Wol2's "Things can only get better" thread:)

Wol2

chevalier wrote: »

hi wol
happy new year, though i think i have missed why this is new year? Are you in a parallel universe where yesterday was new years eve? Or does it have some significance I have missed?

either way i think you deserve for things to go better so fingers crossed
chev

Hi Chev

:hello:

How is kiwi land and the house hunting today? Keeping fingers and paws crossed here for your OH job....

Thanx for the good wishes. Certainly feels like I have been living in a parallel universe :rotfl:


I haven't actually posted with the full story before...people may have gathered bits from posts here and there on other threads. Anyhow now the annus is ended, here's a short recap for everyone.

My house was flooded on 20th July last year.......I have been out in rented accomodation 65 miles away since then as insurance claim/refurbishment has been progressed in diabolically slow manner causing severe distress/nervous breakdown.....one for the Ombudsman and the Insurance Board I think. :cool:

Had a few other things hit me along the way.....hence why it turned into an annus horibilis :rolleyes: .. family and friends couldn;t support me emotionally during my breakdown so we all had to take a rain check from each other for a few months, partner split after 4 years and as I knew nobody in the area I had moved into apart from ex-OH, I was completely alone and isolated. I don;t remember much about October to March as I really was "out to lunch"...all I know is that luckily I found a brilliant psychotherapist who has helped me get through the nightmare. The House got flooded again in Jan just after the drying certificate had been issued, my fixed term employment contract ended in Mar so no income until could get self employed business up and running, The house re-build was then delayed by another 6 weeks in April because insurers agents took ages to pay builders once they started (previous delays also due to slow action by insurers agents). Things finally started getting back on track for me in mid- May. The house was starting to look like a house again and I therefore started to feel much better able to deal with everything....progress was being made..then the accident with the hand in early June when I was suddenly housebound and completely dependent upon other people.adn again realised how isolated and alone I was..(hence the start of this thread). I had to rescind work contracts as I couldn;t deliver to deadlines required..pay out a shedload of money for cleaners, vet nurses, taxis etc..and face the possibiity of not being able to play the piano again to my previous standard (which I was relying on to earn extra income this year)...then the probs with mortgage reserve and how I was going to pay for everything including the costly flood defence works I'd committed to that were not covered by the insurance.. which was luckily resolved quickly.

So I think all that was left to happen was the house I'm currently in burning down and my contents, previously saved from the flood, being destroyed. Hence the countdown and why I wanted to see off the last 12 months in style.:D


BUT..... I will get my house back (newly decorated and now flood proof so resale value not affected), I will be able to start working again soon, the money side will sort itself out over time, I will get functionality back in my hand and be able to play again at some future date, I am now back in touch with family and friends, I have made great new friends here on DFW and also where I am currently living, and ex-OH and I are now starting to build a friendship outside of our previous relationship.


......and Wellers bereavement last week has put everything into it's proper perspective....my losses after all are retrievable....and the determination to go out and retrieve them has been in large part due to the support, encouragment and friendship I've found here on DFW.

Heartfelt thanx to all of you :A ...

and Hugs to those that need them.:grouphug:

Wol2
xx

Numpty_Monkey

yuo don't do short posts do you hun :rotfl:

Snaggles

Goodness Wol, although I had gathered quite a bit about your circumstances from various posts you have made, when you see it all written down like that, it really is an annus horriblis, and I can completely understand why you are glad it is over.

Here's to a brighter future :beer:

piglet29

Hello Wol my lovely, hows you this lovely, sunny day:wave:
My goodness, i too had gathered little bits of what has been happening to you over the past year, but as snaggles said, to see it all written down like that means you can see the full enormity of what you have had to bear:eek:

You are one amazing Lady Wol, to have come through all that and still be the font of wisdom and help for others on here is beyond words, you are truely an:A

Much love to you wol, speak to you soon
Love & hugs
Piglet

xx

Numpty_Monkey

sort of sums wol up:A

piglet29

Lovely pic numpty...........definately sums up our lovely wol x

ikkle87

hi Wol chick how are you tonight? You certainly have had a pooper scooper year but its a new year now. yayyyy

maybe see you in night owls x

bubbles0169

haay you how are you how did the hosp app go xxxxx

Wol2

Good evening......here is the news......

OK guys....the bad news follows....might be better to skip this and go to the good news further down (it's shorter Numpty Hun :rotfl: )

Gulp.......

and breathe..........

Well I've arrived home (specialist was running very late so didn;t see her til 4.45pm over an hour later than appointment time)....
Both her and occupational therapist I saw beforehand were very cheery.."making good progress....but yes, your pain is abnormal so work through it..here's a leaflet about it but the treatments don;t apply to you at the moment......and you still have nasty adhesions" ....so I'm to be booked in for ultrasound (4 weeks twice a week starting week after next)...

Problem was I left feeling uneasy, the vibes weren't right..... and despite my persistence, neither would give direct answers to any of my questions about timelines, recovery, piano playing, functionality....just said..."do it and see"..... I've got a new appointment to go back to specialist in 6 weeks time for a review (that will be 3 months post-op...important when you read further down). Hmmmmmm....Now that means that something needs monitoring....otherwise I wouldnt have to go back again to see her.....

Well, I've now read the piece of paper the specialist gave me to go home with. They did not, by the way, offer to go through this with me at the time. Maybe I shouldn't just therefore stuffed it in my handbag at the end of the consultation, but instead deliberately taken up more of their time to read it first and go through it with them.....let this be a learning experience for us all........doesn;t matter if they are running late...take all the time YOU need....and read what they give you BEFORE you leave.....

