Work Injury @ MindSay

I've been so busy building up my Facebook Page and creating Zazzle goodies I really haven't been here much.

 

Plus the healing of my thumb and dealing with the company I work for & the government has been a drawn out process! It's okay, I don't mind... spring's warmer temps are coming so it's much easier to be patient, it seems!

 

On this slow and steady track I've found some interesting consequences and I'm not sure but I think they may become real positive aspects in my experience. We still haven't crossed that threshold of whether the company will even keep me on, apparently they aren't oblligated because the injury occurred before I'd been employed for over a year! Technicality, yes, but I guess there have to be limitations! By the middle of the month I may know more regarding this issue, that's when the "Back to Work" Coordinator will come in to assess my current work and help the company design my work activities to avoid further injury.  How they comply and how they react to these strict limitations will speak volumes!

 

Surgery will follow sometime this spring and then we'll see what bridges we'll want to cross after that! Again the company may choose not to keep me on. It's been determined that I have a propensity toward this type of injury - and ultimately even typing for a living could cause a similar problem so it will be interesting to see where my company and or the government agency that helps injured workers thinks I should go in terms of a career for the next 15 years of my work life!

 

And the interesting aspect that has me curious - learning to be more left handed! This has some implications - I believe this can be an opportunity to expand my creativity. By playing with that whole right brain vs. left brain theory I'm normally right handed, and I already am a creative person so here I go into a situation where by being more left handed I can stimulate right brain activity and boost my creativity tenfold!

 

In LightWorker circles people are discussing the coming together of right and left brain energies. There is a current of belief suggesting humans are rewiring their circuits and reconnecting the brain halves, learning to work in a synergystic way with their higher selves, their spiritual selves. I get the impression this challenge I'm experiencing with my right hand/left hand issues is almost like a symbolic representation of something I'm already doing naturally anyway, if this synergy boost is true!

 

Time will tell the tale for now! And for now I still get to enjoy having a few snippets of time each day to update my blogs, play with my photos and artwork and revel in the fresh new energies spring is rushing forth! The longer I get to appreciate this aspect of my experience the happier I am!

 

Note: Our Enchanted Garden is currently down but will hopefully be up and running again before things start growing for another season! I'm looking to set up my own server to host the site and should get things in order fairly soon!

 

 

After a conversation with the person at WSIB (In Canada the "Workers Safety and Insurance Board") who adjudicates my case, If I were to move on to another opportunity with a different company my medical and treatment benefits would still exist if needed. WSIB simply wouldn't cover lost time should it occur because of my thumb.
That's reasonable enough. At least once I get a chance to heal this, through what-ever option chosen, I am free to move on if I uncover the right opportunity and think I'll be safer and happier. Not that I'm certain I will but it's open to me if needed or desired. This is the out I felt I needed if I become concerned about re-injuring the thumb,  it's also what helps me  lean more toward surgery  to  repair the damage. I do wonder though if simply leaving it be would allow it to heal on its' own... That is my favourite option really, so long as it won't take  more than 4 or 5 months. Surgery would take at least two months. I'd like to be able to ride my bike this summer, and spring is only 2 weeks away!!!!!
Time and patience; the answers will unfold! In the meantime it's another aspect of human experience I am allowed the opportunity to learn about first hand ( he! he!) Pun intended! ;)

Thumb Options
*(disclaimer...this is based on what I think I understood; the options I'm told I have available to me)

Cortisone Shot

effective 70 %
only one year of history to base effectiveness on
isn't cortisone a steroid?
aren't steroids linked to cancer?
not sure I want to inject it, topical wouldn't cut it so...
oh yeah, and I detest needles!


maybe not...


Surgery

effective 90 %
a relatively simple procedure and fairly quick recovery.
barring infection I might be okay 8 wks after.
 
* I do lean in this direction but have the concerns;
Once I'm back at my old work station how will my hand cope?
Will I end up with the same injury later on in time?
Will it then be unrepairable?


