Apr 2009
Talk to the Hand
Apr 2009
The surgery itself is pretty routine and a happy outcome is expected, but the recovery process is a bear. I’m looking at 6 weeks in a 24 hour a day splint plus twice a week physical therapy. After that comes 2 more weeks in a nighttime splint. The hand is a complex and wonderful thing that needs careful rehab.
This should be a good lesson in humility and in asking for help when I need it. I tend to be very independent and an “I can do it myself” person. Now for 6 weeks I’ll have trouble cutting my food and opening jars, getting dressed and typing, all the daily stuff I take for granted. My husband is on notice as a helper and I expect there will be a lot of laughing as we struggle to button my jeans and cut up my food. A new kind of togetherness :-)
My surgeon and physical therapist get to decide when I can start making jewelry again. I’ll explain what movements I need to do and they will say “Yea” or “Nay” as rehab progresses.
Meanwhile I’ve stocked my studio with inventory and I think it will be enough to easily carry me through. Which is good because my shop affiliations continue to grow. In the past couple weeks I’ve added 2 more accounts: Foxgloves in Nehalem, OR and American Players Theatre in Spring Green, WI. That brings me to 18 shops across the country! Very exciting to see my business grow so sweetly.
If there’s a shop you think my jewelry should be in, please let me (and the shop) know!