Anyway here is what it says:

And breathe........(.no ...not that bit..that is my edit :rotfl: )

"You have Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy..the occurrence of this is unpredictable. It can occur after any type or severity of injury even after relatively trivial ones. RSD is a poorly understood condition, which is thought to be a local disturbance of sympathetic nerve activity. The acute stage of this condition lasts about 3 months and is characterised by:
Pain...burning in nature; Hypersensitivity to touch; Stiffness, swelling, temperature change in the hand and sensitivity to the cold, colour change, altered sweating, other changes including increased hair growth :eek: (my edit) and finger nail ridging.

The condition can persist and become chronic. The skin becomes thin, pale and dry.Although the pain diminishes, the cold intolerance can persist and the hand tires easily. The joint remains stiff and this is now permanent. "

(is it just me or does this mean there could be big implications for piano playing in future?)


And breathe..........and pour glass of wine


Wont give you verbatim on the treatment but suffice to say they recommend guanethidine block.....6 given over 5 week period each involving overnight hospital stay followed by intensive hand therapy the following day. Plus extensive programme to work on at home.

Nowhere in the leaflet does it say this condition is curable or resolves itself...possibly explains why I couldn't tie them down to any meaningful answers ....

Apparently mine is early stages..so as they said, no blocks for me.........instead I've been told to
a) plunge and exercise hand in hot then cold water baths,
b) do more hand exercises,
c) take 1g Vit C per day (this is experimental treatment and I was only told about it after I persisted asking is there anything, anything else at all I can do.............but I'll take anything that's going to stop this getting worse or becoming chronic now I've read the leaflet...)

BTW I have all the above symptoms apart from the excess hair....(oh hang on....need to check my armpit I suppose..:cool: ..thought I was having to shave more often ......plus the skin is already going all papery and shiny across the back of my hand and fingers as the Occupational Therapist pointed out today..but didn't at the time tell me the significance or implications.)

And breathe.........

OK guys.......this is not the good news I wanted to hear..after all my efforts especially over the last two weeks when I have massaged and exercised the hell put of the hand..... To be honest I would have preferred to have sat and discussed it with them openly, honestly and pragmatically at the time rather than be left to read this leaflet at home. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I am therefore feeling shocked, angry (more at myself than anybody else), upset.....and very frightened. I have not let the pain interfere in any way with trying to progress the hand over the last two weeks..and oh boy has it been painful......and I must now push myself even harder. But most of all, I MUST make sure I give enough time each and every day to religiously follow all the exercises, do the plunge baths......and then double it.

In view of the hectic schedule coming up, and the fact I have a shedload of paid work with deadlines just landed on my email, (yipppee....some dosh :T ) ...and the house move..that is going to be difficult for me....especially as I am want to put myself last on the list ( gee folks, it's this habit I have ....psychotherapist and I are still trying to break it :cool: )

And breathe......another glass of wine methinks

Ooh......just noticed that this sheet of paper must have originally come from my local hospital back in Sussex (telepone contact number scribbled out) where they have a "best in the country" specialist unit...

I am going to think very hard over the next few days about whether to seek another opinion, bite the bullet and go private to get the blocks done now before the situation degenerates further....

Obviously I am mindful of the fact you don;t put someone forward for more invasive treatment unless it is absolutely necessary
(and also the cost-restricted NHS wouldn't in any case be able to justify/intervene with further treatment until the last possible moment)...
but as my next appointment isn't until 3 months post op.....and that is when it starts to turn from acute to chronic......seems to my mind like that it is a bit too late to try and retrieve the situation if it hasn't got any better.

Luckily I have private health cover (thank goodness I made the decision to convert the company one into a private one when I left work....) and I talked to them a couple of weeks ago and they have set up a claim just in case ....although that was when I thought I might need another operation.

And breathe....pours another glass of wine....oi!!..they're small glasses 150ml OK???:D

OK, feeling a bit more positive as have decided will def get second opinion....and will ring consultant i saw today first to discuss this piece of paper. ....

Right the mind is starting to work again now, no longer acting like rabbit in car headlights.......wine kicking in too.

Sorry for rambling........but it has really helped me to write it down like this rather than let it spin uncontrollably in my head for the next few hours with the resulting panic that could ensue....Now I have a way forward......



Right chaps and chappesses..the good news is :

I CAN DRIVE THE CAR :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j and...

MY CARPETS ARE GETTING LAID TOMORROW :j :j (wish I was....Ooops whata giveaway :rotfl: :rotfl: )

Probaby won't be on the Owls tonight peeps (oh well maybe a little lurk perhaps??? ......a bit tearful ATM as shock is now wearing off)

So I'll post a message here........

Attention Aunty Smashed:...if you need a soggy arm to hit Mupet with..don't use hers.....I might have one to donate.......:rotfl::rotfl: :rotfl:

Going to follow Mupeteers and Smashed excellent example they set last night and get some sleeps tonight .....tomorrow is another day.......

.......Onwards and upwards my friends......I am going to beat this.....

Hugs to me (well I did say me and the psychotherpist were working on my habit )

Love
Wol2
xx

PS This RSD has got another acronym.... CRPS...think it's missing a vowel...:rotfl: :rotfl:

bank_of_slate

Christ!
My arm would be aching after posting THAT lot!

I had to have ultrasound to break down the scar tissue on my wrist and try to free up the severed tendons that had been repaired, it was a long, slow process that can't be rushed!
Every improvement has to be seen as a bonus in these situations.
My wrist does often 'nip' and give me pain but at least I regained most of the use in my hand!
...Linda xx