What Happened to My Hand

Somehow, during the initial surgery on my right hand for trigger finger release, I got an infection, actinomyces. Never heard of it? Neither had we. It's a form of bacteria that is common in the mouth of humans and many animals. Normal old bacteria, they're everywhere and usually don't cause any trouble. Not this time.

The infection showed up in the palm of my right hand when the incision reopened and started weeping a clear, plasma type liquid about two weeks after surgery, about mid December, 2015. The surgeon had already seen me again and cleared me for all activities indicating it was healing very well. We went back to see him and his concern was there was some kind of particulate that was in there causing problems. The hand never got a nasty, pus-like infection, just this clear weeping. They ran blood cultures and all kinds of things, but everything came back negative.

My hand before it broke open and started weeping the first time.

We had scheduled to have the trigger finger on my left hand fixed in late December, so he went back into the right hand as well and 'cleaned it out'. That seemed to work fine until about mid February when it swelled up and got very painful. Back to the surgeon we went. He was very concerned. You see, we liked this surgeon, he was young, very intelligent and a prepper. We had already discussed some of the books his dad made him read which started him down the path of preparing for a collapse. Interesting, huh?

Well, he put a steroid shot in the hand for the swelling, began to massage it in and the incision opened up again - six weeks after the last surgery. He knew something was very wrong and we scheduled another surgery for the next day to take a tissue sample and send it off to be cultured. That took about a week. Then we got a phone call on March 4th, three months after the original surgery in early December.

'You need to come to the hospital right now and start a week of IV antibiotics'. What? And have another surgery for a debridement - removal of the tendon sheath material surrounding the surgery site of the trigger release. Well, we quickly took care of the animals, packed up some necessities and went to the hospital, 60 miles away. Needless to say, this was rather scary. The infectious disease doctor that met us in the ER scared us to death. He couldn't tell me if I would lose my hand or that the infection hadn't spread all over my body.

I was put on high doses of IV penicillin for the week I was there, had a fourth surgery on that hand where the surgeon roto-rootered out the area in the palm and up and down the finger to try to clean out every last bit of that infection. Frank drove back and forth everyday to take care of the animals and be with me at night. He was beyond exhausted and never complained once, not once.

Upon release from the hospital, I was sent home with a pic line in my arm and arrangements for home health to assist us in another three weeks of IV antibiotics. My loving husband got to change the penicillin and put another syringe of antibiotics in my line everyday. All of this made me very sick, along with

trying to recuperate the use of my right hand. Yes, I am right handed. During this month I was basically quarantined. I could not touch an animal and wouldn't go around people to minimize the risk of infection through the pic line. Pic lines are scary things, giving access straight to the blood stream and heart if anything gets through the barrier. I didn't take a shower, just did sponge baths for a month. Frank helped me wash my hair by spraying it with the shower head as I knelt beside the tub and used one hand. The release from that pic line was one happy day. After the nurse left that removed it, I went straight to the barn to see my dog and goats. Up until then I had only been able to look at them through the fence for a month.

All through this, we had weekly trips to the infectious disease doctor, with first daily, then weekly blood tests. This doctor wanted me to stay in the hospital for the whole month. We refused and went with home health and frequent 60 mile trips back to see him and run the tests.

Following the IV antibiotics, were five more months of very strong oral antibiotics that also gave me headaches and made me sick. Because of the long term doses of the medication I did a lot of research on digestive track damage and recovery. I took a probiotic capsule everyday, drank gallons of kefir and started adding inulin to our coffee. To this day, I feel that my digestive track hasn't returned to it's former state. We do what we can diet wise, but what is done is done. 

After all of the antibiotic treatment was finished, I had a bone scan, CT scan of my heart, MRIs of my hand, abdominal organs and brain. All to make sure the infection had not metastasized during the three months it was active before detection and that the antibiotic treatment had been effective. The constant blood work throughout the treatment was to make sure none of them were causing liver or organ damage. 
 

In the end, the surgeon was surprised how much flexibility I regained in my hand and finger. He said most people that have had four surgeries at the same site, don't have near the range of motion. I told him it was hand milking goats that did it, along with hours of self physical therapy. It took a long time and I still don't have full range of motion or a strong grip. I drop things a whole lot more, but after about a year my brain adjusted to the new 'normal' of my hand.

