[Sr. Mints]

In 2022 (edit: maybe 2021?) I had my elbow and wrist done at the same time. Ulner and carpal tunnel release, I think they called it?

I was awake for the operation, and from the time I was referred by the neurologist to the actual surgical date it was like three weeks. Part of that was due to covid (more complex surgeries were canceled or delayed, opening up OR space), and another part was that I opted to stay awake for surgery. Had I been put under it would have been up to a two-year wait.

The freezing they used took care of about 95% of the discomfort. They did have to re-numb me up a few times, like when you're at the dentist and the freezing starts to wear off. By the time I was walking out to our vehicle, pain was certainly on the rise, and because it was a 45-minute ride home (I had the operation at the South Campus), the trip home was brutal.

It was frankly fascinating getting to talk to the doctor and the nurses for 3 to 4 hours, get all thousands questions about everything and anything to do with the healthcare system, my arm, nerves, etc. off my chest. I forget most of the fascinating things I learned LOL. The doctor was showing me how of I'd wiggle my fingers you could see the nerves moving up and down. It was kind of gross but also super cool. I thought the nerves would be like little tiny wires, but they were about 1 cm in width, and she was manhandling them with giant scissor-tweezers like you wouldn't believe.

Anyways, recovery was pretty awful. I had a hell of a time sleeping, getting comfortable, and I had a hard time doing anything, really. It took about 4 to 5 weeks to heal to the point I was comfortable, and many more months for lingering numbness that appeared after the surgery to go away. Not when I slept kind of numbness, but full-time always numb, which is another level of jarring.

Another thing that developed after surgery was something called Dupuytren’s Contracture in my hand. Everything I've been told or read about it claims it's not supposed to hurt, but it was excruciatingly painful until the surgeon injected it with cortisone on one of my follow-ups. She only had to do that one time and the pain went away, but my hand has developed bumps all over it on the face. She is said when you monkey around with hands, sometimes Dupuytren’s can flare up. Something about it primarily affecting white males of a Viking ancestry?

Today I'd say I'm at 95% recovered. All the numbness and tingling is gone, and it hasn't reoccurred, so in that sense 100%. But I have lost strength in my arm, and whether that's because I just haven't been doing the proper physio, or what - I don't know.