Samoasoftball to have wrist Surgery. Out for the year in softball!

No softball. Just take me out back and shoot me.

Last August, I tried to adjust a conveyor slide on one of our chip dividers. It is an old antiquated piece of equipment that should have been modified years ago. We were in a production hurry mode and I tried to pull the slide into position on the run. I had to literally lean over a railing, balancing in a awkward position and pull a 100 lb plus slide, backhand. And when I did it, something in my wrist gave out. I thought I sprained it, but the pain would not go away. So I went to the workers compensation office to get a X-ray exam. Dr. Kushner checked out my hand and wrote a prescription for a wrist brace, and wrote to Evergreen to put me on "light duty" with a weight lifting restriction limit of 10 pounds. I told him we do not have light duty, and that I was capable of doing my regular duties. "Whose the doctor here?" he asked. I took the paperwork to our HR person, and sure enough, I was put on disability. This did not make me happy, as I usually made my big Overtime Dollars during hunting season.

Lo and behold, in October the mill shut down and I had still not been approved for physical therapy. I could not turn my wrist without pain, to just do normal stuff like turn a key to start my car. I could push off and pull straight, but could not hold a bat or throw a ball. I was assigned to see a surgeon at Humboldt Orthopedic, but right before my appointment, I was told they would not see me because of the worker's comp claim. I finally was referred to Dr Lyell in Arcata. November and December came and went and I still had not been approved for any treatment! I was finally approved for an MRI and that exam revealed a cartilage tear. Dr. Lyell wanted to pinpoint the "hole" left by the tear with an "Arthrogram". Dr. Moore from St Joe did that procedure, and that hurt! They stuck a few needles straight down in my wrist and then positioned a huge needle to pump and dye into my wrist to show where it was "leaking."

Dr. Lyell informed me of the need for surgery. He said he did not feel comfortable handling this procedure and he thought nobody locally could do this confidentially. So he has referred me to a Dr. Stephen P. Ferraro in Redding. I am now waiting for approval for the surgery. Dr. Kushner is also referring me out. I just want to be done with this and my wrist back to normal. And that means ball worthy! (Oh, yeah, and work worthy too.) If I have the surgery in April, Dr. Lyell said I will have a 3 to 4 month recovery time, so I may not be able to play until August!

I know that most would say, so who cares! But I have played, on average at least 80 games of softball per year for 30 plus years, so yes, this has altered my life. All you have to do is read the header for this blog to know what it means to me. Samoasoftball is down for the count!

And I am bummed.