My apologies, it's been a while since I've posted to this blog - work has been a bit mental, plus I had a slight setback - but I'm all back on track now.
I started physio a couple of weeks after the cast came off, and I have to say, Hayley, the six-year-old who's working with me (well, she's probably in her early twenties but she looks about six!) has helped me make a real difference. Within four weeks (that will be six weeks after the cast came off) I was back using weights with my lymphoedema exercises, and rapidly regaining flexibility
And then I entered the glory-hole to get the catbox out to take Cody to the vets, and in doing so dislodged some suitcases - put my left hand out instinctively.... - oops, sprained the damn thing! Bloody, bloody painful, almost thought I'd broken the damn thing again, but the pain was very sharp and localised, and I could still move it in certain ways so I was pretty certain that wasn't the case.
Anyway, I slammed on the glove and some tubigrip, swallowed some paracetemol (apparently ibuprofen would have been better because it targets inflammation) and took the cat to the flippin' vets. And rode it out for the next two weeks till my next meeting with Hayley, by which time I was just about back to the point I'd been at when she'd last seen me, though the range ot flexibility had gone backwards a bit.
The good news is, despite all this, I am back in my smallest size 1 sleeves. The haematoma around my wrist is almost gone, so I wear an integrated sleeve/glove about every third day. All I have to do now is remember to do some physio exercises evey day to keep stretching the tendons out.
It's annoying and a bit painful, but the pay-off is I get full mobility back and can live life normally again. Which is all I ask, and so it's worth the inconvenience.
The only loser, if I don't, is me.
Can't think of a picture to go with this, so I shall post something from my wedding, to prove that you can have lymphoedema and still go without a sleeve occasionally - and feel great!
