The Girls Cut Their Hair

Pinkie Updates

The operation went well. I was out most of the time. The tips of my fingers are still numb. The pain hit this morning after I woke up. It KILLS to try to bend it ... which I'm supposed to do 10 times an hour. The pain meds make my dizzy. The good news is that I'll have the pins 4 weeks as opposed to 6.

There are three parallel pins that go all the way through my finger. Then there are bridges that go over my finger ... they connect the pins sticking out on both sides. There are also springs connecting the two "bridges" that run along the side of my finger. The "springs" create the tension. She'll remove the wrapping tomorrow and I'll snap a few shots and you'll see it better.

November 6th Update:

I just linked to the pictures for those who are squeamish. I added two pictures of the finger without the gauze. I am feeling much better today. I am moving the finger quite well. She said that if I keep it up, I may not have to go to PT. She also mentioned that she'd like to keep them on 3 to 4 weeks ... so she keeps shortening the amount of time I have to keep them on which is great news!

Thank you all for the pinkie prayers!

November 15 Update:

I can type now! I can even type my "p's" which has been tough on me all week. I started real PT this week. The physical therapists said I actually have a lot of movement in my finger and were wondering why I need PT ... this is what I've been saying the last few days. But oh well. I think I'll be playing basketball again by Christmas. I uploaded another photo ... you can click the link below to see the size of the pins. She removed the medicated gauze.

Day after surgery side view
Day after surgery fingertip view
Day 2 after surgery without gauze top view (the best view of what it looks like)
Day 2 after surgery without gauze bottom view
Nov 15 picture (you can see the pins in this one!)

December 5 Update:

So I started PT on the figer a couple of weeks ago. On the 2nd day, she really worked it over ... so much that I couldn't move it. Then while we were in Florida, Erick was jumping on the bed and landed right on my finger ... very painful.

I went to the doctor on Dec 1 and she wasn't too pleased at my lack flexibility in the finger. I can't make a fist, but it's still a lot better than before. So I did my own PT on it this past week. It's getting better but far from perfect. I get the pins out Monday Dec 8 (Erick's birthday). I can type just fine. I even shot the basketball around a few times this week. It hurts to dribble it hard with my right hand, but my shooting is just fine. I'm sure after the pins come off, I can tape the pinky to the ring finger and be just fine.

Dec 5 picture 1
Dec 5 picture 2
Dec 5 picture 3

December 8 Update:


The pins came out today. The doctor had some weak wire cutters, so she was really fenagling around trying to cut the pins before she pulled them out. It was painful. Then she stopped and sent one of her nurses to the hospital to retrive some more heavy duty wire cutters. 20 minutes later she came back ... snip, snip, pop, pop and it was done. The closest thing to describing how it felt is pulling a loose tooth ... not painful, but very cringy ... like fingernails on a chalkboard or chewing on tin foil. Now I have several week of PT to get the motion back. I'm not worried about making a fist, but rather being able to extend the finger. I try to extend it, but it just won't.

Here are some post-pins pictures:

Dec 8 picture 1
Dec 8 picture 2
Dec 8 picture 3
Dec 8 picture 4

Halloween Costumes

Emma was Greek Goddess. Ben was a vampire. Mille was a ballerina. Erick won the most unique costume award ... a pirate boxer.