Friday, July 11, 2008

Tom's Boxing Career is Down For the Count...Think before You Punch.

We were hoping for a reduction to be done on Tom's hand so that we could bypass the surgery option since he doesn't have medical insurance at the moment. We waited to see a doctor at the orthopedic surgeons office and pretty much the first words out of his mouth were, "A reduction isn't going to work on that." Mine and Tom's silent thoughts, "CRAP." He did say that we had two options. We could splint the hand, let it heal for about 20 more days and see where the healing process was or...Tom could have surgery to correct the injury. The doctor said that the pinky which has the broken knuckle is a very forgiving finger. He was pretty sure that the finger would heel (not perfectly) but to the point of being able to be used normally, with a possible slight deformity meaning that the pinky knuckle on his right hand would look slightly different from the pinky knuckle on his left hand. Just out of curiosity we asked how much a surgery would cost. He said, "Well...you have to pay for the room, the anesthesiologist, blah, blah, blah." Basically we would be looking at upwards of about $5,000.00 for the surgery. Tom is willing to wait it out and see what the hand does on its own. Of course we would pay (somehow) to have the surgery done if that is the corrective action that needs to be taken. We do know that if he has to have surgery the break will have to be re-broken. All I have to say is OUCH.
Tom and his casted hand.
Since they knew that we were going on vacation, they had some sample water-proof casting material that they said we could "test" for them. Better yet, since it was a sample, they didn't charge us for that part of the visit. AWESOME!
On a happier note, we had a really good dinner last night. It included Cheese and Roasted Garlic Tortellini with a Pesto with Basil Sauce, Garlic Bread and salmon. It was actually pretty good. And yes to all who are thinking it, Erin ate salmon.
Yummy Dinner!

1 comment:

Jen said...

I'm sure prayers can help the body heal properly just as well as surgury can. I hope plan A works so you don't have to do expensive plan B.