Observe and "Live with It"

non-intrusive
So long as I am not required to use my right hand I shouldn't get hurt more...
Maybe it could even heal itself with rest? (How long is a good question...)
Would require me making lifestyle adjustments.
Likely I'll never go mountain biking again unless I can modify my brakes.
Ditto for downhill skiing, cross country might be safe on gentle terrain.
Will need to modify my gardening and household tools etc to allow me to use them.
Change doorknobs/handles on all doors and screens (12)
Use the tools provided to me; key handle and nail clippers, look into others if needed
Use a gel pen - one of my own solutions that  work!
Stick to digital artwork, most physical art work will be too challenging!
Learn to be more left handed, even though WSIB doesn't consider that important!


++++++  Other important points; ++++++

* It's up to my employer to accommodate the new work restrictions;

• no repetitive work
• no gripping, no pinching, no grabbing
• work at a self-paced speed

(I can't recall if there were others, but I think it's been decided that I can do this for 8 hours a day)

* It's up to me to cooperate in the process

* If I quit, I think she said I won't be covered, regardless if a new job would be healthier for me!

• I found this a frustrating issue! I want more details regarding this because it just doesn't sound right! It's truly counterproductive. Besides I was told earlier that this thumb "claim" would always be attributed to Value Village regardless of where I might end up working in the future. But the Occupational Therapist in  Toronto emphasized that if I should quit I'm not covered... Gee Whiz!
  

* It's up to me to live with it regardless of which choice is made

• This goes without saying! However there should be support to help achieve it!
  

My own feelings about this...

It seems I can't even leave this, I will take care; don't want to get depressed over this.
This is the aspect that frustrates and angers me most!
I really have to speak with my doctor and get the skinny on all this!
The impact is much more in depth than I'd originally thought!

It's been 4 months since I'd hurt my back at work.
The back has healed and I'm still working on strengthening those muscles, the thumb however has become a subject of concern to me.
The journey has included ultra sound, acupuncture, aggressive massage and electro stimulation... Now, after a few x-rays and a bit of discussion with several specialists in Toronto; A Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist and a Doctor, I have some choices to mull over and their consequences.
I've been told Physiotherapy won't help me. So while I was just approved for additional physio it will be canceled  because I'm told it won't address it.  I've also been told that shorter working hours won't solve it either but that my work conditions will have to be restricted further than it has been; now no pinching, gripping or grasping of any kind and I must work self paced.

3 choices are available; shots of cortisone for treatment, surgery or wait and observe and live with it. I have an injury from performing repetitive work, called "trigger thumb", similar to a Welder's "trigger finger".

I'm sorting out my feelings about each option and at the same time I'm finding myself frustrated and discouraged by this predicament - angry and resentful toward my employer - and feeling that I may be "stuck" - stuck at the Village... possibly stuck with a handicap...stuck in another depressive situation... stuck in a low paid dead end job... is this the new way employers ensure they have a cache of low paid workers? I know this is simply my emotions running a-muck and it'll sort itself out...yet I find myself with all these thoughts!

I don't like stuck - I believe things need to flow, energy needs to flow, to be unhindered to reach it's full potential. I am no different so I choose not to be stuck I think. Not stuck is a choice that makes more sense to me. In my own personal process of mulling over this issue I want to remind myself to aim for unstuck while I make my choices!

Depression is something I've danced with many times in my life and my doctor and I just recently began tackling it with medication. Yet that treatment interferes with the easiest treatment for my thumb; aspirin - which reduces inflammation and eases pain. This is one of those weird catch 22's isn't it? Hmmm!

I won't make this decision lightly.

My natural leaning when presented with a challenge  is to ask; "What's the magic in this?" I know it's always there and it's simply a matter of finding the opportunities within the challenges to unlock the flow of creation and energy! Luck, magic, serendipity... I trust I will uncover them all in my adventures in daily life so despite my current difficulties I'm certain something positive and forward moving will come from all this. Patience with myself and my own self discovery will be my best friend through this process.

Later I'll take some time to makes some lists and things to help this decision process!