IN MY INBOX

Got this email from my sister this morning. This is amazing because in order to write this email, she had to type. And to type, she most likely used her actual thumbs - neither of which are 100%, by the way. Or hell, 20%.

Anyway, for those who wonder how a 4'10", 100-lb-soaking-wet girl managed to survive such a horrific accident, maybe now you can see just how tough she is.

Background: One of Tnk's injuries was a crushed right thumb. The doctor had to basically rebuild the joint, then he put three pins in it - one horizontal and two vertical. The thumb has been stuck in a "thumbs up" position for two months. This past week, however, the remaining two pins were finally removed.

And now, her words:
Howdy All!!!

I hope you all are having a great week. I apologize for not writing sooner. I thought I'd send an update.

Tuesday, I got the last 2 pins out. YEAH! When they took the first one out a few weeks ago, it didn't hurt all that bad. So, I decided to skip the pain medications this time. In this decision, I forgot three very important factors. One, I took pain meds the first time. Two, there was only one pin to remove the first time. Three, the first pin was less than 1/2 the length of these two. This was not a shining moment in the making. It went something like this...

Doc: Well, the X-rays look good. Let's get those pins out.
T: Great!
Doc: Did you take a full dose of Vicodin?
T: Nah, I hate being high on those things for 6 hours when it's only going to take 10 minutes to remove the pins.
Doc: Umm...I think we should reschedule this for a time when you can take the meds. It's really going to hurt.
T: I'll be fine, go ahead.
Doc: I really don't want to hurt you.
T: Doc, I survived a direct hit by a Chevy. I'll make it through this.
Doc: OK, then.

Do you see what's coming? Pain, lots and lots and lots of it. The pins came out one at a time and the doc congratulated me on my ability to sit through it. The truth is that I'm pretty sure that he could tell that I was eating my words and asking the Vicodin gods to spare their wrath at my abandonment of them. After the doc's office, sis [not me, by the way; our other sis] took me to lunch where I humbly and gratefully took 1/2 of a tablet.

On the bright side, at hand therapy yesterday, my thumb did bend ever so slightly. YIPPEE!

Smiles from the road to recovery,
Tnk

You guys have no idea how good this email made me feel. Her thumb is still mostly stuck (thus the "ever so slightly" comment), and she still has a considerable amount of pain in both hands, but her attitude is amazing. I am convinced that she will eventually be able to return to work just because she's so motivated.

That's the big news from here. Hope you all had a good week!