The broken hand: the aftermath

November 08, 2013

Part of The Broken Hand series

• The accident
• The way home
• The Emergency Room
• The immobile arm
• The follow-up doctor’s visits
• The physical therapy
• The aftermath

The Aftermath

I will probably never gain back the full range of motion for my right arm, but it doesn’t matter. The arm is fully usable in daily life and doesn’t prevent me from sports or anything else. I even got to snowboard two times in this past season. The limited motion only shows when I twist it in strange particular ways, and perhaps, will gradually improve still as I keep doing my exercises.

The accident reminded me that I have a lot to be thankful for. Even when sitting there with my arm stuck in an immobilizer, I realized that I am super lucky to have great support at home, and enough savings and flexible work situation that I wouldn’t have to constantly worry about how to manage and go through this. All it took was my own persistence and sticking to the prescribed routine.

For some time, I could see the world through the eyes of someone who’s not fortunate enough to have a body with two functioning arms. Luckily for me, it was only a temporary situation, but it reminded me that there are many of us out there for whom this will be a reality forever. Really, if you got two working arms and legs, full vision and hearing, you already have a lot to be thankful for.