Recovering The SelfA Journal of Hope and Healing

Health

Carpal Tunnel Surgery – I Finally Did It

by Trish Hubschman

I put It off for five years. Now it was time. The stiffness in my fingers and pain were unbearable. When the orthopedist asked if I’d consider surgery for my hand, I quickly said yes. It was scheduled for August 6, 2021.

We were told to be at the hospital by six-forty-five. I was instructed to take a bath the night before and the morning of surgery, but there was no time in the morning. I got up, brushed my teeth and donned the elastic shorts I bought specially for that day and we were off. No coffee or breakfast. We got to the hospital at twenty past six.

The corridors we went down in search of Surgery Check-In were long, dimly lit, and too quiet. It was creepy. We took an elevator to the second floor, made our way down some more corridors, and there it was, the reception area. It was brightly lit and loud rock and roll music was playing. I started bouncing in the wheelchair.

After we signed in, a woman snapped an ID band on my wrist. Kevin reached for my arm and pulled it back over my chest.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Checking to make sure it’s your name on it and the correct information,” he replied. It was. Within minutes, we were escorted into a private changing room. I donned a hospital gown and got onto a gurney. Before I handed Kevin my cochlear hearing device, he asked me if I was nervous. I shook my head. There was no reason to be this time around. I liked the doctor. She hadn’t said anything negative and I trusted that she would do her best.

Kevin followed the gurney into the operating room. He’d hang out there a few minutes to answer any questions the medical people had and relay things to me. He spelled on my shoulder that I would be getting a needle in my neck to numb my arm. That sounded painful and I protested, but I don’t think anyone heard me. Well, I never felt that one. I did feel the IV needle going into the back of my hand twice, and that was it until I opened my eyes again.

To my own surprise, I didn’t feel too bad. I was a little nauseated and very thirsty. My right arm was bandaged to the shoulder and in a sling. I had some toast and water, and then helped to get dressed. Kevin and I were again heading down the dim corridors toward the exit to the parking lot. “How are we going to do this?” he asked. I had it all figured out. “Open the front car door. I’ll pull myself up by the strap,” I said. It should have been easy enough, but it wasn’t. I couldn’t get myself out of the wheelchair. Kevin put his hands under my arms and hoisted me out of the chair, but I landed up caught beneath the dashboard. I tried dislodging myself, but I ended up falling sideways and becoming wedged between the seats and the gear shift. I tried to push myself up by my right arm, but nothing was happening. My arm was useless and didn’t seem to be there.

“Go around to your side and try to push me out,” I said. “I’ll try to wiggle myself free.”

Somehow, we did it and we got me back in the wheelchair. “Let’s try the back seat now,” I said. It worked. I got in, strapped my belt and we were headed home.

Kevin wanted me to spend the weekend downstairs on the sofa. I wanted to be upstairs in my own bed. “It’s too dangerous for you to try going up and down the stairs when your arm isn’t working,” he reasoned. He was right. My arm had fallen out of the sling a few times and it just hung limply. My fingers were curled up and felt like rubber. “If you can manage to get up the stairs,” he went on. “You have to stay up there. You’ve got a bed, full bathroom, TV, stereo, and fridge with water in it.” He knew what I was thinking next and added, “I’ll bring up the food and coffee.” I still wasn’t crazy about the idea, but I could see some beauty in it.

Now, I had to figure out how to get up the stairs. I’d have to crawl up them and lean on my left arm. I crawled up four steps and slid down three, then tried again. What I came to call my rag doll arm kept getting in the way, but I finally made it to the top and threw myself headfirst on the landing. Kevin rolled me over and I wiggled into the bedroom. I didn’t sleep at all, no pain, just restlessness and the dead arm. In the morning, my arm was alive again and I was able to go downstairs and have some coffee.

Note: People with mobility issues who have this surgery need someone to assist them.

About the Author

Trish Hubschman has published three books with America Star Books: a short story collection of time travel and romance stories called Through Time and the first two books in the Tracy Gayle/Danny Tide series: The Fire and Unlucky Break. Trish attended college at Long Island University’s Southampton campus, earning a BA degree in English with an emphasis in writing. She lives on Long Island with her husband and two dogs. Her website is https://www.dldbooks.com/hubschman/.

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3 thoughts on “Carpal Tunnel Surgery – I Finally Did It”

  1. Trish Hubschman says:

    It’s been one month since the surgery. I’m doing pretty good. Next month I’ll write about the recovery.

  2. Robbie Cheadle says:

    HI Trish, thank goodness you had help and managed to do everything needed. I had carpal tunnel syndrome when I was pregnant so an operation could be in my future. I wish you well with your recovery.

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