Often when I tell someone that my wrists are fused, he asks, "Can you bend them?"
No. When wrists have been fused they will never bend again. The surgeon warned, "You can't wipe your bottom with fused wrists." That's the main reason I put off having them fused. Then a younger woman who had both wrists fused called me. She assured me that personal hygiene is not a problem. I immediately scheduled my second wrist fusion.
For years I had lived with terrible pain whenever I used my hands, which we do all day long. My activities were severely restricted. I couldn't even make a salad for dinner. I couldn't sew. At the end I needed help bathing. Gardening was impossible, which I realized one day last summer when trying to harvest garlic. I remember the pain. I remember saying aloud, "I can't do this any more," and walking away.
Now I can do almost anything I want without pain. I'm stymied by only two things. I can't pick up something from the floor of my car while seated in the car and I can't wash my chest. The first has an easy solution: get out of the car and pick up the item from a standing position. The second was more difficult. I searched the Internet for a bath brush with a curved handle, but found nothing. Then, in a hospital gift shop I found this handy scrubber with a curved handle. Red isn't my favorite color, but that was the only choice.
To anyone who is debating whether to have wrist fusion, I say, "Do it!" Life without pain is a precious gift. I can cook, I can sew, I can drive my car easily. I gave my collection of wrist braces to the thrift store. You can, too.
No. When wrists have been fused they will never bend again. The surgeon warned, "You can't wipe your bottom with fused wrists." That's the main reason I put off having them fused. Then a younger woman who had both wrists fused called me. She assured me that personal hygiene is not a problem. I immediately scheduled my second wrist fusion.
For years I had lived with terrible pain whenever I used my hands, which we do all day long. My activities were severely restricted. I couldn't even make a salad for dinner. I couldn't sew. At the end I needed help bathing. Gardening was impossible, which I realized one day last summer when trying to harvest garlic. I remember the pain. I remember saying aloud, "I can't do this any more," and walking away.
Now I can do almost anything I want without pain. I'm stymied by only two things. I can't pick up something from the floor of my car while seated in the car and I can't wash my chest. The first has an easy solution: get out of the car and pick up the item from a standing position. The second was more difficult. I searched the Internet for a bath brush with a curved handle, but found nothing. Then, in a hospital gift shop I found this handy scrubber with a curved handle. Red isn't my favorite color, but that was the only choice.
To anyone who is debating whether to have wrist fusion, I say, "Do it!" Life without pain is a precious gift. I can cook, I can sew, I can drive my car easily. I gave my collection of wrist braces to the thrift store. You can, too.
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