James

It has been a while since I posted anything about James so an update seemed in order. At the end of March his therapist Aaron said it was time to stop coming in for a while. James' hand had plateaued and just wasn't making any further progress. 

March 7, 2011

May 24, 2011. I think a WOW is in order, don't you?

They had been working on breaking up the scar tissue so he could get more movement out of his tendons, ligaments and joints. Aaron said there wasn't anything he could do in the clinic to break up the scar tissue that James couldn't do at home...and L&I won't pay unless Aaron can document progress with each visit. He sent James home with a violin splint (our nickname) and told him to wear it 8 hours a day and when he's not wearing it, stretch and use his hand as much as possible. Aaron gave him instructions to call for an appointment when things started to change.

Violin Splint

Toward the end of June the splint stop fitting properly and was cutting off the circulation to his fingers. We called the clinic to get an appointment with Aaron...after much rigmarole, malarkey and general ridiculousness we saw him on August 3. He re-strung the violin so it doesn't cut off circulation and seemed genuinely pleased with the progress James has made! He told him to keep using it and touching it as much as possible. When James described areas of pain and activities that cause pain Aaron smiled his signature smile and said, "pain is good!".

Aaron smirking at me and my camera.
He and James always made fun of my continuous picture taking. James did admit that a friend told him how cool it was to see this journey documented in pics and James should thank me...I like this friend :)

We see Dr. Chris Allen the surgeon on Aug 31. We expect to hear all is good, no more surgery needed and it's time for light duty. No, that's not me being my usual Pollyanna :) We've been told more than once that no one wants to open James' hand back up again if it can be avoided. There is just too much that can go wrong. With the movement and feeling James is getting, Aaron thinks Chris will opt to continue with this slower, low-risk recovery without surgery.

Dr. Christopher Allen, surgeon extraordinaire - paperwork challenged

Speaking of light duty and Chris Allen...he may be an excellent surgeon with a quirky, engaging personality and lighthearted bedside manner but he stinks at filling out paperwork. Apparently this is a well know fact as we have heard it from the L&I case worker, the hand clinic technicians and the Harborview Program Coordinator that manages all the state-required paperwork. Because Chris hasn't returned any of the forms the state has sent to him, James benefits have been suspended. After days of calling to find the right person I think we finally have everything back on track...at least I hope we do. I'll find out next week when I call to check up on the paperwork trail.
Bureaucratic red tape is maddening. However, without this necessary evil there are no benefits and without benefits - well let's just say life would get pretty darn ugly very quickly!

June 15, 2011. His club hand has altered life as he knows it - but it does not define him. He continues to live the life of James - with a slight twist!