[Sca-cooks] nerves, was A serious accident

[Kirsten Houseknecht]

yeah.. what he said...
i was flat out told i wouldnt regain ANY use of my right hand.. but i am
back toting that barge and lifting that bale  huckstering... i just do not
sew proffesionally any more, as that kind of repetative motion and weight is
over my tolerances now.

it may take a LONG time to recover any lost nerve function.. but my EMG
(horrid evil medical nerve assesment test) said the nerve was completely
shot. and i DID recover a great deal.  it just took five years or so.

mind you.. other folks come out of recovery.. and five days later are going
"what nerve damage"?"        just dont let him over do what use he
has........ he will HAVE to use the arm, or he will lose function.. but at
the same time it can be frustrating.. and easy to push too hard.
Kirsten
kirsten at fabricdragon.com
http://www.fabricdragon.com

"Did you vote?  No?   Then don't come whining to me...."
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Fox-Davis" <firedrake at earthlink.net>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 08, 2002 6:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] A serious accident


> Ranvaig,
>
> I know Selene's responded already, but I'd like to add my own prayers
> and best wishes.  The thing I've discovered in recovering from my own
> nerve injury is:  don't listen to the neurologists when they tell you
> that you have only XX% chance of recovery.  In April, after damage to
> the Posterior Interiosseous Nerve, which activiates the extensor nerves
> and muscles in the hand, in January, the neurologist flatly told me I
> had less than 30% chance of recovering -any- use of the hand.  I am now
> doing -almost- everything.  I still can't open the hand out flat (fully
> supinated), which mostly interferes in pouring shampoo into it and
> getting change at the fast food drive thru window.  Everything else is
> back.  If anything, my typing's a little better because I had to relearn
> how to type with my left hand.  My strength is even coming back, albeit
> slowly.
>
> The key is time and persistance.  Once he's out of the hospital and the
> bone damage is mostly healed, make sure he finds an occupational
> therapist who is as committed to making things come back as he is.  The
> first steps will be baby steps -- when I measured my progress in how far
> I could flick a cotton ball across the table -- but it DOES come back.
>  You just have to keep working it.  I nicknamed my therapist
> "Torquemada," and then had to explain for her who Torquemada was.
>
> The injury Dennis had, while it sounds far more damaging overall than
> mine, sounds like it hit precisely the same nerve.  Nerve regrowth
> occurs at about a millimeter a month, so it's going to take what seems
> like forever.  If Dennis, once he's out of the hospital, needs
> encouragement, I'd be happy to call and talk to him.  I'm not a young
> pup, either -- I turned 48 in May, so I may have some perspective to
> help, and would be glad to.
>
> In the meantime, remember to take time for the happy parts of this
> season of joy and rebirth, take care of yourself so you can turn around
> and take care of Dennis, and know that, despite distance, you're not
> alone.  You have a loving community of folks who'd be happy to lend a
> long-distance hand.
>
> Jared
> (the less active poster of our house....)
>
> ranvaig at columbus.rr.com wrote:
>
> > My husband Dennis was in a serious accident Saturday.
>
> [snip]
>
>
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