Wrist repaired

When extolling the benefits of modern orthopedics Dr. Stansburry convince me, rather easily, that a plate was needed to repair the shattered bones in my wrist.

Having now been through surgery and a few days of recovery (first few of many), I can attest that the doctor was right as far as repairing the damage goes. I'm in a lot less pain than I was when I crashed my bike on Monday, or even when I went in for surgery on Thursday morning.

The most noticeable symptom of my injury, even more so than the swelling, was the pain I experienced when moving my hand or when trying to manipulate objects. I'm happy to report, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, that I can now, without pain, clip my finger nails, carry a bowl of cereal, and squeeze a tube of toothpaste. Minor achievements, I know, but it certainly makes me feel as though the surgical repair to my bone was successful. And I'm grateful for that.

Unfortunately, there were some things that the good doctor was less than forthcoming with, namely that following the surgery I'd not be in a "splint," but in a hard, restrictive dressing that immobilizes my hand, wrist, elbow, and everything in between (OK, technically speaking, it may be a splint, but it might as well be a cast for all intents and purposes -- and I had dreams of showering without a garbage bag!) Secondly, they don't tell you before surgery that when you wake up you hand will have been painted with some kind of pernicious green antiseptic that won't wash off. Yes, just thing the surgery patient wants to see as they began to shake off an anesthesia haze: An appendage that's apparently about to fall off from lack of oxygen.

Fortunately, there was a nurse on hand to explain that my hand was not going to fall off.

So far, I've spent more consecutive days off of my bike than I can ever remember spending off my bike since I went to Europe in 2006 and didn't ride at all for six weeks. Am I going crazy? Actually, I feel surprisingly calm about the whole thing. I did nothing for most of last week, but went for two nice, semi-vigorous walks on the South Mountain trails on Saturday and Sunday, which felt nice.

I've also been watching way more TV than is healthy for me, but it's been a long time since I've had to come up with something for myself to do that didn't involve two wheels, and I haven't quite got the hang of it yet. Hopefully I'll do better next weekend. As I said to Matt earlier today, I cannot wait to go back to work tomorrow.

I don't think I'll be able to ride at all for two weeks, until the elbow-bonding splint comes off. After that, assuming the healing is going well, I'll have a smaller splint that should allow me to ride a trainer. I'm hoping to back to riding outside in early July. In the mean time, I'm thinking of taking a summer training trip to somewhere really cold, in order to make the coming trainer rides more season-appropriate.

Watch this space to see me lose it over the next six weeks...