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3rd surgery on wrist today
I truly, truly truly apologize for the length of this post..
This morning, I had my 3rd surgery in a year on my left wrist and hand from the fall.I had going to see Warren Haynes, I think he owes me. Anyone have a direct link to him?!? Let’s talk.
The surgery went well and i’m hoping the.Recovery isn’t as extensive as the first two.He was taking a plate out that was pressing against a nerve and a tendon, and causing problems with my thumb, palm, and chronic pain and numbness in my fingers , top hand, bottom side of forearm. severe.chronic pain palm, underside wrist’, up to knuckles and radiating everywhere fingers, hand and wrist since the fall in October 2025.
I’m actually a little down about this because it takes awa⁹y from me playing guitar, which is my happy place. I have a very stressful job and dealt with, and family dynamics are not great.
I rely on playing and my art was oot for stress relief and for positive reinforcement, and simply escaping even for a short period.
The surgeon is considered one of the top surgeons in this general area. I respect him and do feel that I’m getting good care. He is very conscientious andmakes sure that he knows whatnis important. To me and avoiding ore damage that could affect me down the road. That is why he did the surgery to step further damage because of impedement, on my nerve & tendon.. he visualizes surgeries the night before, and he meditates and prays on them, which I like because it shows that he does care about his patient. One time I was being wheeled into the operating room, and he was sitting on a tall stack of something in the hallway, and he had his legs crossed Indian style, and his eeyes were closed. I commented, oh my God. Please tell me you’re not tired as I’m going into the operating room. And he opens his eyes, smiles & he says, I was meditating, I had to laugh. It was a good Stress relief to laugh at that point. He is the best doctor IVe ever met. He actually purchased a guitar. after meeting me because I was building an electric bass guitar and all of my guitars.We talked about talked about a TAC, and my experience here, where I learned guitar.
As i’ve said many times I may not be a great player.And I may not have a great voice, but it brings me so much joy , peacefulness, and something I love, look forward to every day; something I wanted to do m entire life. I’ll be 64 in about a month. And I don’t want to lose my ability to play and feel good and to be happy.
Unfortunately, the surgery will not stop the pain in my fingers.And top a hand and top of wrist, the bones shifted from the outside to the inside from the force of the fall. They hope they will settle back into their correct position within 1 — 2 years. He still hopes this will happen within the next year.
But he said, more than likely going to be necessary,,ecause the 2 bones in the wrist got pushed to the right and are too close together. And it pushed the one bone up. So you can see it in photos. It’s very painful. I can’t grasp a handrail because the pool Pulling on the fingers, if I’m going up or dow steps, I have to use my forearm. I can’t twist it; such as open a can or turn a doorknob, use a tool such as a screwdriver. I can’t do those. I can’t open jars with that hand and I can’t grasp the jar to hold it while I twist with the other. I have to put it tightly in my arm. The side of the arm and hold against my body. And try, and it rarely works
There are so many things I cannot do. Anymore that are necessary
The pain stops me from doing so much, but it’s amazing. I was still able to play the guitar after my first 2 surgeries. And there were times it was painful from playing too much or they were tight. Right? The wrist and fingers were too tight when I first started. I had to do a lot of stretches.
So he said that if they have to do another surgery, because my wrist and hand bones don’t go back to where they were and if the pain continues. There will be a 4th surgery.
in the 4th surgerY, they have to stop the large outside bone from impeding on the inside bone (they are too close together). To resolve that, they cut a chunk out of the outside And then use rods to put these the main bone back in place.
It sounds horrific. He said he completesly understands my reaction. And it is the reason why they don’t act quickly with this kind of damage. They prefer to wait it out to see if the bones will settle back to where they should be. Praying that this will not be necessary.And praying the displacement is resolved without further surgery and praying that I will be able to continue to play the guitar.
Hey, sorry at how long this is?I just have to get things out sometimes.
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24 Replies
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After your accident, you were back playing much faster than I expected. Knowing you, I’m sure you’ll recover even quicker this time. Life can sure get hard sometimes. So glad the guitar can keep you grounded, and you have a happy place to escape to. May the guitar gods watch over you.
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I was given permission to start playing the guitar early because I had made so much progress. It helped me actually heal faster I think. The occupational therapy I don’t think was sufficient they only had me in their office one day a week I did all the exercises and stretches at home though. I’ll be in this temporary cast until October and then they’ll put me back in my wrist support which is easily taken on and off for therapy. I already goofed around with the guitar even today after getting home from the surgery I didn’t push it that’s for sure I was just my fingers are loose so I wanted to see if I could finger anything but I can’t do a lot of the chords. I’m not going to push it I just wanted to go around with it but I am determined so I will be back at guitar I’m just the next surgery the one where they cut out like a 2 inch thing in my bone that bothers me it makes me worry because it’s very invasive very similar to I guess the first surgery that was so invasive.
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So sorry for all the uncertainty, pain, stress and surgeries you have had to go through. Praying for a full healing @Loraine!
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Thanks. I always appreciate your comments
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Updating my post. Here’s the xray showing the shift of the bones on the upper hand and fingers and the 2 wrist bones. You can see 5he space on the left that is void.. That is where those bones belong. The bones being shifted also moved my veins in my hand. They swell and get painful sometimes.
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Thanks for the explanation, I get it now…where the bone should be! Ouch!
