100 Word Challenge: Whine

Back before Christmas, I was crocheting a mermaid tail afghan as a present for my daughter. I was almost finished with it. I was at the fin part when I did something wonky to my hand.

At first, I though I just twisted something with the way I was holding the yarn to keep the tension steady. I knew I had done something significant because whatever I did, I felt it. It wasn’t like typical fatigue from over doing with the needlecraft, I pulled or tweaked something that shouldn’t have been tweaked.

Going the home remedies route first, I tried ice and heat. I tried topical creams (I have a cream my rheumatologist gave me that she described as “Aspercream on steroids”.) I tried massaging it out (I’ve been through physical therapy before, I’ve learned a thing or two about sore muscles, but apparently not enough.)

When I realized that I was losing range of motion in the thumb on the injured hand and was having trouble holding things, I decided to make an appointment with an orthopedists. That was Tuesday.

Today, I know that I have basal osteoarthritis in my left hand. Looking at my X-rays, I could see a gap between the joints of all the fingers of my hand, except the base joint of my thumb. There was no gap, just bone on bone.

Doc and his PA went through several options including the potential for surgery somewhere down the line. For now, he gave me a cortisone shot to help with the pain and stiffness. I knew that was not going to be pleasant, but gawddamn… he was lucky I didn’t use my fancy words, ‘cuz that muthafucker hurt!

Like with my RA, I’ll have to adjust how I do certain things. I’ll be handing jars and bottles to the menfolk to open, and adapt in other ways where hand strength and grasping matter. But later, now I just want to complain and feel sorry for myself.

“Nobody really wants to hear about anybody else’s injuries. Or how your back feels. Whose back doesn’t hurt?” ~ Peyton Manning

This week’s challenge is:

Whine

What to do:

Using “whine” for inspiration, write 100 Words – 100 exactly – no more, no less. You can either use the word – or any form of the word – as one of your 100, or it can be implied. Include a link in your post back here, and add your story to the Mister Linky list. If you don’t have a blog, you can leave your submission in the comment section, or as a Facebook status post. Remember to keep spreading the love with supportive comments for your fellow Wordsters.