Preparation

Since I am a quality consultant, I work with my clients on preventative action so I tend to practice what I preach. So before I had my operation I had to assume that I would have no use of my right hand. My hand was injured 10 years ago and my lunate bone became brittle. It finally crack while I was changing a spark plug on my Vespa GTV. I right hand swelled up and I could not move it up or down so I kept it in a brace. My hand was in a brace for approximately 3 weeks before the operation. I used this time to practice and prepare for having only my left hand. However, I was able to use my fingers even though I had my right hand in a carpal tunnel brace during the three weeks.

I started by rearranging my kitchen since I do most of the cooking in the house. I purchased a software called Dragon by Nuance and I purchased a special headset the VXI X100 so that I could use my computers. Additionally I had 221 inch touchscreen monitors connected to my computer which is running Windows 8. I had tried using the Windows narration with a standard Microsoft headset but it didn’t work that well. At first I thought this was a solution however more I use the software the more I was continually going back to correct my mistakes. It was also very slow and how to talk in sentences of about 5 to 6 words or I would get ahead of the software.

After I did my research online I found that the Dragon software with this headset was my best solution and in fact it works perfectly in and using it to dictate this blog.

The next thing that I believe is very important is a bed. I recently purchased a foam mattress bed top-of-the-line with little gel in the mattress foams so that it you remain cool. I think that if your bed is not comfortable you may want to consider getting a foam mattress that allows you to lie in the same bed  for extended periods of time without hurting your back and providing proper support. As it turned out, this was a really important part of my recovery since I did spend most of my time during the day and night in bed for the first week.

The next challenge was shaving. I ended up purchasing a Philips 3-D shaver because I normally shave in the shower  because I have sensitive skin. I had tried electric shavers in the past and they always irritated my skin .  This shaver is different because you can shave with shaving gel on your face and I was very impressed with how it was able to shave me with a minimum of facial damage. The plan was to shave in the bathtub using my left hand.

I then had to find proper pants to wear that I could do up with one hand. Pants with a button or a rope would not work. So I looked for some shorts with elastic waist. Although style is very important to me it went out the window in replacement to functionality.

Believe it or not shirts were not an issue. I thought they would be however getting in and out of a T-shirt was no problem at all.

A timer for the medication is very important and I used my Windows phone. s Since I was taking painkillers and anti-inflammatories every four hours I had set my phone to chime at  12 o’clock , 4 o’clock and 8 o’clock morning and night.

It is important that you manage your pain because if you start missing pills you will start to chase it which is no good at all.

Finally, if you plan to ride in a car is a passenger make sure you have a large pillow to keep your hand raised and free from road vibration since it will cause additional swelling.