Now, life goes on. I can't say I dealt with it very well at the time, I was angry for a while, felt so sick I couldn't and didn't do much, got fairly depressed while quarantined, but finally came out of all of that. Life is what it is and sometimes dishes up some fairly unpalatable experiences. I just had to remind myself that it is not the experience in and of itself that is most important, but what you learn from it in the process. Being a willing learner is sometimes the most difficult part. That is true of what is happening in our world and country. Take it for what it really is instead of what we wish it was. Learn and accept, this is where we are. Then get on down the road.

Until next time - Fern

Garlic Honey, Anyone?

Yep, that's what everyone needs, some garlic flavored honey. Very strong garlic honey. So strong when you open the jar the smell knocks you down. You think I'm kidding, right? I'm not.

Many years ago, I don't remember when, Frank and I came across some information about the benefits of infusing, for lack of a better word, honey with garlic for medicinal purposes. The benefits of honey and garlic go back as far as man has been keeping records, so there is no surprise there. But as a review, I will include some of the many advantages of including these two items in your diet.

According to Herbal Antibiotics some of the medicinal uses and properties of honey include: 

• can be applied directly to a wound
• used internally for immune stimulation 
• treatment of colds, flu and respiratory infections
• expectorant
• anti-inflammatory
• anticarcinogenic
• promotes healing of peptic ulcers and bacterial gastroenteritis
• good for gingivitis
• NEVER give honey to babies under one year old due to the chance of botulism 

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies outlines some of the medicinal properties of garlic which include:

• Garlic strengthens the immune system as well as helps to fight chest infections, coughs and congestion. I - See more at: http://www.naturalblaze.com/2013/04/10-amazing-health-benefits-of-garlic.html#sthash.ly8rF1zy.dpuf
  cleanses the blood
• helps bring down fever
• antiseptic
• antibiotic
• antifungal
• tones the heart and circulatory system
• boosts the immune system
• may help to reduce high blood pressure
• may prevent some cancers, in particular stomach cancer
• treats infections of the stomach and respiratory system
• helps prevent heart disease and reduces the risk of atherosclerosis
• antioxidant
• decongestant

When we first started using our garlic honey mixture we mainly used it as a cough/cold medicine. Now the more I read about it, the more I realize how beneficial it would be to consume it everyday. Since I have been having some sinus problems lately I have been taking it everyday, several times a day, which means it is time to fix up another batch.
 

The jar on the right is the one we are currently using.

Our daily kefir and my new sourdough starter are sitting in the background.

It is a very simple process. Take one whole head of garlic, and use all of the cloves. This is some of the garlic we grew last summer. Since they are pretty small heads, I am using several of them instead of just one large head. Peel the cloves.

Fill a quart jar about 3/4 full of honey. We prefer to use local honey, but this time I am using up some store bought honey we stocked up on right after we moved here. We have since been able to locate a source of local honey, but we need to use this up as well.

Put the cloves in the honey.

Stir it up to coat the cloves.

Set it back out of the way. Stir it up every few days for a couple of weeks. When you open the jar and the garlic-y smell is so strong it just about knocks you down, it's ready.  I usually leave the garlic cloves in the honey until they are kind of mummified looking or until they are just in the way too much. We don't eat them, I just throw them away. I have debated about cooking something with them, but I never have. They get pretty wrinkled up and look rather dead.

To use this wonderful concoction, just get a spoonful and eat it. The first few times you do this you might gag a little. It depends on how sensitive you are. We have been eating it for so long that we don't really notice it much. Not that it tastes that great, it's just worth it. Now, I would recommend you be strategic in the timing of taking this elixir. If you are going to have company over, you might want to wait until they are gone, unless, of course, you want them to leave quickly.  Just be aware of how fragrant you may become after partaking of a dose.

This is just another one of those things that we can do for ourselves instead of relying on others to provide us with something that may have numerous side effects that we may, or may not even know about. We feel the more we can eliminate medications, over the counter or prescription, the better our health will be. This is not always possible, but we can try to the best of our ability. Some day soon, we may not have a choice in the matter. 


Until next time - Fern

Garlic strengthens the immune system as well as helps to fight chest infections, coughs and congestion. I - See more at: http://www.naturalblaze.com/2013/04/10-amazing-health-benefits-of-garlic.html#sthash.ly8rF1zy.dpuf