What Happened to My Hand

Somehow, during the initial surgery on my right hand for trigger finger release, I got an infection, actinomyces. Never heard of it? Neither had we. It’s a form of bacteria that is common in the mouth of humans and many animals. Normal old bacteria, they’re everywhere and usually don’t cause any trouble. Not this time.

The infection showed up in the palm of my right hand when the incision reopened and started weeping a clear, plasma type liquid about two weeks after surgery, about mid December, 2015. The surgeon had already seen me again and cleared me for all activities indicating it was healing very well. We went back to see him and his concern was there was some kind of particulate that was in there causing problems. The hand never got a nasty, pus-like infection, just this clear weeping. They ran blood cultures and all kinds of things, but everything came back negative.

My hand before it broke open and started weeping the first time.

We had scheduled to have the trigger finger on my left hand fixed in late December, so he went back into the right hand as well and ‘cleaned it out’. That seemed to work fine until about mid February when it swelled up and got very painful. Back to the surgeon we went. He was very concerned. You see, we liked this surgeon, he was young, very intelligent and a prepper. We had already discussed some of the books his dad made him read which started him down the path of preparing for a collapse. Interesting, huh?

Well, he put a steroid shot in the hand for the swelling, began to massage it in and the incision opened up again – six weeks after the last surgery. He knew something was very wrong and we scheduled another surgery for the next day to take a tissue sample and send it off to be cultured. That took about a week. Then we got a phone call on March 4th, three months after the original surgery in early December.

‘You need to come to the hospital right now and start a week of IV antibiotics’. What? And have another surgery for a debridement – removal of the tendon sheath material surrounding the surgery site of the trigger release. Well, we quickly took care of the animals, packed up some necessities and went to the hospital, 60 miles away. Needless to say, this was rather scary. The infectious disease doctor that met us in the ER scared us to death. He couldn’t tell me if I would lose my hand or that the infection hadn’t spread all over my body.

I was put on high doses of IV penicillin for the week I was there, had a fourth surgery on that hand where the surgeon roto-rootered out the area in the palm and up and down the finger to try to clean out every last bit of that infection. Frank drove back and forth everyday to take care of the animals and be with me at night. He was beyond exhausted and never complained once, not once.

Upon release from the hospital, I was sent home with a pic line in my arm and arrangements for home health to assist us in another three weeks of IV antibiotics. My loving husband got to change the penicillin and put another syringe of antibiotics in my line everyday. All of this made me very sick, along with

trying to recuperate the use of my right hand. Yes, I am right handed. During this month I was basically quarantined. I could not touch an animal and wouldn’t go around people to minimize the risk of infection through the pic line. Pic lines are scary things, giving access straight to the blood stream and heart if anything gets through the barrier. I didn’t take a shower, just did sponge baths for a month. Frank helped me wash my hair by spraying it with the shower head as I knelt beside the tub and used one hand. The release from that pic line was one happy day. After the nurse left that removed it, I went straight to the barn to see my dog and goats. Up until then I had only been able to look at them through the fence for a month.

All through this, we had weekly trips to the infectious disease doctor, with first daily, then weekly blood tests. This doctor wanted me to stay in the hospital for the whole month. We refused and went with home health and frequent 60 mile trips back to see him and run the tests.

Following the IV antibiotics, were five more months of very strong oral antibiotics that also gave me headaches and made me sick. Because of the long term doses of the medication I did a lot of research on digestive track damage and recovery. I took a probiotic capsule everyday, drank gallons of kefir and started adding inulin to our coffee. To this day, I feel that my digestive track hasn’t returned to it’s former state. We do what we can diet wise, but what is done is done. 

After all of the antibiotic treatment was finished, I had a bone scan, CT scan of my heart, MRIs of my hand, abdominal organs and brain. All to make sure the infection had not metastasized during the three months it was active before detection and that the antibiotic treatment had been effective. The constant blood work throughout the treatment was to make sure none of them were causing liver or organ damage. 
 

In the end, the surgeon was surprised how much flexibility I regained in my hand and finger. He said most people that have had four surgeries at the same site, don’t have near the range of motion. I told him it was hand milking goats that did it, along with hours of self physical therapy. It took a long time and I still don’t have full range of motion or a strong grip. I drop things a whole lot more, but after about a year my brain adjusted to the new ‘normal’ of my hand.

