Snow! And an Elbow Update

It's snowing! And not just the piddly little 1 -2 inches we usually get either! The current prediction is 8 - 12 inches by tomorrow morning for us here in the Louisville area. This started out as 3 - 4 inches and has been growing steadily. I generally don't like the cold or the snow, but to get this much makes me peek out the window every 5 minutes like a giddy little girl. The photography opportunities alone are enough to push me over the edge! With any luck I'll have some new winter shots up on my Flickr account in the very near future! And this gives me a chance to try out the new truck in inclement weather as well. ;)

In other updates, my elbow is on the mend. Further x-rays revealed that I have a small chip of bone floating around in my elbow area, but nothing to be concerned about. The doc said it is likely due to a tendon or ligament catching on the edge of the fracture and snapping off a piece of the bone during impact. The fracture is healing well and I was able to remove the sling on Monday and started physical therapy two days a week. It's amazing how quickly an appendage forgets how to work properly with just a month of immobility. One of my PT tasks was to pick up a pile of pennies and beads with my left hand and once I had a handful to put them into a container. Surprisingly it took me almost 5 minutes to fill up half a cup the size of a single serving yogurt container.

I'm happy to say that I have made progress through the week and can almost type normally now, can button my pants and can grip and hold objects that are lighter than 5 pounds. I still can't bend or extend my left arm all the way, nor can I turn it as much as I should be able to, but I should regain all of those movements within the next 4 weeks of physical therapy. Hopefully I've regained enough movement to easily operate my camera this weekend!

No cast!

Yay! My orthopedic specialist appointment didn't end with me having a cast applied to my broken elbow! *happy dance*  Instead I am only doomed to the sling for the next 8 weeks and possibly some physical therapy later.  Not so bad considering the alternative.  I got me some more drugs too, that always helps.  

So in the last 5 days I have learned to do many things one handed - some of which take great talent.  I can now get dressed, button and unbutton my pants, open mail, type pretty good, take a shower and wash/dry my hair, apply make-up, drive my truck, put on my sling and feed my fish, to name a few.  What I can not do is connect my bra (sports bras for the next 2 months), open tightly closed bottles, hold objects heavier than a sheet of paper in my left hand, fold laundry (yay!) or operate my camera (boo!).

I have found that after a day in a sling my fingers resemble albino sausages, my shoulder blades ache and my entire left arm spasms intermittently.  I have also found that showers become a bother, bedtime is dreaded and driving is done cautiously.  Hopefully all will be back to normal in a couple of months.