BROKEN ARM UPDATE, WEEK 6: Fearfully And Wonderfully Made

It's been great having my daughter, No-No here to help me. This morning I actually was able to slip my arm cuff off and take a shower. Imagine not being able to take a shower for 6 weeks. We Americans are sooo spoiled.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor. Got another xray. The bone breaks are finally filling in. YAY! I can now go for walks around my neighborhood. If I had to sit on my bum for a living, watching TV and popping bon-bons all day, I would end up in a straight jacket. For someone who loves to write and read, I have the fidgets. REAL BAD! Pacing back and forth a lot has kept me somewhat sane.

Also, I can go without my sling forever now if I want. Can also take the cuff off throughout the day so my skin can breathe. AWWWWW! I applied comfrey cream last night and this morning. It's supposed to help heal the bone quicker. After letting it soak in for a few minutes, I then coated my arm with coconut oil. This stuff has been my saving grace. It has helped to keep the itch away. Instead of creeping up or down into my cuff with a pencil or knitting needle, I've been using coconut oil covered Q-tips to get to the scratchy skin. It also heals any irritation and blisters happening. And also, it is an anti-microbial. It's a germ killer.

Still can't drive. Still can't start PT. Hope to start the latter in 3 weeks after my next visit with the doctor.

This experience has been quite an eye opener. The human body is amazing. There is no way we were created out of randomness. God is all about order. He is not order out of chaos. Below is a short clip on what happens when we brake a bone.

PSALMS 139:13-16

For you fashioned my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I thank you because I am awesomely made, wonderfully; your works are wonders- I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes could see as an embryo...et al. (Complete Jewish Bible)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Staying positive.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

UPDATE: Broken Humerous-Week 5

Having a broken humerus, is far from humorous. Especially when it happens to be the one that your dominant with.

As a child, I taught myself to get certain tasks done with both hands by the age of 4. But then, my parents sent me to school where the teachers constantly shoved eating utensils, pencils, crayons, and scissors into my right hand. I found it hard to break the habit of using both.

The last 3 weeks of beauty school, my instructor stood over me. "Which hand do you intend to cut with? The state board won't let you use both." Yes. At 17, I was still switching from my left to the right to do certain tasks. Using both hands in beauty school was the way to go. Especially for speed. To this day, I'm told they've never seen anyone wrap a perm the way I do.

Anyway, my instructor took my shears out of my left hand and shoved them into my right." I'll make the decision for you,' she said adamantly. From that day forward, I used my right hand to do just about everything.

Really, if God gave us 2 hands, it was for a reason. We should be able to do everything with both. Rules. Schmules. Stuff happens...like broken arms and hands.

ANYWAY....

5 weeks into this broken arm, I am back to writing, but with my left hand. Can button my shirt. Type. My memory muscle is still active at 51. Yes! It's good to know that I can wash certain body parts by myself now. And I'm not as tired as I was a week and a half ago after typing my blogs. Plus, my arm isn't as wobbly and I can let it out of the sling while I'm sitting.

2 Thursdays ago, the doctor told me as long as the bone stopped clicking together by my October 27th appointment, that I could begin physical therapy. But to date, it still clicks when I move. Still can't go outside for a morning and evening stroll. They had advised against any exercise. My butt actually hurts from sitting so I've stuffed foam under it. Can't lay down to sleep either. Have to stay in a semi-upright position. Gravity is one part of the key ingredients in healing a broken humerus with lots of patience.

Right now, I have anywhere from another 3 to 7 weeks of this process. The other ingredients to this is how my own body has responded along with my diet. Although, I have concerns because I've already gone through the change and I have Hashaimoto's. Hoping these 2 things don't prolong it.


Staying positive.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

PS My No-No is here.

Who Can You Really Count On In Your Time of Need?

Having a broken arm is like being on a deserted island. People come to visit you within the first week making promises that they never keep to come see you again. In a time like this I have figured out who my real friends are. This even includes family.

I have one friend who has been here Monday through Friday. She comes around 10 AM and leaves by 1 PM. She walks Beanie-Bean and Hair Ball, does some light house chores, cooks dinner, and makes my lunch. I know she has other pressing things to do. BUT, she comes everyday. The first week, she stayed with me through Sunday. I'm ever grateful for her.

When I put out a request for help to my 5 daughters, only 2 responded. The youngest came once. That was 2 Saturdays ago. The one who lives in Israel will be here next Tuesday to relieve my friend for 2 weeks. At least, I have 2 daughters out of 5 that I can count on. Funny, too. These are the 2 who never ask for money. Strange how that works.

At one time, I had a client who had a series of bad health issues. It took him to a bedridden state. He told me many times, that in the beginning of his plight, friends came to see him. But by years end, those friends had stopped contact all together. His highlight of the month until he passed away was me cutting his hair and his son visiting him every other day.


In 2013, I took up something on my bucket list. Read the Torah and the Christian Bible all the way through. Doing this gave me a whole new perspective on life and how we treat each other. God wanted us to love Him with all our might and then love our neighbors as ourselves. The Ten Commandments were the standard on how to do that. But for years, like the majority, I saw this as an impossible feat because of the words 'THOU SHALT NOT'.

No longer do I focus on those words. Instead, I focus on how some one would feel if I lied about them, stole from them, etc. It's about putting your needs aside to benefit the other person or people in your lives.

If everyone practiced this concept, there would be no divorce, no venereal disease, no war, no hunger, no child or animal abuse, no domestic violence, no homelessness, no broken hearts or homes, no racism, no violence, no need for guns. I could go on and on here.

Before the fall of Adam and Eve, I'm sure this was God's intention for humanity. But, y'll know the story.

Hope this post inspires you to do something kind today.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

PS God has my back.

ISWG-The One Armed Writer

It happened on September 12, 2016, at around 5 AM.  Beanie-Bean does her business early so I was half asleep. OR is that half awake?

Anyway ...

Beanie charged out the front door, barking away. This is not unusual for her. She barks at flower pots and garbage cans. She charges towards flies, mosquitoes, and bees. I figured she was getting excited at the wind or something. NOT!

Toward the right of the door and a row of hedges was an armadillo. I yanked her back toward the door as I reached for it. She pulled.  I tripped over a pathway light, which had my hand slap the door. My arm snapped 2 to 3 inches below my shoulder. In that moment, I lost my bowels. LITERALLY!

It's been 3 weeks. However, I did need a break. BUT not like this.

Friends tell me I can get a lot of blogging and novel writing in. Actually, I've been sleeping a lot and trying to get used to using my left hand. I'VE mastered picking things up with my toes when they fall to the floor, and have a lot of respect for paraplegics. It's horrible to sit in your own stink, even if it's one armpit. Can't lift my right arm to wash it. The most I can do is stuff a baby wipe into the smelly crevice, let it sit a bit, and then pull it out. After, I stuff a tissue in the stench, hoping to hide it from my own nostrils. It works pretty well.

This broken arm thing put me behind the 8 ball. I had half my novel, The Lie written. DISCOURAGING, INDEED!

This post was brought to you by Alex J Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Group. If interested, click on the icon to the right top of your computer screen.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly