To put it bluntly, it is a writer's worst nightmare!
Forget cramp or a mental blockage, cramp is quickly alleviated and there are ways to unblock your mind.
In the summer I became acutely conscious that there was something very wrong with my fingers. They were aching all the time and when I woke up in the morning they were so stiff that I could hardly move them. Coupled with that, and in truth it had been happening for some time, my knuckles had been popping for some time and so naturally it followed that I went to get them checked out.
The diagnosis was Trigger Finger.
In simple terms Trigger Finger is when the sheath over the knuckles fails to glide smoothy over the knuckle bone when flexing fingers causing inflation, pain and acute stiffness. It's direct cause is the hardening of the ligaments that run from the wrist up to the fingers and a loss of elasticity. Bathing them in hot water can provide some relief as it softens the tissue - albeit temporarily. There are two ways to resolve it with the latter, and the last resort, being surgery. However before things get that far a single steroid injection into the upper palm just below the affected fingers is applied. The good news is that after my first round of treatment back in October my left hand responded favourably to the injection, but the right less so although it did improve somewhat after a bit more time.
I did this in full knowledge that it might not work and injections are given up to three attempts before surgery is considered.
The bad news is that in the last few weeks the condition has returned although it is now affecting fingers that hadn't been directly treated and which seemed to be ok. I now know that they weren't actually okay but the severity of the issue in my middle and index finger was so intense that it had masked the more widespread symptoms. On Wednesday I had a further injection in my left hand and will have another in my right hand in about three weeks. So currently, while still painful, the fingers on my left hand are not popping and seem to be doing what they should and it leaves optimistic that injections in each hand will resolve the issue without the need for surgery.
One other issue that has emerged as a result of the tests I had is that I also have damage to my median nerve. My fingertips in particular tingle or are just numb. I frequently drop things, especially thin things like paper or clothing. It is like I can't grip them properly. In fact early in the week I showed MamaRah that I literally cannot touch the upper part of my palm (where the injections go) with the fingertips of the same hand with them missing by a few millimetres (this was before the injection.
I have been thinking about how it feels for somebody who doesn't know or has never experienced it and finally I realised late last year exactly how it feels. It is like trying to do something with gloves on - you just can't feel properly!
Not a great situation for a writer to be in, but I will persevere as I have done today and in fact do every day.
As always stay safe and well my friends
