Good Friday Fragments

Hello friends! It's Good Friday and despite the sadness and solemnity of the day, it does indeed feel good.

Last night was my favorite Mass of the year, Holy Thursday. The church was full and so many of the people I love were there. Charlie was an altar server. I was so proud to watch him serving and taking part in the extra rituals of Holy Thursday. Annie volunteered to strip the sanctuary and the altar at the end of Mass, preparing it for the starkness of Good Friday. And Robbie was so well behaved. It was such a warm experience.

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After church yesterday, prayers were answered. God is good. That's all I have to say about that.

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Annie is coming to the end of her Spring Break. Yesterday I took her driving in an empty parking lot. Max speed = 4 miles an hour. I kept trying to get her to go at least 10. I think Mike is going to be her primary driving teacher. But she wants you to know that she did a great job parking. She also applied for her first job. Holy cow, who is this teenager and what did she do with my little girl?

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Showing a little of my spelling snob here, but I had to snap this at McD's during my morning Diet Coke run yesterday.

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I'm a week beyond my carpal tunnel surgery and all I can say is what the heck was I waiting for?! This has been so easy.. My hand a little tender sometimes and easily fatigued if it's not wrapped or in a splint. But bring on the next one. My left hand in comparison feels so fat and numb. I don't know if it's worse because I'm using the left hand more to compensate for the right or because the difference between the two is so marked. I'm thinking I'll have the left one done in early May.

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If you store your underwear like this, I'm afraid we can't be friends. Who stands their underwear up? And how do you get it to stay that way?

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I have it on good authority that the Easter Bunny has Reese's peanut butter eggs ready to drop in our baskets. That, Peeps and black jelly beans will make Easter complete. And oh yeah, the resurrection of Christ.

Have a blessed Easter. Now go over to Mrs. 4444s, hostess of Friday Fragments, and wish her the same.

The Liar's Club

The sight of my bandaged hand seems to invite a lot of concerned and curious inquiries as to what happened to me. The answer -- carpal tunnel surgery -- is kind of boring and getting a little monotonous. So I thought maybe I should come up with some answers that are a little more colorful and interesting.

See how these grab you.

1. Someone tried to take the last Diet Coke, so I punched him.
2. We were at the zoo and I got too close to the tiger cage just before feeding time.
3. I'm wrapping my hand right hand in solidarity with the lefties of the world.
4. I was high-fiving Robbie. The kid doesn't know his own strength.
5. Tattoo gone wrong.
6. My kids aren't buying "Mommy's legs are broken" anymore.
7. It's an old Facebook injury.
8. It's a new diet technique. Everything I put on the fork or spoon falls off.
9. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.
10. Oh nothing. I just like the attention.

Do you have any others that I should add to my repertoire?

This

* Does not really hurt.

* Is a little sore.

* Causes me to drop food down the front of my shirt.

* Invites the "what happened" question from friends and strangers alike.

* Was super fast and easy.

* Itches like the devil.

There are worse things. Round 2 coming in early May.

Under the knife

I wanted to blog tonight because bright and early tomorrow morning I'll be going under the knife to have the first of two surgeries for carpal tunnel syndrome. So I figure it might be a few days before I can comfortably type again.

It's really more like a procedure than a surgery. I'll be awake for the whole thing. They'll just numb my wrist and hand with a local anesthetic. I'm really hoping I get to be laying down for it. I don't mind being awake (I don't think), but I don't really want to watch.

I was supposed have this surgery done 8 years ago, but I canceled it. Robbie was only a year old then and still required plenty of lifting and maneuvering. So I opted out and have just dealt with it for the past 8 years and 3 months. My hands stopped hurting from the carpal tunnel syndrome about 6 years ago. Now they are just in a constant state of numbness.

Lately though, I've been getting these electric shock kind of feelings shooting across my palms when I try to grab something. And my grip is getting worse. More than one dropped plate of food can attest to that. (Now there's a weight loss idea!)

My first thought was to give chiropractic treatments a try. The chiropractor was working with me using this Graston technique to try to relieve the pressure off my carpal tunnel nerves. Think big heavy butter knives brushing across the forearms and wrists. It felt really good. Then after the first treatment, it felt like my arm bones were made of jello. The second treatment didn't really have much effect at all.

In the meantime, I talked to a doctor friend of mine who does EMG nerve testing as part of his practice. So I made an appointment to have him give me the EMG to see just how bad my carpal tunnel problem is. I told him about the Graston technique. He was familiar with it and said it can be effective for some people.

That was before he hooked me up and shocked my nerves, only to find out they weren't as shocked as they should have been. Bob told me that he's never seen a worse EMG. What? I can't help it that I'm an overachiever. According to Dr. Bob, the only solution for successfully treating my carpal tunnel is surgery. So he referred me to the same surgeon who was supposed to my surgery 8 years ago.

Which brings me to tomorrow. I'm envisioning a quick slice and snip and sew-'er-up and I'll be on my way. I plan to lay low for 24 hours, keep a steady supply of ibuprofen and Tylenol flowing, and play "Mommy's legs are broken: The carpal tunnel version." 

I really wanted to have both hands done at the same time. Get it over with and all that. The surgeon said they don't recommend it and moved on. So when I was left with the physician assistant to schedule the surgery, I asked her about it. "Is it really so unheard of to do both hands at a time? I think I'd really like to do it that way."

To which the PA responded, "Well, how do you feel about someone else wiping your butt?"

Ahhh...got it. One hand at a time, will be fine, thank you.

So the first one is tomorrow morning. Then in about 3 weeks, I'll have the second one done. In the meantime, I might have to find a talk to text program so I can keep up with the blog and Facebook. Or maybe I'll have one of my kids take dictation.

But one thing is for sure. I'll be wiping my own butt.