Monkey's Thumb

It's interesting to me that such a small person, with a teeny thumb, can have such big issues with it! A couple months ago, Monkey looked at me while we were at the store, showing me his thumb. It was out of it's socket, and bent in an L shape. I barely touched it, and it popped back into place. I was pretty grossed out. I hadn't seen or felt it happen to him before.

A few times each week after that, it happened over and over again. I would pop it back into place and cringe each time. Until one day, while DBop was home (he had never seen it), it wouldn't pop back into place. It started swelling up, and we kept trying but we also didn't want to hurt him. So DBop got his coat and Monkey's coat on and decided to go to the ER. We had no clue what to do. While they were getting ready, Monkey said, "I did it!" and he had put it back into place.

The next day, we called our family doctor, and he wanted to see him. The doctor said he may have Trigger Finger, but he wasn't sure so they wanted to send him to Orthopedics.

The next week, that doctor told me he had Trigger finger, but not a very bad case of it. Usually people with Trigger Finger have their finger stuck 24/7 and need surgery to get it back to normal. Monkey only has a mild case, and he would need a splint to keep it stretched out. He would only wear it at night and naptime and it will help his thumb get losened up and hopefully stop "sticking." If that doesn't work, then he will need surgery.

We went to get his molding for his hand and through all of these appointments, he's done great. He just plays with his cars with his other hand, while they mess with his thumb. He actually was excited when we pulled up to the doctor's office the 3rd time. Little does he know he still has to get shots at this place. But he can be happy for now :)

The hand therapist basically took a plastic sheet and dipped it into hot water, let it cool slightly, and wrapped it around Monkey's hand, mainly his thumb. He cut off the corners and smoothed the edge, and this is how it looks:

It's pretty cute, and really small. But it was interesting to see how they were going to make it. I am also supposed to keep it in a cool place, or it will lose it's shape. 

He really was not happy first wearing it.

He also has taken it off a few times, but overall, he's been a champ.