My Hand

About two weeks ago, my nurse noticed that my left hand was bruised and swollen under and on top of it, along with my ring and pinky finger. We weren’t sure what happened, but I wanted to give it a few days in case the swelling went down. After waiting, the swelling went down a little bit and the bruising started to fade some. Although just to make sure nothing serious was going on, I decided to get an x-ray of my hand.

I ended up going the beginning of last week. I got an x-ray of my left hand and both my knees. My orthopedic surgeon wanted to see how my leg is healing; it’s been about 3 ½ weeks since he told me to rest my legs along with keeping them at a 45° angle or less. The on-call doctor called me later that same day and told me that I have a small nondisplaced fracture at the base of my pinky finger. I made an appointment to see a hand orthopedic surgeon and went yesterday.

When I went today, the hand orthopedic surgeon showed me my x-ray. She told me that it was in place, so I didn’t need surgery. She recommended that I wear a hand splint for at least 6 weeks. It will probably take about 8 weeks because she said my bones are more fragile. When they put it on me this afternoon it started hurting right away, then dissipated after an hour or so. 

After about 3 ½ hours, my arm started jumping and spasming. For me it’s usually an indicator that something is hurting or uncomfortable. My nurse took it off at that point and my arms subsided. I may have to wear it on and off for a day or two so that my hand gets used to it. The orthopedic doctor told me to keep it on most of the time except when I’m washing up.

With non-displaced fractures, the bone typically stays aligned in an acceptable position for healing. The splint will immobilize the injured bone, promote healing, and reduce pain and swelling. She also recommended that I keep it elevated and apply ice to it as often as I can. I will need to just keep using the splint for longer periods of time each use until my hand starts to get used to it. Other than the stress fracture in my left knee and my fractured tibia in my right, I haven't had any other injuries to my body.

Jenni