Healing

Just before I left the office this evening, I noticed a message from my friend Monica reminding me to post an update. I guess I kinda left you with a cliffhanger. A couple of them even. So tonight, here's the sitch.
Twelve days after surgery, I was liberated! Well, relatively liberated. Dr. Billings removed my heavy post-surgery cast (it fit into very few business-like sleeves), gave me a sexy black wrist brace (all velcro and laces) and sent me across the street to Sandy for physical therapy. Sandy said to wear the brace only when I need it for support but don't lift anything heavier than a toothbrush. And do this battery of exercises once an hour - 16 times a day. I walked back to my office and washed my left hand for the first time in 19 days and then gently scratched my puny wrist all over - ahhhh.
Now, I am stretching and flexing my stiff wrist every which way and doing my best not to apply pressure in the wrong direction or lift things heavier than a tooth brush. It does hurt and it does swell at the end of the day. I'm still taking tylenol and avoiding alcoholic beverages. But really, I'm not complaining because it is getting better.
I started with a rosey, ropey two-inch incision closed by eight blue stitches on the inside of my wrist and a tiny half inch slit of an incision closed by tape on the outside of my wrist. All these things are healing and I have faith that if I follow the instructions, someday my scars will not scare small children when I offer them a plate of cookies.