music, therapy, and me

I was injured back in late August and ended up breaking my left ring finger and ruining a tendon in my left middle finger. I have been through a series of treatments including splinting, Occupational Therapy, and lots of x-rays in the past eight months. I have had to set down the instruments, refrain from picking up things heavier than 1 pound, and figure out how to do my job when I cannot play guitar or piano. I had to figure out how to navigate changes in my job due to the pandemic through changes in my job due to my health status. It has been grueling at times. My hand doctor and Occupational Therapists are pleased with the ways that my fingers are bending. I am not. I still have significant pain in those two fingers. There is a droop in my left middle fingertip that I cannot straighten. In addition, I am starting to feel some clicks in my center finger joints that cannot be good - in fact, I've been told that they are the start of a condition called "trigger finger" t...

So, after yesterday's dread of a specific session, everything went fine. I had a couple of cuss words thrown my direction and one student getting upset because I wouldn't let him leave to get a drink of water (it was 3 minutes before the end of the session, mind you), but the rest of the day went pretty well. I ended up doing all the sessions yesterday because my intern was sick, so I had to plan for four groups instead of two. I enjoyed working with one group that I haven't led since my intern has arrived and taken over. It was refreshing to move into that session and play with my students. I then went to Occupational Therapy where my OTR/L is starting the termination process in a gentle manner. She told me that my tendon finger may never straighten out again. She is also working on strengthening both fingers so that I can do things with my hands without pain. I haven't made it to that point yet. I can play guitar (with pain) but I cannot barre chords yet and my finger...