I’ve posted now and then about my Osteoarthritis woes, and it is heartwarming how much response I’ve received; well-wishes and recommendations are all very much appreciated. In many cases, the treatment options people suggest just don’t apply to me.
Regular arthritis is characterized by swelling in the joints and can be treated with anti-inflammatories. Osteoarthritis is different. It’s degenerative and once the bones and cartilage are degraded, they don’t come back. In my case, the cartilage in my thumb joint is pretty much gone and the bones are just crunching around in there, very literally. They make “crunch” sounds and it is very painful to try to grip or pinch anything. For a couple of years, I was able to get Cortisone shots in the joint, which was one of the most painful experiences of my life, but it gave me relief for many months – but fewer and fewer months with each shot. When I first got the diagnosis, my Orthopedist mentioned that surgery was probably in my future, but he estimated about 5 years out. I hoped that I could be kinder to my hand and stretch that out a bit longer.
But, at my appointment this past week, he delivered the news that my joint has reached a point where Cortisone is no longer going to be an effective treatment, and it will interfere with the surgery that is most definitely impending. Now, I want to make it clear that I’ve seen other specialists. I’ve tried alternative treatments. I’m taking every possible supplement and I have a bedside table piled with creams and ointments from around the world. I even have peyote balm I bought from Huichole people in MX and a variety of ointments and oils from Thailand. During this last bout of Coritisone, when my hand felt better, I used a gel ball to exercise the muscles around the joint based on some advice I received. I think I may have actually made it worse. The P.T. said my hands are about as strong as hands get, and that’s not going to help. So, feel free to send me more advice because you never know, but I’m just saying: it’s degenerative and it’s bone, and it may have been exacerbated by menopause and hypothyroid issues, but it’s not going to heal itself.
So, I am on the path to a surgical reconstruction of the joint. They are going to remove a bone, take tissue from my arm, splice it all together, put it in a cast for 6 weeks, and then I’ll have another month or so before I’ll be back to full functionality. I had an emotional reaction to the news at first. I’ve only had one other surgery in my life and very few medical interventions (I’m lucky!) and this scares me. And until I can get the surgery done, I am not able to work at a normal pace. Simple things are difficult, like putting on pants, tying shoes, putting my hair up, turning doorknobs, opening jars or ziplocks, carrying a pot of water (I dropped the left side of one yesterday and water was everywhere) and while I’m working, I drop things constantly and I can’t turn a piece of glass while scoring or support my weight while leaning over the project to place pieces into the mosaic. It’s infuriating!
I need to get through this commission, which is taking much longer than I anticipated. And then I have a trip to Michigan where I’ll be teaching at a SAMA conference. I plan to schedule the surgery for after my return. So, for a few months this coming winter, I will be on a hiatus from scoring glass. But I can still nip glass and tile. I can work on designing future projects, explore other mediums, read and write. I may use the time to film some recorded classes I’ve been wanting to share around business and design topics. And I think I can finally organize all of the chaos drawers in my house with one hand. So, I’m beginning to feel better about it. I need the break and I know I will use that time well. And after I recover, I will have a functioning hand again. I just found out that my uncle had the same exact issue (he’s a builder) and he reports that surgery worked very well and he is still pain-free.
Again, I’ve gotten so much support from my mosaic community since I posted about this and I can’t thank everyone enough. It really has been encouraging and I am now looking forward to a pain-free 2025 and beyond. Chances are, my right hand is destined for the same fate. But none of this is the end of the world, and I am just grateful that there is a solution.
