Warning: contains post-surgical photos (bruises and bandages only).

Early Thursday morning, I had a ganglion cyst removed from my left wrist. As far as surgery goes, it was fairly quick and easy. The hardest point beforehand was the IV. They don’t work well in my hand because my veins are tiny and tend to roll there. Usually I get the IV in my wrist. The nurse instead tried to put it about an inch below my elbow and that was a massive fail. So she used a baby needle to put it in my hand. Blah.

Otherwise, the process went smoothly.

The anesthesiologist gave me a massive dose of local anesthetic so I didn’t have any real pain until the next morning. I took a nap in the afternoon after I got home (and had something to eat for the first time in 15 hours). Then I alternately rested and walked around a bit. I don’t think this is the kind of surgery that put me at risk for blood clots, but I didn’t want to take any chances!

Best thing about this surgery: it’s my left hand, so at least I still have my dominant hand!
On the downside: I can’t do much on my own. I’m typing this post one-fingered and it’s riddled with errors that I’ll have to go back to fix. I’m learning the value of the crook of my elbow to, say, hold items while I remove lids. After one day, I gave up wearing my Garmin on my right wrist because it was just so uncomfortable. I guess the info will just be blank until the dressing (hopefully) comes off on the 16th.

(clockwise: 1st IV site; IV fail bruise; surgical wrap; hand wrap over final IV site; all post-surgical, day-of)

Weird thing: A few hours after surgery, my left hand went numb above the dressing, and the bottom third of my fingers went semi-numb. My best guess was that it had something to do with where the cyst had been, but I called my doctor to check. Unfortunately, even after two calls, she never called back. The numb areas began to turn a weird shade of bruised blue. Fun! I don’t think it’s a circulation issue and it really does appear to be bruising, likely spread from the incision site. I do hope she calls tomorrow, though. On the brighter side, the numbed area decreased slightly.

Life is tough right now. I did have my first shower on Friday, with my hand/arm wrapped in plastic and taped off. Jason had to squirt shampoo and such into my hand for me, because I can’t do that one-handed! I feel quite helpless – I can’t drive yet, can’t cut up my own meat, can’t lift anything that requires two hands, can’t wash my hand well, can’t floss. I had to put my weighted blanket away because it was too heavy to lift even a corner with my hurt wrist. A few times, I’ve wrenched my wrist just trying to get my shorts back up after using the bathroom. It’s ridiculous. I know it’ll be worth it in the end, but meanwhile…gah.

Anyway, things are going about as well as can be expected. Hopefully they can be fully normal in a few weeks. I’m unlikely to post again until then – until I have more than finger-typing at my disposal. This is tedious! I’m not sure if that’ll come after the follow-up appt on the 16th, or if my wrist will be less painful before then, or perhaps even later. I guess it’s good that I usually take some time off from the blog in the summer, anyway!