric boot. This wonderful device was described to me as the equivalent of a walking cast. I am scheduled for an MRI later today to see if it is actually a stress fracture (again). I have had at least one other stress fracture that did not manage to show up on x-rays, so I get to have MRI's to see if there is actually a break. The podiatrist thought there might be gout or pseudogout involved, but the rheumatologist ruled that out. He is thinking there is a bit of osteoporosis involved, but my bone density scans haven't shown that ... everything changes though.
I have been able to get a LOT of stitching done though. I have completed three pieces that had been hanging around -- Cirque des Carreaux, Quaker Diamond and a Raven.
Cirque (Ink Circles) has been hanging out the longest. I started it several years ago, didn't like it in just one color and ripped out a lot and changed it. I made the larger diamonds turquoise, magenta and green. The first two colors are in Carrie's Thread's Epiphany - a blended color silk. The green - not so much, but I liked it. The colors in the Epiphany don't really show up in the picture though.
The Quaker Diamond was my Tuesday Stitch project for a year or so ... a little bit each Tuesday. When I got to the alphabet which is stitched over one, I put it aside. So, while I was just sitting around with my foot up, I dragged it out an put in the alphabet.
The Raven is one that just plain caught my fancy. It was my Tuesday project after the Diamond.
I have now started working on Christmas ornaments for the grandkids. Seems like those are slower than the rest .. probably because I work so hard to find just the right design for them. This year the girls were easy ... I found a charming colonial girl in The Gift of Stitching magazine. Same design for each, but I am changing the color of the dress for each granddaughter. I haven't decided on what to stitch for the boys ... yet.
Our oldest grandson has been promoted from 5th grade into intermediate school. We were able to be there for the ceremony and his baseball game the night before.
Our oldest granddaughter has also been promoted from 5th grade into intermediate school. Unfortunately, we were not able to be there.
I am currently 'walking' around ... not too much walking though in a podiatric boot. This wonderful device was described to me as the equivalent of a walking cast. I am scheduled for an MRI later today to see if it is actually a stress fracture (again). I have had at least one other stress fracture that did not manage to show up on x-rays, so I get to have MRI's to see if there is actually a break. The podiatrist thought there might be gout or pseudogout involved, but the rheumatologist ruled that out. He is thinking there is a bit of osteoporosis involved, but my bone density scans haven't shown that ... everything changes though.
I have been able to get a LOT of stitching done though. I have completed three pieces that had been hanging around -- Cirque des Carreaux, Quaker Diamond and a Raven.
I have now started working on Christmas ornaments for the grandkids. Seems like those are slower than the rest .. probably because I work so hard to find just the right design for them. This year the girls were easy ... I found a charming colonial girl in The Gift of Stitching magazine. Same design for each, but I am changing the color of the dress for each granddaughter. I haven't decided on what to stitch for the boys ... yet.
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