Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Turning A Corner

Since our auto accident last April, Vol Fan has struggled with the injury to his right arm and shoulder.   He had to have shoulder surgery last July.  However, he still struggled with continued pain and numbness which led to more tests, more physical therapy, and more doctors telling us that nerve injuries take a LLOONNGG time to heal.

Through all this, I have watched him get very discouraged.  I could tell that his mind was traveling down the path of 'What if this NEVER heals?!?'.  He was lower than I have ever seen him.  And there was nothing I could do to help.

After the nerve conduction study in December, the neurologist found two separate nerve injuries - one in his elbow and one in his wrist.  The recommended treatment was to keep his arm straight as much as possible.  Um, yeah right.  Think about how much time your elbow is bent each day!  The doctor recommended sleeping in a wrist brace and to wrap a towel around his elbow each night to try to keep it straight.

He tried that for several weeks.  It didn't work.  We tried an Ace bandage.  We tried different folds.  Different combinations.  Nothing worked.  During the night, he would wiggle around and off it would come.

Then I did some research on the internet and found a brace.  One designed for Vol Fan's particular type of injury so I ordered it.  The first few nights it was very, very uncomfortable.  But finally, we got the position and tightness correct.  The effect it had was wonderful!

Just last week, Vol Fan told me that he actually had hope that he was finally healing.  He can go for several days without having numbness!  I cannot tell you what a relief that is.

Hope.  It is a wondrous thing.

6 comments:

Desert Survivor said...

Glad to hear that good news. Hope he keeps improving!

George said...

I'm glad modern technology (the internet) made it possible for you to find help and hope for Vol Fan. I hope the brace continues to help him and that his injury is soon completely healed.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Nerve damage can be so horrible ---and it's hard to find where it is coming from..

A few years ago (before I lost weight) I was having trouble sleeping because my arm/hand would go to sleep and wake me up. Drove me crazy... I tried all kinds of braces --and would have good days and bad days. I finally realized that it was coming from my neck --so I started keeping my head BACK (instead of tucked down the comfy way) ---and the numbness got better. BUT--what helped me the most with all of my aches and pains was losing a lot of weight... That just did wonders for me!!!! Eating healthy and drinking water just made a NEW me.

Hugs,
Betsy

Busy Bee Suz said...

Oh my.....all the suffering he was going through, I feel bad for him.
SO glad there is now a light at the end of the pain tunnel.
Suz

Unknown said...

This made me so thankful. What a beautiful thing indeed!

Snooty Primadona said...

I'm so glad he sees the light at end! When I first came out of my boot cast my foot was still really painful which made me think it wasn't healed. Two months later I'm back in business. Sometimes we just need that little bit of hope...