Now, life goes on. I can’t say I dealt with it very well at the time, I was angry for a while, felt so sick I couldn’t and didn’t do much, got fairly depressed while quarantined, but finally came out of all of that. Life is what it is and sometimes dishes up some fairly unpalatable experiences. I just had to remind myself that it is not the experience in and of itself that is most important, but what you learn from it in the process. Being a willing learner is sometimes the most difficult part. That is true of what is happening in our world and country. Take it for what it really is instead of what we wish it was. Learn and accept, this is where we are. Then get on down the road.

Until next time – Fern

Changes in Life

Changes. A lot has changed in our lives since the last time we wrote here, but a lot has stayed the same as well. Thought we’d let you know what’s been going on for the last three years.

What hasn’t changed? We still live on our homestead, have goats, chickens, cats and our Great Pyrenees. There is still a garden where a lot of our food is grown. The world continues to appear to be in for a great reset, which seems to be holding off for now, even with the shaking and rattling that comes and goes worldwide every day. That is not a reference to earthquakes, by the way.

What has changed? Much. 

At the time of our goodbye, I was in the midst of having hand surgery for trigger finger and ganglion cysts. That turned into one of the ordeals of our lifetime, which ended up with a serious actinomyces infection that necessitated six months of antibiotic treatment. That story will be an article or two all by itself.

Also during that time, it became apparent that my mother was entering some serious stages of dementia. She is now in the final stages and lives in a nursing home. This will also be a continuing story that contains many trials, frustrations and heartaches that will be shared. It will be good for me to write it all out and get input from others, their perspectives, their insights and experiences.

And then about two years ago Frank had a double bypass. The need for it came as a shock since he hadn’t shown any previous symptoms, nor have a heart attack. This has been the biggest life altering event that continues to impact our daily lives, goals and perspectives. There have been many serious, difficult conversations concerning our lives and futures since this event, and some of those topics will be shared with you.

Frank still works with radio and there have been some ups and downs there which he will be sharing along the way. Some things worked out as planned, and some didn’t.

We have increasingly found our life of homesteading and preparing, our chosen path, has been a lonely one. There aren’t many people we meet that choose to live this way. Some still say ‘that sounds like so much work’ or ‘why don’t you just buy it at the store’. We are just too different for most people’s taste, and make them uncomfortable, and yet, would not choose to live any other way. It seems some of the most meaningful ‘conversations’ we have had about this way of life has been here, sitting at a computer, ‘discussing’ life with strangers. Interesting.

There is much to share now that we’re back to writing on the blog. Know that in many ways it was a relief to stop writing. The blog had become a burden, with the feeling and pressure to perform on a regular basis. That aspect was not missed, so our posts may be irregular and only occur when there is something worthwhile to share. For now we would like to share what we can in the hope that it may help someone else along the way. Frank has always been a teacher and continues to search for ways to help others.

Life’s priorities change with time and circumstance, and you will see this has happened with us. We look forward to interacting with our friends out in blog world again, have missed your comments and have wondered how many of you are doing. It’s an interesting thing to ‘know’ some folks that we have never met, never talked to and probably never will. The way all of us are presented online never shows the real person behind the words, and yet, the interaction it makes possible could never happen any other way.

We look forward to our future conversations.Your comments are encouraged and critical, others benefit from what we talk about here, all of you and I sharing our ideas and visions. We’re all in this boat together. Just remember, don’t get on the bus.

Until next time, Fern

Trigger Finger & Ganglion Cysts

Weird title, huh? Well yesterday I had surgery on my right hand. Yes, I am right handed. Remember back when I tried out the milking machine because I was having problems with the arthritis in my right hand? I haven’t been able to straighten the middle finger on my hand for a while and it had gotten pretty painful and swollen. First we tried a steroid shot in the palm where the trigger finger originated. It took the pain out of the finger joint, but not the palm joint and it didn’t allow me to straighten out my finger either.

Why did I choose to have surgery? When I found out that I could have full range of motion in my finger again without the pain in my palm and the popping of my knuckle, I was ready. I will still have challenges with arthritis, that’s not going away. The work of survival will only increase, not decrease with time, and I want to be able to do it as best I can for as long as I can.

Here is some information on trigger finger, if you are not familiar with it. This site has some great visual examples.

After the steroid shot, and before the surgery, the ganglion cyst in my right wrist start growing fairly quickly and had become sore, affecting the bottom joint in my thumb as well. Yesterday when we talked to the doctor before surgery we asked him what he thought about it. His suggestion was to remove it now so I would only have one recovery time. So we did.

This oven mitt works great for doing chores.

Because we chose to remove the cyst along with fixing the trigger finger, I am in a splint for a couple of weeks. The doctor did this to support the wrist muscles while the cyst site heals, otherwise I would just have a soft bandage across the palm of my hand and have free use of the hand. I’m limited to carrying one to two pounds in my right hand, but it’s amazing how quickly you adjust to doing things differently.

