Back in August, I did something dumb - I hit the couch, thinking I was hitting a cushion, and I caught the frame with my little finger knuckle. Ouch! I was goofing around, and it was just a dumb accident.

I went to my doctor, who sent me for an x-ray. The radiology report, and my doctor's own viewing, said that there were no fractures. But by the next day it was totally black and blue, and while I could work, I couldn't really hold a pen. (That was odd. I could hold a dental handpiece (aka the drill) but I couldn't write or sign my name.) I also had a real hard time playing keyboards.

A lot of Advil, and a couple weeks later, the swelling and the pain dissipated to the point where I could pretty much function normally. The only thing that never did go away was a bit of pain when someone shook my hand with a firm grsp. But it got to the point where I really didn't notice it.

Then a couple of weeks ago, it started coming back. The timing sort of correlated with the drop in temps around here, so I wasn't sure that it wasn't just related to that. But I told myself that if it continued to hurt, I would go see a hand specialist.

I had been offered a referral to one in August when I first did it, but I thought I'd see what happened first. Well, now that it's hurting, I went yesterday. They re-x-rayed my hand, and sure enough, I had a fracture. And now there's a small displacement.

There's a couple of possibilities. One, it could be healed and just a little out of position, and might need to be fused if it gets more painful, otherwise, the arthritic changes might just cause me pain for the rest of my life. Two, it might not be healing, and might need "stabilization". (I don't know what form this stabilization would take - cast, splint, or surgical placement of a pin...) The MD needs a CT scan to tell for sure.

So now I'm stressing out about it. I really can't afford much time off work. I have disability insurance, but there are two- and three-month waiting periods. That won't do me much good.

CT scan is on Friday, and followup is next Tuesday. We'll see what happens...