@Loraine, for opening jars, if you don’t have this I suggest getting one. Only a $10 Amazon purchase. We had one at are previous house and after moving we started missing it immediately and had to buy it again. This should allow you to open most jars with one hand.
Get someone to mount it under a kitchen cabinet for you!
Under Cabinet Jar Opener Tool
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Very cool contraption. I’ve tried other openers that go around the top of the jar, but then the issue is how to hold the damn thing while trying to use it. Pretty comical sometimes. I’ll look into this. Thank you.
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Praying that your bones will move to make another surgery unnecessary… and that your spiritual and emotional being continues to be strong and that music and praise of any sort will continue to flow out of you.
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Very sweet Albert. Thank you.
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I feel you Loraine. chronic pain changes you. Changes how your brain is wired. I know.
I am sending cleansing C chord vibes your way followed by healing D vibes…D maj (not minor. It is a long road. Sometimes we shlog alone, sometimes together. More fun in a group!
GET WELL!!
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Love the message Jeff. Made me laugh, which I need to get back to.
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So sorry to hear of how daunting this has been, and is. Keep going. Do what you have to for your health. Keep finding ways to enhance your life and bring you joy. Play when you can. May you be uplifted. Care and prayers for you Loraine.
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Appreciate the kind words Phil. I think I was just having a bad day when I posted. Sometimes it’s hard to see the light when my head is under the covers. Lol
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Totally understandable
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Hey Loraine,
so sorry about your hand/wrist trauma, it looks seriously tricky to mend! I hope that in time you will get back to a near enough full function of movements
Sorry i’ve not been visiting the forum for quite some time
All my best wishes and quick recovery from your surgery
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Bea, thank you so much for the well wishes, and my prayers are to be back playing soon.
I miss our talks. I’ve been on scones several times, but you weren’t there. I’d love to catch up. Shoot me an email or direct messag3. Hoping all is well.
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Hi Loraine!
sorry i’ve not been very active, and also avoiding using computers altogether
Best wishes for the new year! I hope your hand is mending nicely
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Wow! I remember when this happened to you. So sorry this experience has been a nightmare. The road to recovery is never linear, but full of twists, turns and set backs. Sending positive vibes your way so you will be back on the musical path for next year. Keep healing!
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Thanks so much Terri. That really means a lot to me.It has been a very, very long year. I can say that for sure. Your doctors always say when wanna do it right? Do what Loraine does, because I always have the worst breaks when I do break something. It’s always sad when the surgeons for my various breaks (yes, body lined in metal and screws) always say it’s one of the worst breaks they’ve seen. Not that I am claiming bragging rights.
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From all of your posts that i have read i know you have a good heart and a strong mind.
I don’t envy your situation in any way but you have the strength and the support of this community behind you. I know you will win this battle and be making many barre chords in the future.
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I really appreciate your message Jorge. It came at a time when I needed a little lifting. Thank you.
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Loraine, I just saw this. You are so brave! Since the surgery was in September, how has it gone in the past 3+ months? May the bones settle into their correct position and not need another surgery! Sending positive vibes!
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Hi. Barbara. It’s definitely been a challenge. I’ve actually. had worse pain after the 3rd surgery . I mean debilitating pain anad throbbing, nerve pain and hypersensitivity. and the. arthritis in my thumb and fingers is amplified. I do believe a lot of it is duee to a very wet. and. cold winter.
But, I’m still playing every day, but I just can’t. play as long, and I’m back to playing barre. chords like I was previously. I can really feel the pain and stiffness when I first start playing, but I won’t notice it as I get into playing. It’s when I stop and go to straighten my wrist and fingers out that the pain is excruciating, but I rest, rub topical pain relievers, and often times ice. Yet, there are other times, I can play for an hour or two and I’m just so into it, that I don’t notice the pain.
My surgeon is leaving his practice as of 1/14. He is around 50 and now has more money than he knows what to do with, and he’s going to Paris to get a doctorate in Philosophy. He wants to teach ethical practices in surgery (kinda scary they have to teach that). He says his collleague who I’m veing transferred to may show surprise at the wrist, but he’s hoping they read all his notes . When I broke my wrist, and with each surgery, I stressed how important playing guitar was to me and to please do his best to let me continue to play. He thinks my playing has been the best therapy for the hand. He said the type of breaks and amount of breaks typically end something like that.
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Wow! It’s a blessing then that you can play at all, even though it causes you excruciating pain. I’ll be praying that the pain subsides over time. Your story is so inspirational! The way you fought through adversity first with taking care of your Mom and then after the accident, you persisted through continuous setbacks – just determined to keep on rocking!
Side note: I took a tumble about 2 weeks ago. I went roller-blading with my daughters and grandkids. (I used to be a pretty good skater in my youth, I played hockey from age 8 until about 12 until my family left Canada in 1970. Even 25 years ago I was pretty solid on ice skates or blades).
First time on roller blades in the last 20 years. Started out a little shaky but the rust was starting to fall off. We were skating up an down the sidewalk near a local park. I decided to try going backwards and I hit a raised joint in the sidewalk and fell on my glutes really hard, my hands and elbows prevented me from hitting my head. Thankfully no damage in my hands or arms other than scrapes and bruising on the elbows. That’s all healed up now. The gluteus maximus is still a bit sore but also getting better. I was very lucky to not have hurt one of my hands, broken a bone (even a hip) and to have escaped hitting my head
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