I can type, well sorta. My right hand makes more mistakes, especially my pinky. The articles may be a little shorter for a while, so I thought I would let you know why.

Folks, if there is anything you need to take care of, medically, financially, stocking up or buying items for future projects, I would recommend you do it now if you are able. One look at the news tells you that there is more than Christmas coming over the horizon. Unfortunately, it has already come to California, Paris and many other parts of the world. We can’t emphasize enough, avoid crowds, even if it is the holiday season and you have things to do, find another way to get them done. Be extremely vigilant, and unfortunately, trust only a very select few. The time of fear and chaos is fast approaching, don’t let it find you off guard.

Until next time – Fern

Neighbors & Friends

As some of you know, I recently had major back surgery. Even with the best laid plans, there is always a gap, and sometimes a large gap. A couple of examples. 

We never thought about a bedside toilet. We didn’t realize there are some made for smaller people, bigger people, taller and shorter folks. Not trying to sound crude here, but it would be nice if the people that designed these bedside toilets would actually take the time to sit on one of them. Sometimes it is apparent that these are not designed for use by a man. 

Next example. Bedpans. While in the hospital, I was advised to just use a bedpan. Okay. A short review here. I have 16 staples in my lower back, am in unbelievable pain and am told, just put it underneath and let it go. That just doesn’t work. I can see where a metal bedpan would be a tremendous benefit during a hail storm, or if you want to play pirate with your kids, but otherwise, I saw no practical use, with my accompanying condition and the use of a bedpan.

We did some modifications to the couch before my surgery. Instead of spending a lot of time on my back in the bedroom laying down, this gives me another option closer to where most of the living and doing occurs in our house. 

I had a good plan of building ‘legs’ to go on the legs of our couch. And in our opinion, that was one of those great plans, but the couch was just not meant for long-term sleeping right after surgery, as I quickly discovered. But in just a few days, when I could move around a little better, the raised couch became a very good resting place.
 

We discovered these small sliders on the bottom of the legs.

I got out my forstner bit and fixed that problem.

 

The real reason for this post is the utilization of your neighbors and friends. I am, by all serious nature, a hermit, recluse, loner, pick any term you like. And I’m also one of those types that seldom ever asks for help. But there are times that we adult males need to get over some of these things. When I arrived home from the hospital, there were more cars parked in front of my house than I have ever seen. One of my male neighbors and friends, was there to help me up my steps, which if you can’t hardly walk, steps are tough to negotiate. It seems that everybody and their cousin has extra medical supplies that were gently used once and are now available for loan.

But, let me back up a little bit. I have a neighbor, who is also a relative, and we share a common fence line. She was nice enough to come over and open up our chicken house every morning, then come back and close it every evening. Since the hospital is an hour and a half away, for Fern to make two trips a day, would be a minimum of six hours driving time, not to mention the time on site doing chores. So, opening and closing the chickens saved us about four hours a day.

The animals need feed and water. Other neighbors from down the road, helped feed and water our animals several times, which was an unbelievable help. This helped Fern cut down her trips to do chores to once a day. That puts us down to three hours drive time and 30 minutes chore time. 

As most of you are aware, if you let yellow squash get too big, the plant will quit producing and gradually die. So, what does that mean to us? We are not going to be using any of these crops right now, but after my back issue settles down some, we would still like to have harvestable crops. Some more neighbors of ours helped us by harvesting the mature crops in the garden. You think, well, that’s free food for them, and that is true. But the bigger issue to me is keeping our garden producing. It’s also good for the neighbors, because some of those crops did not do well for them this year.

Other relatives picked up our mail at the post office for us and drove to our closest pharmacy, 25 miles away, and had our prescriptions filled. It’s nice to be able to call the pharmacy and talk to the folks there on a first name basis. 

Our local preacher and spiritual adviser has called to check on me everyday. He also came to see me in the hospital. We have not always attended his church, but I have known this man for over 30 years and appreciate the time he takes to contact me everyday.

I know I’m going to leave some events out here, but it humbles me to know that there are people, good decent people, that will step up to the plate when someone is in need. Some of these are friends, some are neighbors, some are relatives, and some are combinations of the above. So, when I get over this, I will still be a hermit, but I want to genuinely thank everybody that helped and are still helping. I also want to thank everyone for their prayers, because I do believe in God and the power of prayer.

Well, it’s about nap time. Be appreciative of what you have, and for those around you. Now if I could just get someone to wash my car….

We’ll talk more later. Frank