How to survive several weeks one hand in a cast part IV

My poor hand. The cast is of course long gone, but there is still pain right in the fracture site. When I wear the splint there is hardly any pain. I've not really taken any painkillers, because the pain is not constant. When the cast was removed in the end of April, it was agreed that it comes off only because I am starting a new job. Not because I am desperate to get back on the horse.
Well, of course I've been riding, because I felt okay about it and was fed up watching the instructors riding my horse. Nothing wrong with that, they have and are doing an excellent job. I ride wearing the Össur splint and that's probably the only thing that saves me from experiencing more pain.
http://www.ossur.com/injury-solutions/products/upper-extremity/thumb-supports/form-fit-thumb-spica
Well, yes, why not stop riding until the hand has healed? I don't know.. I've read several stories in various websites, where people say they still have pain even after 10 years. Or that they can't do certain activities. I'll have a break from riding for a month now whilst on vacation... but there are probably opportunities for riding on vacation too, awesome!
Scaphoid fractures can be a nightmare and I think it would be best if we all could be compliant with the doctors' instructions to save a lifetime of pain and a non-functional wrist, but unfortunately not everyone carved out of the same tree. I am definitely known for not following instructions and doing my own thing, so I guess I can just expect kind of a mediocre result... I will still keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

How to survive several weeks one hand in a cast part III

In part 3 the cast has been long gone. Not for long, just for three days, but it feels like a lifetime. The hand felt much like an alien at the beginning. Lighter, paler, less functional, a lot like something that did not belong to me or my body. I could not straighten my fingers. The skin was itchy and flaky
(think fish or lizard skin). Tiny red spots on the skin that was trapped under the case, but they are almost gone now after applying a lot of moisturizer. After three days I am getting used to regaining the function and occupational/physical therapy are very much recommended.
I still wear a splint at nights, because I am sometimes a restless sleeper and worry that my hand will be squashed between me and the mattress if I have nothing on. I can see how protective the cast was..
The cast stayed on for 6 weeks and 2 days. That's quite a short period of time for scaphoid fracture and few colleagues have had to have the cast on for up to 6 months. OMG. Seeing what condition my skin was in, I am just so relieved the cast is off and I hope it stays off.
The price I had to pay is no horseback riding for several months now, but I get to start a new job without the cast.
The skin under the cast, when it is exposed, will need a lot of TLC, moisturizer, some sunlight and more moisturizer. The bone, that is still healing needs no sudden movements or a heavy workload. Fingers require exercise and swelling, which I still have (just in the hand and wrist area now), benefits from exercise and a lot of water. I love my showers now and the gratitude that I have is enormous. I have two hands and it does not matter if they both get wet. The feeling of warm water on the skin is exquisite. Hand and wrist exercises are easier in water so i think swimming would be great too. I am an Aquarius, but don't like water and swimming, so that's out of question for me. Of course I'd love to take the risk and get on the horse, but so far I have managed to resist. That short ride of 5 minutes, while my arm was still in cast, does not count. Mounting the horse was ok, dismounting was much harder. So much can go wrong, especially on my lively speedy horse and falling off could be disastrous. No riding.. once again I talked myself out of it. Instead I go for walks and no longer have that issue of arm and hand swelling up and becoming so tight that I am forced to walk the hand upright all the way. As if I am at school and waiting and asking for my turn to speak.

It will get better. 

How to survive several weeks one hand in a cast part II

27 days. That is how long the cast has been on now and it may stay for much much longer. Scaphoid fractures take a long time to heal, but when the cast is yours, attached to your body part, it does not sound good at all. I have no pain in the hand, the fracture site caused minimum amount of pain anyway. The cast has been the root cause of miserable existence. First it got wet in the shower. Soaking wet so that water was dripping all over the place and continued to do so until I arrived at work. The new cast was comfortable for a couple of days, after that it started to get awfully tight and my fingers used to swell up all the time. There was a feeling of constant heaviness and that something wasn't right. I visited the ER, only to find out that I would have had to wait for quite a long time to be seen and I thought damn, I'll go home and sleep and hope for the best. Will I still have any blood circulating in my hand in the morning?
Yes, blood was circulating all right, but I had a severe splitting headache, and could not go to work. I slept until late and felt quite a lot better when I woke up. The hand... well, it was all still intact, the cast was on, even though I had had a dream that the cast was no longer there.
I suffer from muscle twitching and weird involuntary movements under the cast.
My arm itches and protests its lack of exercise and the usual work I do: typing, horseback riding, cooking etc. I have almost forgotten what it feels like to have a pair of hands.

Things I can still do: talk on the phone, drive a car (carefully), watch movies, walk, run (kind of bouncy, hurts my hand and makes it swell up), have a chat with my horse, go to work (but not really do much there), sleep (and dream about days when I had no cast) and eat with my left hand. Write in legible capital letters, slowly.
Things I can't do: cut my nails, apply body lotion, have a decent shower. Have a proper relaxing sleep.

Things I can also do: ask for a second opinion- which is what I will do in the next few weeks. I'm totally ready to get rid of this cast. Soon. I may just about to reach 6 weeks in a cast, but probably not much longer than that.

How to survive several weeks one hand in a cast part I

When I fell, I had no idea I had injured my wrist. X-rays finally told another story. Scaphoid fracture. Cast technician walked in and asked if I wanted the good or bad news. Bad news was that there were no pink casts available, just that plain old white fiberglass edition. Bad news was that there was a fracture. Bad news is that it was the scaphoid in my right, dominant hand. More bad news: that the cast would stay on for a very long time. I could not think of any good news at the time, but now, almost two weeks later I have acquired loads of new skills: I can write with my left hand. It's not the best possible writing, it's probably worse than when I first learned to write in huge misshaped capital letters, but at least it is legible. I can tie my shoelaces and I can go for a walk. I have mastered the skill of wrapping Clingfilm and plastic bag and have managed to keep the cast dry.. Except that it got a bit damp in the rain this evening. I can even drive my car as long as I take the corners slow and drive an automatic car. I can go to work and edit colleagues' Excel spreadsheets with one hand. I can use the mouse now quite well with the left, ex-non-dominant hand. I can apply make-up, but lately have realized that foundation is enough as all the activities still take quite a long time every morning. I can get dressed, I can shave my legs, I can eat.

What I can't do yet.. have not figured out how.. is ride my horse. She is always lively and on the go, so it may not be safe just yet. I can't push a shopping trolley from the grocery store to my car. The trolleys have minds of their own and people with a healthy pair of hands have trouble pushing them. I can get eye drops into my eyes without poking myself with the container, which I used to do all the time. If it wasn't the container, it was the edge of the plaster, especially close to the thumb. I can't wash my hair very well, but hairdresser can do a lot to help. I can't sleep well, because the cast and the hand inside it is never very comfortable.

More to follow- x-rays and doctor's appt next week.