Released

I returned to see my hand surgeon on Friday morning.  He proclaimed my hand "healed", and said that I no longer needed to wear the hand brace.  "Now don't go home and roto-till the garden!"  he said.  I tried to get a list of specific no-no's from him, but he basically said that I can't really damage my hand, but depending on what I do, it might hurt.  If I would continue to wear the brace, he informed me, my hand will just continue to get more and more weak.

I have noticed, and been a bit concerned about how small and withered and pathetic my left hand has been looking during its short periods of time out of the brace lately.

I arrived home on Friday just in time to receive a box of 6 replacement fruit trees for the orchard, as well as 3 red raspberry bushes and 25 strawberry plants (also replacements.)  I figured that was a sign for me to try out 2 handed gardening once again.

As much as I wanted to plant EVERYTHING on Friday afternoon.  I did not.  I paced myself, and planted the raspberries and 2 trees on Friday.  I filled several buckets with compost that has been on the pile for over a year...lovely, dark, fine soil it had become too!  This went into every hole that I dug and around some of the other established trees as well.

Saturday I planted the remainder of the trees, and hung 3 loads of laundry out to dry in the sunshine.  The girls had a friend over, and spend the entire day out in the sunshine drawing in chalk on the driveway, and creating a music video.  JP got the riding mower working, and mowed for a couple of hours.  Saturday evening, I have to be honest, my hand was painful and swollen.  I put an ice pack on it for awhile, and took Aleve.

By Sunday I was feeling good enough to plant the strawberries.  JP and I got out the hammocks.  The girls rocked in the hammock and sang at the tops of their lungs.  It clouded over and the wind picked up.  The girls got out their kites, and we flew them for close to an hour until the rain seemed quite imminent.

 

We retired to the house, and snuggled up for a movie together, while the rain came down.  Sadly, the chalk drawings are a thing of the past!  I took Aleve again, but the hand is not too bad today!

It feels odd to use my left hand again.  I played 4 Square with the girls on Friday evening, and realized that I was doing it one handed without thinking.  I still stop and think before picking things up, not sure if I can do it with my left hand.  It is very weak, and I can't hold things very well between my thumb and fingers.  The entire side of my thumb down to the wrist is still numb, so it feels strange to touch and hold things.  Certain movements/actions still hurt, yes, just as much or more than before surgery.  I'm hoping that this is still recovery type pain, and not lasting pain though.  Overall, I'm glad I overcame my fears and had this done.  I'm looking forward to many more years of 2 handed, (relatively) pain free gardening!