Day 114 – Thankful to trash the splint

Yesterday I wrote about my trip to the urgent care, where they splinted my arm. The splint was supposed to be because of fluid on my elbow, and thus a possible hidden fracture.  But they took it all the way down to the last knuckle on my fingers, and when it dried, it was hurting my wrist bone.  So, being the *ahem* “cooperative” patient that I am (not), I promptly loosened the elastic bandage at my hand and wrist, and when I got home, I stuffed some cotton balls in to make it more comfortable.

This morning the nurse called from our primary care with news on the referral for my youngest daughter, the one with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, that she is approved for a physical therapist that specializes in TMJ (temporomandibular (tem-puh-roe-man-DIB-u-lur) joint) pain.  Yay!  That’s good news.  I also asked her about my ortho referral from the PA at the urgent care yesterday.  She suggested that I come in today and see one of the doctors on our Primary Care doctor’s team, so I did.

(On a side note, I had to take my daughter to the school for a few things, and the assistant principal, with her two broken hands, and I, with my splinted arm, were quite a sight! The math teacher walked in and said something like, “Whoa! What’s this!  I’d better get out of here!”  LOL  I told her, “Run!!”  Hehehe! 😀 )

When I saw the doctor this afternoon, she allowed me to take the splint off, and when I went to stretch out my arm, I could tell that it was better than yesterday!  The pain that I am still having seems to be all muscular, with a possible slight sprain of the wrist.

Nothing at the elbow joint even hurts! So, we decided that it is more than likely dislocated instead of broken, and she threw the very uncomfortable splint in the trash!  Yay!  However, to be on the safe side, I have to get another x-ray in a week, because by then there should be visible calcification if there is a fracture.  In the meantime, I just have to keep my arm wrapped and in the sling.  I can live with that!  😀

Today, I am thankful again for your prayers, and those of others who are aware of my fall.  Thank you!

I’m also thankful to be rid of that splint, and I’m thankful that my elbow doesn’t hurt anymore and that the rest of my arm seems to be better!  Thank you, Jesus!! 

And, I’m thankful for the referral for my daughter’s TMJ.  Would you join me in praying that it helps?  Thank you again!  🙂

“in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18  NASB

What about you, have you ever been glad to be rid of some pain?  Have you ever tried something to make the pain better that ended up making it worse?  Do you find that laughter helps you deal with pain?  How do you arrive at being thankful in all situations?

Photo by Steve Johnson on https://www.pexels.com/photo/focus-photo-of-yellow-paper-near-trash-can-850216/

14 thoughts on “Day 114 – Thankful to trash the splint”

  1. Oh, Ruth, praise God for His help for your daughter and you! Yes, I will pray with you for the therapy to be beneficial! And I will continue to pray for your arm and wrist to heal properly. Our Lord is so good to bring us His mercy. I find that listening to music helps me when I am in a pain flare. And a good laugh is always a benefit! Blessings to you dear sister!

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  4. So glad your daughter is getting help for the pain! I’ll be praying! ❤️

    Also yay no splint! This may sound odd but I had pain in my elbow yesterday and this morning, I snapped my shoulder back in place (didn’t realize it wasn’t in place 😅) and suddenly… my elbow stopped hurting. Sometimes nerves are weird. Anyway I was thinking of you and I wondered if the way you fell you also possibly slightly knocked your shoulder out without realizing it? I know the twist when you picked up the mug seems like forearm but I’ve also picked up things like that (snapped my shoulder when I picked up a half a cup of coffee once) so… just wanted to bring that up in case it is helpful haha.

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    1. Thank you for your kindness and prayers sister!
      Oh, yes, my whole arm is involved, and stretching the shoulder definitely helps temporarily. I’ve been to the chiropractor, and he adjusted my back and checked the elbow and wrist. He said the muscles and tendons in the forearm are too much of a mess for him to do much with my elbow right now. I’ll ask him to check my shoulder next time I go. Thanks for the suggestion! In the meantime, I’ll keep stretching it when it feels like it needs it.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. ❤

        Ooohhh okay. So he went from back to elbow without checking the shoulder that's in between?

        Aww man. I hope that mess gets well soon. 🙂

        If there is anything going on in the shoulder, I hope he can realign it! 🙂

        I reached to help my uncle pick up a piece of plywood today. I didn't even touch the plywood, just reached. My shoulder snapped and my arm went a bit numb for a bit. I could still use it but I couldn't tell how hard I was squeezing things to pick things up and the like. It's finally some better now but I just want to say be careful with the stretching! 🙂

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  5. I wasn’t done. 😅

    One of your questions was about making pain worse. I’ve done that by accidentally pulling a joint slightly out of place while trying to put it back in. Oops.

    It’s hard sometimes to be thankful in all situations but I’m trying. 😅😅😅

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      1. I lay in bed flat and cross my legs, and slowly pull it forward. I can tell by the pain level if it’s going to work or not and if I should stop. The weight of my leg will do it. I’ve finally got it down to how to do it without making it worse first. But there was a definite learning curve with some ouch.

        When I was 18, I was climbing over a chain-link fence we had a few dogs in (a limb damaged the fence so I couldn’t use the gate at the time) and when I went over, my ankle got tangled in the electric fence (which hadn’t been hooked up for years). I caught myself but I was upside down and the weight was enough to pull my hip out a bit and it hurt for months. This was the first time it was really bad and I knew I had to do something. But at that time, I knew nothing about EDS. I just knew I needed to crack it. That was the only time I had to go forward into the pain to crack it back in. Otherwise, I just start pushing and pulling to see how it feels and go from there.

        With my shoulder, I can grab it with the other arm and pull it forward. It rarely goes wrong now, but there have been times when I forgot to fix it (because sometimes my shoulder doesn’t hurt when slightly out if I’m not moving around much) and SNAP. I’ve had people assume I hit the table but it was a joint. 😅

        AMEN. 🙂

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