Disclaimer - see your doctor! This is my journey, yours will be different
If you missed the first video on June 21 2020 right after I broke both my wrists, watch it at the end
** Two Broken Wrists, 1 Year and 9 days later **
I wanted to make this video to not only give all of you an update, but I hope it might help someone else that has just broken both their wrists and wonders what has the timeline been for someone else to get healthy again.
Thank you so much for all your kind words, love and support during this very trying year to recovery. And thank you to my many friends that stepped in those first 6 months and helped me by sewing for me so I could keep things on track.. you are the BEST!!! I love you!
Timeline
- I Broke both my wrists June 20 2020 during the pandemic. i had a broken finger on both both hands and my left wrist popped out of it's joint and was popped back in that night at emergency care.
- 10 days until I had surgery - I had permanent plats and pins installed, long pins in the left side of my left hand to hold the breaks in place, and carpel tunnel on both wrists.
- 6 weeks for left soft cast/wrap off & pins removed
- 8 total weeks until the right cast off - that means it was almost 10 weeks since the break that is 2 ½ months
- 6 months my right hand was functioning pretty well and I felt like I could start to do things
- 9 months my left hand was still swollen, fingers all swollen
- 1 year my left hand fingers have arthritis, wrists need more strength, and my wrists hurts to do the bending exercises. so I'm still doing exercises.
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What we did within the next few days
- Got a touch screen monitor with voice activation https://amzn.to/3xVR2YY
- Got a phone clamp to put on my rolling cart so I could use the phone https://amzn.to/3xZV8zu
- A door bell so I can ring Gregg when I needed help https://amzn.to/3haogx4
- Bought a bunch of loose sweat pants https://amzn.to/3jgJ9ZZ
- Got a Rolling Cart https://amzn.to/3x0hUal
- Hand spray for the shower https://amzn.to/3dldmTV
- Hair washing sink https://amzn.to/3dlI4MN
- Made a plan for how I could get help if needed. I could use the phone, but I had to be able to open a door, which i could not do. All our doors are round handles so I couldn't open them. We have a slider with a bar and I was able to push that with my hip to open it. Knowing this in advance and practicing it, gave me confidence I could do it if I had to.
What I could not do for 2 ½ months
- Anything really! I could not use my hands, only push buttons on my phone or keyboard with my right index finger
- No pulling up my pants, putting on clothing, brush my teeth, could not pick up a fork so I had to push the food off the plate into my mouth with one finger. I could not wash my hair or cut my nails.
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Progress milestones
- Oct 1 - 3 ½ months later I finally have some movement in my left fingers.
- Buy mid January 2021 my right hand was pretty good, so that was 6 months. Left hand had stopped progressing fingers still swollen, wrist still swollen.
Pandemic complicates things - What I’d do differently
- Take someone with me to keep track of what is being said .. i didn’t have this ability during a pandemic
- Read up MUCH SOONER online to find videos that helped me understand the process.
- Do more in person OT which we opted not to do .. pandemic. It is easier to have someone show you in person
- Take more photos of my wrists and hand progression so i can see it
Hardest parts that were necessary - do not skip this
- Doing the exercises 3 times a day. It’s brutal, it’s boring, it hurts, but do it. And verify you are doing thing correctly. And find out when to stop and get new exercise. The first 3 months I did about 3 hours of OT each day at home
- Massaging the scar tissues was the most painful thing to do each day.
- Being frustrated by not being able to do things. I also feel i had some anesthesia ‘brain’ after surgery for a few weeks. That combined with the stress of it all, made me not be able to think very clearly which caused great frustration
- I also had great anxiety for about 6 months. I've never had that before. Its not pleasant and I'm happy to say it's gone
I recommend you DO
- Find something you CAN do that is in your control and do it daily. I did my daily videos, i also did other stretches.
- Keep in contact with friends and family. Let them know how you are doing and if you need help with anything.
Status 1 years and 9 day Later June 29, 2021
- I still have stiff fingers on the left hand which is arthritis .. most likely it came on due to the trauma. My left wrists is still sore and needs daily stretching. This is 1 year after.
- All the pulleys in my thumbs were very swollen. 1 year later the left one still is slightly. It is a Ganglion cyst and i hope it does down some on it's own over time.
- Right wrist is about 100%
Other Videos
There is a LOT out there. Here are some of the videos I found at the time that were useful to me
- GREAT video that helps me see that it is going to take me a year to get that flexibility back https://youtu.be/RnaFXF6eRsY
- Swollen fingers GREAT video to explain it a bit https://youtu.be/fljBZ9rhgY4
- This article states the infamous 1 year mark. And also that it’s not known why fingers are stuff for so long Article from 2009 https://www.healio.com/news/orthopedics/20120331/finger-stiffness-and-its-impact-after-distal-radius-fracture-diminishes-over-1-year
- Interesting about long term options and what works and does NOT work https://www.rearmyourselftexas.com/hand/the-stiff-finger/
- the Virtual hand care lady video on stretching the fingers to get them working. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjO8pPOeKjE
- more articles
How I broke them watch this video
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