mastodon 4.6.8+glitchA strawberry-loving music-dork fox in the Northeast U.S.
More to me than what you see here.
So, the EOB's are in. Provided a THIRD doesn't arrive, last week's carpal tunnel surgery is going to cost me a tidy $775.
So I will say, EMPHATICALLY, AGAIN, for every last 1 of the many mush-brained IDIOTS out there who think I get free health care because of who my employer is...
Just think about it, kiddos.
Some day in the future, this could be you.
It could be FWA weekend, and you wish you were there. Having fun, partying it up with your fellow animals.
And instead, you're sitting at home, painstakingly dabbing betadine on the palm of your freshly operated on left hand, since you still can't just wash it in water like normal owing to the still healing incision/stitches therein. After, you cover it back up again, spared from that task for another day.
The surgery humbles you - makes you realize how fragile you are. All your other health maladies are thrown into sharp relief. You feel broken, wondering how you ended up like this. The surgery was meant to be helpful, but... what it reminded you of...lingers. You wonder how you'll ever get better, just..overall. You fear the broken feeling will linger even after the stitches come out. An uncertain future...becomes even moreso. So...enjoy your fun while you can. It can slip away all too easily.
And that's a wrap. Partly literally
(Had Carpal Tunnel release surgery today. This wrap of annoyance has to stay on till Friday.)
How it started vs. how it's going.
Anyone want a slice?
Sausage pizza featuring a cross of leftover pepperoni in "May as well use it up" mode. XD
Me, in my 20's, on 5/5:
"Aww hell yeah time to hit the club and go NUTS! WOOHOOO!"
Me, in my 40's, on 5/5:
"Tomorrow's the day...getting that surgery...fixing my left hand. Umm...Yay or something?"
One of those lines that kicks me in the "thinking about my past" feels every damn time.
"Light up that Happy Hour sign
It's just another neon lie
But hell, whatever helps the bitter truth go down"
What a difference 9 days makes, eh?
Left is 5/8 when I was first able to de-mummify my hand/wrist.
Right is this morning. Stitches coming out on Tuesday.
Side note - if I can offer a few tidbits of advice - I mean, I genuinely hope no one reading this ever NEEDS this surgery, but if you do:
If your orthopedist tries to tell you it's fine to drive yourself home after? Don't listen to them. I MAYBE could have, but it would have been needlessly painful and might have stunted my recovery.
Work: Take time off. At least 3 days. Baby yourself. Give your poor traumatized wrist time to heal and regain your strength. I am quite convinced my progress went better having done that.
Exercises / physical therapy: What you'll be told to do varies a LOT depending on the doctor, but whatever they give you - DO IT. And be strict about it. In my case it was doing finger flexes every 2 hours for the first 3 days after. I kept it up for a full week - just because.
One week on from surgery.
Still wish I could fast forward to the day I get the stitches out but at least it looks like progress. (Left is 5/8 first day I was allowed to take the wrap off, right is this morning.)
Crossed off a bucket list show last night. Bruce Springsteen in NYC. Other than the mixing board engineer needs to be sacked with the quickness (OMG Bass so loud it drowned out the vocals from time to time.) An amazing show.
But I must say, NYC crowd, I am DISAPPOINT.
In the final moments of "Streets of Minneapolis" Bruce urged the crowd in a chant of "ICE OUT NOW!" and...he had to ask two more times, and yeah, the 2 more times were a LITTLE more energetic but ... he shouldn't have had to ask ONCE. DO BETTER PEOPLE!
You truly don't realize how used to a watch you've become until you catch yourself glancing down and going "Well, I guess the time is bandage past arm hair" because you just EXPECT it to be there and don't even for a second recall that it won't be.
So days before was the how it started, this is the how it's going pic. Oh joy at the thought of having to take showers with a bag on my hand for the next week and change.
So the new Kacey Musgraves is pretty good. Nice to have a little of that twang back which was conspicuously absent the last 2 albums.
The album closes on a real gut-punch of a tear-jerker that's among her best.
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sONzNj8-clE&si=fbycjwaUdc9Q3rmp