Old Age

Well, it's no secret that my (Darrell) wrist has been hurting for quite some time now. I started thinking of the time line of everything the other night and it has been about 2 1/2 years since it first started hurting and about a year and three months since I had surgery to repair the TFCC ligament/tendon/joint...whatever it was.

It gets a little frustrating when the doctor walks into the appointment and calls me "Puzzle Man"...mind you putting little pieces together to make a picture or design is not exactly a hobby of mine. For the last few months since my wrist started to increase in swelling and hurt more it has been one test or doctor's appointment after another. Each time they get a result back it doesn't really tell them anything, and when it does it is confusing because one test will contradict another test.

Well, as of right now (it may change on Tuesday at the next appointment) one of my doctors thinks I have some type of arthritis. My rheumatoid factor was slightly elevated, which does not neccessarily mean anything, but my anti-ccp test was very high leading them to believe that it is some type of arthritis. But then the other doctor on my team doesn't think I have arthritis. I am confused everytime I go to the doctor's office.

Right now I'm still waiting for the results to comeback from the biopsy of my wrist where they took some samples to basicaly run every test in the book to try to figure it out. The biopsy consisted of getting a part of my wrist shaved and then a small incision over one of the scars from the previous surgery (as to not add another one) so they could poke a needle into the mid carpal joint (inbetween the bones) to take a sample of the joint fluid. They also took a few nibbles of tissue from inside my wrist to send off to the lab.

It sure does suck getting old...my body is falling apart on me!!

Well, I didn't mean to make this a pitty party, especially about my wrist because I don't want people to think I can't do anything. One thing that is for sure is that I am not disabled, I just have to do a lot of things with my left hand or a little differently than most would with my right hand. In any event, I do not want to people to worry about my wrist, I am fine and will be fine.

Having said that, I am just grateful for the opportunity to spend time with Shala and Jazzlyn and family. I may not be able to do certain activities that I use to, which is frustrating, but life does not end there. There is a whole world out there with things to do for everybody, and we still have the opportunity to try whatever we want. I am thankful for all of the opportunities that I have been blessed with. The biggest thing that comes to mind right now is the chance I have to see Shala and Jazzlyn throughout the day and to allow Shala to be at home with her especially while she is soo young. I really enjoy walking up stairs in the middle of the day with Jazzlyn's laughter greeting me as soon as my head is visible. It really is a blessing even if it requires an often boring job at a storage unit, it works for us right now.

Having said that, Shala and I are keeping busy with Jazzlyn, although we are always trying to think of new things to do with her as your options are pretty limited when they are not mobile. We mostly end up taking her for walks or kicking a ball around the yard...she loves balls, and loves playing what we call soccer, which for us is just kicking the ball around while she watches from the bjorn. We are amazed at how much she grows each day, she is very personable...and she is sooooo cute!