All Right Already!

Several Christmas' ago, I woke up with extremely painful hands. I tried to frost a batch of cherry almond rolls and could not do it. By the time my extended family arrived, I couldn't even hold a spoon.

The only things I could remember doing that might have caused the pain were:

cutting out wax paper snowflakes for all my windows
wrapping about one hundred presents
making dozens and dozens of dozens of different cookies
stamped hundreds of Christmas cards
addressed all my envelopes in calligraphy
crocheted a bunch of scarves
stirred up batches of thick sticky candies
piano playing
hand sewing
pin and bracelet making
ummm...maybe a bit of typing

Just to name a few.

By evening, an ornament fell off the tree and I tried to pick it up. I nearly passed out from the pain. It was excrutiating.

At the same time this was all happening, my dad was developing an extremely bad case of cellulitus. He didn't want to 'ruin' Christmas, so he kept this problem to himself. He spent more than two weeks in the hospital with a fire red leg from his toes to his hip. That is why I didn't do anything about my hands that year. They got better while I drove back and forth to the hospital.

But that happened three years ago.

Sooooo, earlier this month, when I realized that my hands had been numb for days...no, weeks..., no, months - I went to the doctor.

Of course, I had researched all of the possibilities and had already made my diagnosis. But my doctor begged to differ. Still, he did the tests, but they came back normal. So he told me what to do. I didn't like it, so I didn't do it.

I realized this week that I had too much to do to risk losing the use of my hands again. So I bought them - those hideous black wrist splints which I must wear every night. On both hands.

I do not like it.