Well, guess who now has an upcoming date with a hand surgeon in my very own surgical suite?
That's right! This girl!
The MRI results came back yesterday. As it turns out, not only is that stupid carpal bone below my thumb fractured, but all of the surrounding tendons and ligaments surrounding it are torn and snapped. The synovial capsule (the fluid-filled capsule that cushions, supports, and protects the joint) is also ruptured, which is why I've got this lovely bone-on-bone feeling whenever I go to use my thumb and wrist.
Lovely sucks, indeed!
So, I'll definitely be needing surgery on my thumb and wrist. So much for trying to find a job this summer and working.
I honestly wish I knew how I fucked up my wrist and thumb this epically so I could be sure to never, EVER do it again, no matter what, but since I don't, I honestly can't be sure it won't happen again. :(
Sucks sauce, indeed!
However, I am fortunate that I now have health insurance so that I can appropriately deal with this problem. I can honestly say that was I unable to go to the doctor, I would have never EVER dealt with this problem until it was too late. The doctors have told me that if I hadn't come in and had my thumb and wrist examined, eventually, the joint would've deteriorated to the point where my blood supply would've been completely cut off, and then I would've had to have my hand amputated. Yes, you read that right. I would've had to have my hand amputated. Not cool.
See, hands are kind of useful things to have attached to your body. We do so much with them and their nifty opposable thumbs. I would've been so sad to lose the hand, even if it wasn't my dominant hand. I'm very sad to only have partial use of my hand while it's splinted, so not having it at all would've been devastating.
So I'm going to give a huge thank you shout out to President Barack Obama for ramming the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. "Obamacare") down the throats of the American people!
THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT!
See, if it wouldn't have been for the Affordable Care Act, I wouldn't have been able to afford to go to the doctor to get my wrist examined in the first place because I am poor and have no health insurance. (I also have several pre-existing medical conditions that would make any insurance I could get--which I was unable to find before the ACA was passed due to said pre-existing medical conditions--extremely cost prohibitive. Seriously. One of the cheapest policies I was able to get a quote for had a premium of $3,000 per month, and it had a really high deductible--like almost $12,000 or $13,000--so it was a pretty rotten deal.) And I most certainly wouldn't have been able to afford a fancy-ass invasive surgery and follow-up physical therapy.
All that boils down to is that if I hadn't received health insurance coverage under the ACA, I wouldn't have gone to the doctor until my hand was beyond saving, and I would've lost my hand to amputation.
So, yeah. I *LOVE* "Obamacare" and I *LOVE* President Obama!
That single piece of legislation has saved me from being a disabled amputee, which would've cost the public WAY more money (in the form of Social Security Disability payments, SNAP benefits, state welfare aid, Medicaid, and public housing costs, among others) over the cost of my lifetime than what it is going to cost them to foot part of the bill while I'm poor and currently unable to work. President Barack Obama is not penny wise and pound foolish, as the saying goes. He can definitely see the forest for the trees!
So, nice work, Mr. Pres! Nice work, indeed!
And again, a heartfelt thanks! When I was able to work, I used to do nursing assistant work, and I've taken care of people who were amputees, and their lives are not easy. And God bless every single one of them for the courage they show on a day to day basis. I'm just glad I don't have to join their ranks. So...
THANK YOU AGAIN, MR. PRESIDENT!
But in the meantime...
Surgery is going to suck!
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